Number of Book #3
Date Began and Finished 1/5 - 1/18 2008
Genre - Fiction
Year It Was Published - Feb 2008
Publisher - Doubleday
number of Pages 277
(ARC) Trade paperback
Reason for reading: Review for Bookreporter.com
Rating 4/5 stars
Blurb or Synopsis: The retelling of the tales from the Mahabharat,one of the longest epic poems in history, THE PALACE OF ILLUSIONS takes place between 5000 bce and 6000 bce and comprises of kings and queens and deities, spanning decades and revolving around Panchaali, a princess that is forced to marry 5 men. the story is told from her point of view in the first person, and we learn of her birth, her childhood, and her marriages to the five Pandava brothers. As a child she's a willful girl and lives an unconventional childhood when she finds ways to learn things that only boys are taught in school. She doesn't want to be a typical woman, but wants to learn the ways of men in power. A sage tells her early in her life that she will end up marrying 5 men, and that she will be the reason for a great war which will destroy the THIRD AGE OF MAN. Panchaali doesn't believe this, but as one by one the prophesies come true, she begins to learn that the sage is right... and that her life will not be an easy one...
Women are strong characters in this version of the tale, taking center stage, and Kunti, Panchaali's mother-in-law, is a formidable woman, doing what she can to make Panchaali's life miserable. The two clash most of their lives, but there will come a time when the two will finally see eye to eye.
Panchaali's friendship with Krishna is a continuing thread throughout the story, the main person in her life that she constantly refers back to. She's known him most of her life, and even through her marriage to the 5 brothers, he is still there for her, if not in person, then in her heart. She doesn't realize how much she loves him. Her secret passion however is for Karna, the man she rejected initially on her wedding day, and her love for him consumes her. When she learns of a secret that involves him and her mother-in-law, it is all she can do to keep from telling her husbands. No matter how angry she is with Karna, or how much he hates her for her rejection of him, her passion for him smolders until the day she dies.
THE PALACE OF ILLUSIONS spans decades, from Panchaali and her brother Dhri's childhood, to her marriage to the 5 Pandava brothers, to the great war and their downfall. It is as grand as the epic poems by Homer, and as tragic. The story is complex, as political relationships twist and create friends and enemies, leading to battles and wars that will eventually destroy them all. I found that while I personally didn't connect with the political themes of the novel, i felt connected to the tragic story line and the fate that Panchaali was born into. THE PALACE OF ILLUSIONS is an admirable attempt to recreate the epic Mahabharat from the view point of a strong woman, Panchaali.
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