The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni | Fiction | DONNE TEMPO
The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
June/12/08 01:39 PM Filed in: Fiction
By Cecie O’Bryon England
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s The Palace of Illusions (Doubleday, February 2008. ISBN-10 0385515995, $16.29) is the re-imagining of an Indian myth, the tale of The Marabharat, from the perspective of the Queen Panchaali. Panchaali was the wife of five Pandava brothers and led her husbands and country into a civil war.
Her
journey, from the moment she is born from a holy
fire, through her cloistered childhood and active
participation in her husbands’ quest to regain
the stolen kingdom of their father, entails
sacrifices, exile, and disguise. She must suffer
through the human spectrum of emotions, love,
loss, fear, sorrow, anger, revenge, joy and at
last understanding, in order to find peace.
I can compare this novel to Anita Diamant’s The Red Tent. It too explores the annuals of history from the female perspective. It too is an unforgiving portrait of a woman who lives fully in her time and touches the lives of all women after. It too revels in the reality that women are faced with in their lives, and deftly explores the choices and consequences that form a life and a history. Panchaali is an Indian princess who yearns to be empowered in her own life, even with the knowledge that she will affect the future of her country forever.
As a myth, the story of the Pandavas and their solidarity in suffering, marriage, and life is a moral tale warning against pride, accepting the fallibility of man and man’s laws. It is also a fascinating exploration of the facets of human endurance, hope, and aspiration.
This exploration of Panchaali’s inner world has depth and purpose. In Divakaruni’s previous novels she has written about modern Indian women and their relationships to one another and their families. In The Palace of Illusions Divakaruni seems to delve further into the psyche of the Indian woman, seizing a myth full of magical reality and clarifying the humanity of life itself even as the characters are surrounded by gods and supernatural gifts.
I would highly recommend this novel to any reader interested in exploring history, mythology, or women. It is also an engaging story with characters that ring true, written in a way that allows all of us to enter a world of magic and emerge with greater understanding.
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s The Palace of Illusions (Doubleday, February 2008. ISBN-10 0385515995, $16.29) is the re-imagining of an Indian myth, the tale of The Marabharat, from the perspective of the Queen Panchaali. Panchaali was the wife of five Pandava brothers and led her husbands and country into a civil war.
I can compare this novel to Anita Diamant’s The Red Tent. It too explores the annuals of history from the female perspective. It too is an unforgiving portrait of a woman who lives fully in her time and touches the lives of all women after. It too revels in the reality that women are faced with in their lives, and deftly explores the choices and consequences that form a life and a history. Panchaali is an Indian princess who yearns to be empowered in her own life, even with the knowledge that she will affect the future of her country forever.
As a myth, the story of the Pandavas and their solidarity in suffering, marriage, and life is a moral tale warning against pride, accepting the fallibility of man and man’s laws. It is also a fascinating exploration of the facets of human endurance, hope, and aspiration.
This exploration of Panchaali’s inner world has depth and purpose. In Divakaruni’s previous novels she has written about modern Indian women and their relationships to one another and their families. In The Palace of Illusions Divakaruni seems to delve further into the psyche of the Indian woman, seizing a myth full of magical reality and clarifying the humanity of life itself even as the characters are surrounded by gods and supernatural gifts.
I would highly recommend this novel to any reader interested in exploring history, mythology, or women. It is also an engaging story with characters that ring true, written in a way that allows all of us to enter a world of magic and emerge with greater understanding.