Book Review OF 'PALACE OF ILLUSIONS'

Book Title: PALACE OF ILLUSIONS

Author: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

 

Background: Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni had been one of my favorite books from the last nine years. I read it in 2011 and was magnetized by Chitra's writing skills. As per Wikipedia, Mahabharata is roughly ten times the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined. Hence impersonating such an epic with remarkably efficiency creates mesmerization for the author too. The Palace of Illusions takes us back to a time that is part history, partial myth, and stuffed with magical details. It has been narrated from Panchaali's perspective, the common wife of the legendary Pandavas brothers; the novel gives us a unique portrait of the world-famous Indian epic, the Mahabharata.

 

The Storyline:

The novel begins with Draupadi narrating her restricted lifestyle at her father's palace, her father's initial rejection to accept as her daughter, her dusky complexion, her curious nature, her interest in politics and social affairs over womanly doings, her complicated friendship with Krishna and her marriage to five of the fiercest warriors of her time - the Pandavas. The novel beautifully describes Panchaali's spirited and balanced conduct while playing the role of a woman with five husbands who have been cheated out of their father's kingdom and how she was swept as bait into the quest of reclaiming their birthright, remaining at their side through years of exile and a terrible civil war involving all the important kings of India. The description of “Panchaali” as the queen, who ruled one of the most magical palaces and how she refused to learn the lessons of forgiveness from her friend, Krishna. Her role as a woman obsessed with a vengeance for her harassment, and spurned by the world for having been the cause of the great battle of Mahabharata, the battle that saw clans obliterated, and millions dead. Through smart dialogue, the author cleverly etches out the character of Draupadi, careening a bit as she does this, from how this character has been portrayed in other versions of this epic tale, giving her faults and imperfections, likes and dislikes, loves and hates just like us humans (thus delineating her from the conditions surrounding her unnatural birth). The novel delves into the secrets of her life, her secret love, and longing for Karna above her five husbands whom she denied once on Krishna's suggestion, her feelings as she witnessed acts of perfidy by people she considered her own, her rivalry from Kunti and the ignominy of insults heaped on her by the world. In the end, the readers get solely engrossed in the novel. They become a prominent part of the central character that just like her, they crave for something/someone to redeem her. The reader becomes empathetic with the protagonist.

 

WHY READ?

   A person who loves exploring the depths of mythology but with a new, yet reasonable and a progressive attitude would find it enticing. The woman "Draupadi" has been put at the forefront of the action. We are all familiar with the character since childhood, and it allows us to explore the entire tale from a different perspective