Finished reading the book last night. 2011 sure started on a great note as far as reading goes.I am so glad I snooped around my friend's library during Xmas weekend and found this book. I have been wanting read it for over 2 years; ever since I read Tulips cuckold inspired post! It sure did not disappoint me one bit. For starters, Kiran Nagarkar's writing style is so fluid, it draws you towards the book. It could have increased my vocabulary ten fold, had I stopped to look up the words in the dictionary but I did not do that.I really liked the way he has used language of today to paint the historic by gone era. I quit reading historic novels(in Marathi) just because the language used is so ornate and to me it is BORING(Vishwas patil, Ranjit Desai, Shivaji Sawant).
The characters he sketches come alive in your head while reading. Especially the female characters. It was no surprise to me that I instantly liked the Princess but what did surprise me was that I did not dislike the apparently negative characters e.g. Queen Karmavati/Vikramaditya. I kept thinking to myself, I actually ought to dislike them but I kind of see their point!
Loved the name Greeneyes for the Little Saint!
Maharaj Kumar seemed like a real person with strengths and weaknesses. A person who could not achieve his potential. Had to live in the shadow of his father for the fear of losing the crown perhaps. It is a mystery to me why I thought of Maharaj Kumar as a one woman man in spite him sleeping with many! His desperate attempts of winning back his wife by posing as the Blue God did not make me cringe but actually sympathize with him. Couldn't help but wonder what made him so drawn towards the Princess...perhaps the human nature of wanting desperately what you can not have.
Moving on to Kausalya now. considering how we are raised it is highly unlikely for anyone to understand and relate to the fact(actually fiction) that a woman who nursed a child and practically raised him, maintaining sexual relations with him. Despite it, Kausalya is very likable. Most of the times, from what we read or watch in the movies, we like the parts to which we can relate to on some level. This book just challenges that notion. I got involved with the characters without being critical of their behaviour or feeling the need to defend them. (The thought that the Princess might have been schizophrenic did cross my mind though) Kudos to Kiran nagarkar. He made me love his characters inspite of their shortcomings and still maintain a slight aloofness about them.
Any book that pushes your boundaries and places you in ever growing concentric circles rather than rigid boxes is good book.
This one certainly got me out of the comfort zone and still be open and tolerant about the uncomfortable zone I stepped into.
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You have not written is a very long time ... what happened?
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