Book Review : The Tenth Avatar

The Tenth Avatar is yet another book in the series of books by various authors on the topic of our ancient literature and history. Good part is that each book based on these themes is different, and is not a copy or inspired or similar to the others. That speaks volumes for the imagination of the authors; credit where credit is due. This book is also, like the others, unlike any other, and is a superb piece of imaginative and interesting writing worth a one-time read. Rated 3, maybe 3.5 stars.

THE RAMAYAN PART OF THE BOOK

The book tells two stories – one, the story in the modern day; the other is a retelling of the Ramayan. This retelling is an interpretation of the author; there is a lot of re-interpretation of the classical tale in a form that is, well, post-modern, trying to give a scientifically palatable or acceptable interpretation of the events that took place. This part I have not rated; Ramayan is too old, too ancient and too important a historical event to be evaluated by me. To each his own; I do not accept the re-interpretation. I am not criticizing; I am just stating I do not have enough knowledge of the Ramayan to pass judgement on it, or to even try to make an interpretation. I am an ardent student of our ancient literature; the day I feel confident of re-interpreting them, I shall. Not before.

THE MODERN STORY

The retelling of The Ramayan has no relation to the modern story accept for one small point; that too is not fully relevant. The modern story is that of a scientist, residing in the USA, situated on the cutting edge of modern research alongwith all that it entails. The setting of the book is in The US of A, and has only a partial Indian Connection. It is the story of a scientist who is on the edge of very advanced research that leads to a series of revelations, and how he realizes his true nature, and his connection to The Ramayan, and what he makes of it.

THE ANALYSIS

This is a book that has been written with Western Audiences in mind is the way I could see it, or read into it. As the setting was alien, I was unable to make a deep connect with any character in the modern setting. The re-interpretation and the effort to scientifically re-tell events in The Ramayan did not help at all; this assumes science has discovered all that is there is discover – which is not true, simply not true.   { The essence of The Original Historical Ramayan remained untouched in this book, as far as I could tell; am currently reading The ancient Ramayan, am about midway. There is nothing offensive at all}.

Moving on, the modern tale as well as the ancient re-telling has been very skillfully done. Now this is a very hard  task – as The Ramayan is one of the most multi-layered and complex histories to re-tell, as we can see in the series by Shubh Vilas. And picking out the right re-telling in abbreviated form without limiting the essence of the story could not have been so very easy to do. For this, I have to appreciate the skill of the author; as an ardent lover of Indian Scriptures, and a worshipper of The Ramayan, I was impressed by the skill on display. I was heavy in my criticism of the re-telling; let me be equally heavy in praise for the pluses.

The modern story is fast-paced, and decently put together. It holds your attention throughout the story, and keeps the connect with the audience despite the interleaving with the Ancient Story of the real Lord Ram. The flow of the story is flawless, and makes for a fascinating reading, as you are pulled into the story. I found myself regretting the USA setting, as it took away my enjoyment in a small way. There is not lot wrong here – it is a nice short and fast tale of science and self-realisation.

The characterization is minimal – despite that, you make a strong connect with the Central Character, The Tenth Avatar. No other character has been given as big or as important a role – and this doesn’t  create dissonance. That is the beauty of the writing employed. There are a couple of plot holes in the story – but these you can ignore. This is a fast, good one-time read; it finishes on a very positive note, and transports you into a happy mode at the end….