The Mahābhārata

by John Smith
The Mahābhārata cover
Good Books rating 4.12
Technical
  • ID: 5785
  • Added: 2025-10-24
  • Updated: 2025-10-24
  • Reviews: 4
Reviews
argumentativeoldgit.wordpress.com · Unknown · 2025-10-24
profound 4.50

The Mahabharata is a sprawling epic with profound themes and complex characters. It offers deep insights into human nature and morality, making it a timeless classic.

The Mahabharata is an epic that delves into the intricacies of human nature, morality, and the consequences of our actions. Its vast narrative and rich characters provide a deep exploration of life's big questions. The epic's themes are timeless, making it a classic that continues to resonate with readers today. The story's complexity and depth offer a rich tapestry of ideas and emotions, making it a must-read for anyone interested in epic literature.

Quick quotes

    The Mahabharata is a sprawling epic that delves into the intricacies of human nature and morality.

    Its vast narrative and rich characters provide a deep exploration of life's big questions.

    The epic's themes are timeless, making it a classic that continues to resonate with readers today.

argumentativeoldgit.wordpress.com · Unknown · 2020-09-10
brilliant 4.50

The Mahābhārata: A Modern Retelling by Carole Satyamurti is a brilliant and harrowing exploration of the ancient epic, offering a fresh perspective that resonates with contemporary readers. The retelling captures the essence of the original while making it accessible and engaging, though some may find the pacing uneven.

Carole Satyamurti's modern retelling of The Mahābhārata is a remarkable achievement, bringing the ancient epic to life in a way that feels both timeless and relevant. The author's prose is rich and evocative, drawing readers into the complex web of relationships, conflicts, and moral dilemmas that define the story. They particularly appreciate how Satyamurti balances the grandeur of the original with a more intimate, character-driven narrative, making the characters' struggles and triumphs deeply relatable. However, they note that the pacing can be uneven at times, with some sections feeling rushed while others linger too long. Despite this, the retelling is a powerful and thought-provoking exploration of themes that continue to resonate today. They would recommend it to readers who enjoy epic storytelling and are looking for a fresh take on a classic.

Quick quotes

    The retelling captures the essence of the original while making it accessible and engaging.

    The author's prose is rich and evocative, drawing readers into the complex web of relationships.

    They particularly appreciate how Satyamurti balances the grandeur of the original with a more intimate, character-driven narrative.

naomiappleton.wordpress.com · Unknown · 2013-12-06
delightful 4.50

The book is a delight to read, exploring themes of time, relationships, and interconnectedness through a series of interconnected chapters featuring different characters at various points in their lives. It is neither a novel nor a collection of short stories but something in between, using its form to explore ideas about human interconnectedness.

Jennifer Egan's new novel, 'A Visit from the Goon Squad,' is an exceptional rendering of contemporary America. Inspired by Proust's 'À la Recherche du Temps Perdu' and HBO's 'The Sopranos,' the book delves into themes of memory, kinship, time, and narrative. It is a series of chapters featuring interlocking characters at different points in their lives, whose individual voices combine to create a symphonic work. The narrative alternates between first-person and third-person accounts, and even includes a second-person story. The characters' lives are revealed with great elegance and economy, showing how they are pushed around by time, circumstance, and the ones they love. The stories circle around a few recurring characters, broadly centered around the American music scene. Each chapter has its own distinct voice and mood, modulating from satire to farce, from melancholy to tragedy.

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    The book received rave reviews when it was published in the US last year, and for good reason; it has since been named a finalist for several prestigious American prizes.

    This is a difficult book to summarise, but a delight to read, gradually distilling a medley out of its polyphonic, sometimes deliberately cacophonous voices.

    I've never found a description of attempted rape funny before, but when Jules Jones writes (from prison) his account of his assault on Kitty Jackson during an interview, it becomes an uproarious parody of David Foster Wallace that owes more than a little to Nabokov as well, as Jules describes finding himself with 'one hand covering Kitty's mouth and doing its best to anchor her rather spirited head, the other fumbling with my zipper, which I'm having some trouble depressing, possibly because of the writhing motions of my subject beneath me.

boloji.com · Unknown · 2010-10-31
mixed 3.00

The reviewer found Jennifer Egan's 'A Visit from the Goon Squad' to be a unique and challenging read with a gritty, hard-boiled tone. They appreciated the complex character perspectives and the exploration of taboo topics but felt the lack of a cohesive plot and the depressing themes made it difficult to fully enjoy.

The reviewer had high expectations for 'A Visit from the Goon Squad' due to its numerous awards and the author's engaging presence at a book festival. They found the novel's tone to be gritty and hard-boiled, with a film noir style, set in the punk rock era of NYC. The book's structure, which consists of interconnected short stories about various characters, was both intriguing and challenging. The reviewer appreciated the exploration of taboo topics and the complex character perspectives but struggled with the lack of a cohesive plot and the overwhelming number of characters. They also found the themes of time and redemption to be disheartening and felt that the book's controversial nature generated a lot of buzz. Overall, they felt the book was a great literary work but not one they particularly enjoyed.

Quick quotes

    Structural dissatisfaction: Returning to circumstances that once pleased you, after having experienced a more thrilling or opulent way of life, and finding that you can no longer tolerate them.

    Time’s a goon, right? You gonna let that goon push you around?

    The rich tone that comes from Egan’s prose is beautiful…she has a true talent for narration….a quote on the back of the book said it best there really is ‘music pulsing on every page’.

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