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arr2_dee2's review
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
danileighta's review
A complex tapestry of Hindu stories with beautiful mixed media pages.
khepiari's review
5.0
'The thread twirls and brings us to a queen of this land, whose story closely mirrors Shakuntala's. Like Shakuntala, she was born of a king and an apsara. Like Shakuntala by the Malini, she was a motherless baby left by the river Yamuna. She too was taken in by a foster father, without any mother-figure in the picture. Unlike Shakuntala, though, this queen was a fierce boulder- not victim- of fate. With her, the childlike innocence of Krita Yug started slowly giving way to the gritter Treta and Dwapar'
We see the Epic Mahabharata as the story of Five Brothers' quest to gain the rightful and those five imbeciles were husband to one fiery woman. We see the Kauravs as the evil and Pandavs as ethical. Yet Amruta Patil traces the whole lineage of our myths to the abstract, metaphorical, very primal rivalries between the children of Kadru and Vinata - the reptiles vs the aviators.
I am no expert in art, but calling this book a #graphicnovel is not enough! There is flowing platter of mix media, styles and observations. Garuda is being drawn like Horus picked from a Hieroglyph. Vishnu is indeed androgynous and Ganga the Saturadhar painted in black and white invokes the ancient tradition of oral storytelling with a pinch of sarcasm.
Patil retells the myths from the beginning among many beginnings, she keeps the overlapping of stories deliberate and the questioning audience mere mortals to witty Narrator. Best part was when Brahma, Vishnu and Shiv call it a tie on who is the creator of multiverse!
We see the Epic Mahabharata as the story of Five Brothers' quest to gain the rightful and those five imbeciles were husband to one fiery woman. We see the Kauravs as the evil and Pandavs as ethical. Yet Amruta Patil traces the whole lineage of our myths to the abstract, metaphorical, very primal rivalries between the children of Kadru and Vinata - the reptiles vs the aviators.
I am no expert in art, but calling this book a #graphicnovel is not enough! There is flowing platter of mix media, styles and observations. Garuda is being drawn like Horus picked from a Hieroglyph. Vishnu is indeed androgynous and Ganga the Saturadhar painted in black and white invokes the ancient tradition of oral storytelling with a pinch of sarcasm.
Patil retells the myths from the beginning among many beginnings, she keeps the overlapping of stories deliberate and the questioning audience mere mortals to witty Narrator. Best part was when Brahma, Vishnu and Shiv call it a tie on who is the creator of multiverse!
nanditalaks's review
4.0
Late to the party here, but this was so beautiful! With the central conceit of a suthradhar, I love how the book is structured and all the metaphors of weaves and wefts that Amruta Patil introduces. The tales are as old as stories themselves and there is some creative liberty with the stories or at least they were different from the versions I had read before. But as Amruta herself puts it so eloquently - tales must be tilled like the land so they can breathe, the only thing you owe allegiance to is the essence. The illustrations are stunning and very unique. The snark asides and lively audience provide a nice relief and counterpoint. Some of our most repeated stories, told in a new and lovely style!
em_beddedinbooks's review
5.0
An awesome work of art and profound knowledge.
This book is only for those who have a good background knowledge of Hindu mythogy and lore.. the stories are just presented as glimpses from the Mahabharatha with more stress upon the beautiful artwork and philosophical nuggets
I enjoyed it thoroughly.
One rant is that the font was very difficult to read , being small and in cursive writing.
Couldn't read at a stretch.
I am not done with the book ..will be concentrating on one painting at a time..
My first read was hurried so as to know what comes next...
Am awesome piece of work ..wonder how much time it took to complete.
Had started this as part of my snake and ladders challenge where I got the prompt doe "graphic novels"
This book is only for those who have a good background knowledge of Hindu mythogy and lore.. the stories are just presented as glimpses from the Mahabharatha with more stress upon the beautiful artwork and philosophical nuggets
I enjoyed it thoroughly.
One rant is that the font was very difficult to read , being small and in cursive writing.
Couldn't read at a stretch.
I am not done with the book ..will be concentrating on one painting at a time..
My first read was hurried so as to know what comes next...
Am awesome piece of work ..wonder how much time it took to complete.
Had started this as part of my snake and ladders challenge where I got the prompt doe "graphic novels"
saptarshi's review
3.0
Adi Parva, by Amruta Patil, is the 1st book of the Mahabharata duology to be followed by Sauptik: Blood and Flowers.It is primarily a graphic novel with brilliant artworks throughout.
The story does not mention of Ugrasrava Sauti narrating the tale to the assembled rishis at the Naimisha Forest and is replaced by Ganga and later Ashwathama ( in the 2nd book) as the storyteller.Introducing Ganga as our sutradhaar for the story, narrating the tale to the gathered crowd of men and women, the author cum painter has attempted to illustrate and emphasize on the practice of these epics being orally transmitted from generations to generations, altering the tale by bit over time.
Although it is a brilliant piece of artwork, some parts of the story might feel out of context or irrelevant to the flow, making it partly difficult to understand.Apart from this few sections, mostly keeping true to the stories, the author has been lucid in her style of writing.
The story does not mention of Ugrasrava Sauti narrating the tale to the assembled rishis at the Naimisha Forest and is replaced by Ganga and later Ashwathama ( in the 2nd book) as the storyteller.Introducing Ganga as our sutradhaar for the story, narrating the tale to the gathered crowd of men and women, the author cum painter has attempted to illustrate and emphasize on the practice of these epics being orally transmitted from generations to generations, altering the tale by bit over time.
Although it is a brilliant piece of artwork, some parts of the story might feel out of context or irrelevant to the flow, making it partly difficult to understand.Apart from this few sections, mostly keeping true to the stories, the author has been lucid in her style of writing.
space_dacait's review against another edition
4.0
Adi Parva is almost there. The art is exquisite but towards the end it took a direction that was unexpected and didn't work for me. But each frame is masterful.
khepiari's review against another edition
5.0
'The thread twirls and brings us to a queen of this land, whose story closely mirrors Shakuntala's. Like Shakuntala, she was born of a king and an apsara. Like Shakuntala by the Malini, she was a motherless baby left by the river Yamuna. She too was taken in by a foster father, without any mother-figure in the picture. Unlike Shakuntala, though, this queen was a fierce boulder- not victim- of fate. With her, the childlike innocence of Krita Yug started slowly giving way to the gritter Treta and Dwapar'
We see the Epic Mahabharata as the story of Five Brothers' quest to gain the rightful and those five imbeciles were husband to one fiery woman. We see the Kauravs as the evil and Pandavs as ethical. Yet Amruta Patil traces the whole lineage of our myths to the abstract, metaphorical, very primal rivalries between the children of Kadru and Vinata - the reptiles vs the aviators.
I am no expert in art, but calling this book a #graphicnovel is not enough! There is flowing platter of mix media, styles and observations. Garuda is being drawn like Horus picked from a Hieroglyph. Vishnu is indeed androgynous and Ganga the Saturadhar painted in black and white invokes the ancient tradition of oral storytelling with a pinch of sarcasm.
Patil retells the myths from the beginning among many beginnings, she keeps the overlapping of stories deliberate and the questioning audience mere mortals to witty Narrator. Best part was when Brahma, Vishnu and Shiv call it a tie on who is the creator of multiverse!
We see the Epic Mahabharata as the story of Five Brothers' quest to gain the rightful and those five imbeciles were husband to one fiery woman. We see the Kauravs as the evil and Pandavs as ethical. Yet Amruta Patil traces the whole lineage of our myths to the abstract, metaphorical, very primal rivalries between the children of Kadru and Vinata - the reptiles vs the aviators.
I am no expert in art, but calling this book a #graphicnovel is not enough! There is flowing platter of mix media, styles and observations. Garuda is being drawn like Horus picked from a Hieroglyph. Vishnu is indeed androgynous and Ganga the Saturadhar painted in black and white invokes the ancient tradition of oral storytelling with a pinch of sarcasm.
Patil retells the myths from the beginning among many beginnings, she keeps the overlapping of stories deliberate and the questioning audience mere mortals to witty Narrator. Best part was when Brahma, Vishnu and Shiv call it a tie on who is the creator of multiverse!
pranavroh's review against another edition
5.0
A wonderful, abstract and dreamlike venture into the heart of the greatest epic in the world. Shinig with stunning examples of art - abstract and modern with stunning colours and palettes that seek to capture the inner wonder of a world in the early stages of creation, Adi Parva is embellished with beautiful prose from its accomplished author. Wit irreverence and a deep understand of the cyclical nature of the Hindu Culture takes us from the beginning of the Universe to another beginning of sorts, and an end.
A must read for any ardent reader of Indian Mythlogy.
A must read for any ardent reader of Indian Mythlogy.
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