Reviews

Sita's Ramayana by Samhita Arni

bookishbulletin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

adastrame's review against another edition

4.0

Interesting feminist retelling of a Sanskrit legend, but I suspect to truly understand this, one has to be familiar with the legend...

hayleybeale's review against another edition

3.0

I like the idea of this more than I liked the actual book. Using images from a Patua scroll painter, and telling the story from the perspective of Sita, Rama's wife, this is a twist on the Hindu epic poem. But I found some of the pictures confusing, and the editing down of the story makes it choppy and leaves some things unexplained.

annetjeberg's review against another edition

adventurous fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

agmaynard's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

A female-centered retelling of the Ramayana, with Patua artist Moyna Chitrakar, distilled by Samhita Arni from the original.  "Sita's vision encompasses all those who suffer" war and such struggle, which includes women, children, animals, birds, cities.

cimorene1558's review against another edition

3.0

Very beautiful, but rather hard to read. I found my concentration wandering a lot, which is a very unusual phenomenon.

scarletohhara's review against another edition

4.0

Loved that the book doesn’t get into too many details and still covers the major points of Ramayana. However, I felt that the book could’ve done a better job of telling a story from Sita’s perspective.

mythilisk's review against another edition

4.0

A re-read that goes by quickly. A lovely graphic novel approach to telling an epic told a million times, finally through the lens of the female at the center of it all. Think Sita Sings The Blues but told by two South Asian women finally getting the stage. I have my issues with any Sita story because she will always be the victim because of the men around her but I liked the way their illustrations and pace didn't make it her sob story.

megatsunami's review against another edition

4.0

I know basically nothing about the story of the Ramayana but I loved the art and narrative voice.

corvinaq's review against another edition

4.0

Sad, exquisite, hopeful retelling of the Ramayana from Sita's viewpoint. The sheer number of characters in the story can get overwhelming but the narrative doesn't lose its power. Recommended!