Book: Boons & Curses

Author: Yugal Joshi

Publisher: Rupa Publication

Blurb:

It is said that Kunti fulfilled her desires and ambitions through her sons, the Pandavas, resulting in the bloodbath in Kurukshetra. And once the truth struck her she sought help from Krishna to get rid of her guilt. Krishna became Kunti’s moral guardian, a conversation began, from which emerged fascinating tales of women in mythology. In this brilliant retelling, Kunti is placed at the central of the novel and running parallel to her universe are the stories of Aditi and diti, the primordial mothers, the rebellious soorpanakha, the independent sanjana and Tara, Trendsetters such as anusuya, intrigues of kaikeyee and kaIkasiI, the helpless Gandhi, the self-sacrificing devaki’s and the selfless Yashoda. These are the stories of resolve, exploits, revenge, sacrifice and affectionate together they give us a deeper understanding of the legendary women in India.

Review:

To begin with the cover, it’s really beautiful. The colour combination, the illustration and the effect, it’s just so beautiful. It just makes you fall in love with the book at first sight.

The book revolves around the life of Kunti and parallelly runs stories of other inspirational and strong woman characters in our mythology. The concept of the book is really amazing. I really liked how the author converted all stories into a conversation between two very most important yet very different Mahabharata characters, Krishna and his aunt Kunti.

The way it is narrated I could imagine every bit of it. It feels like I am just beside Krishna and hear him narrating and guiding Kunti. The writing and flow are amazing that you won’t stop reading it once you start. The stories are brilliantly chosen and well researched. I really loved the stories and details mentioned in the book.

Overall, this book is a big page-turner, and if you wish you can complete it in one go. And if you love mythological fictions, then this book is a must-read for you.