Karna's Alter Ego - Book Review

Title: Karna's Alter Ego 

Author: Surendra Nath

Publisher: Dream House Publications

ISBN: 978-93-84180-11-9

Number of Pages: 249

Price: 175 [INR]

Genre: Fiction

The Blurb:

Karna, the ill-fated hero of Mahabharata. Many feel he deserved to win. If only luck had favoured him... 

5000 years later, we have a man named Vasu, who is much like Karna – born illegitimate, very talented but denied all credits in life, rejected in love, misses a medal in the Asian games, gets caught for telling an innocent lie, overlooked for promotion. He begins to identify himself with Karna, and interestingly Karna appears to him after every debacle to assuage and encourage him. 

It seems Vasu is Karna’s alter ego. 

My Review:

       Vasu's life is never the same once his mother discloses the secret of his illegitimate birth at the tender age of twelve. Instead of losing his cool, Vasu decides to take charge of his life, work hard and change his fate. But it isn't easy for fate seems to take away everything he desires. From small positions in school to the the gold medal in Asian games to the post of Vise president of the company he worked hard for, he misses out everything; not because he isn't good enough but because things were snatched away from him. Vasu feels like giving up every time for nothing seems to go in his favor. But there is someone who soothes his disturbed mind and guides him in the right direction - Karna. Yes, Karna the great charioteer from Mahabharatha.

       Vasu identifies himself with Karna and each time something happens, Karna is there to help Vasu remain focused on his work.

Things I Liked:

• First of all, I loved the concept. It is unique and completely out of the box.
• The way the author has co-related Vasu's life incidents with that of Karna's is truly praise worthy. 
• Vasu's frustrations, his grief and Karna's encouraging words citing his own examples are something that I enjoyed reading.
• There is a punch of mythology along with Vasu's story. There are also instances where Karna explains why he did few things. It gives a different perspective to Mahabharatha story, the one that justifies many of Karna's actions.
• The language was simple and fluid. One more plus point was there weren't typos which made reading all more interesting.
• The flight part (I am not going to say any more about it lest it will spoil the suspense) was my favorite part of the book. The action and thrill had me biting my nails in anticipation while reading.

Things I Disliked:

• The pace is slow but it surely doesn't hamper the reading. Instead, I enjoyed reading it in a leisurely way.

Verdict:

       This book is one of a kind which mixes fiction with mythology and presents it in a way which the reader is sure to like. You need not be a mythology reader to like this book. It is recommended for everyone who are looking out for something different and interesting to read.

My Rating:

Until the next review,

Keep Reading :)

Love,

Starry Eyed Reader :)