The Great Indian Novel

The book certainly earns its name.
An unlikely combination of wit, satire, history, sorrow & realism.
Easily one of the finest books I've read.

It brilliantly superimposes the characters from Indian epics, over those involved in the Indian freedom struggle.
However, the true ingenuity of this book lies in the subtlety of this juxtaposition, making the characters look so obviously similar.

Very well written. It is no easy task to draw parallelisms to the Mahabharata. Yet, Shashi Tharoor does a great job of fitting in our freedom struggle and the years that follow, almost as if Mahabharata was based off of them! Definitely a recommended read given its unique symbolism, unmatched alliteration and a style of writing almost certainly missing in Indian writers.

Somehow, I feel as if I would have to give this book another read to better understand a few things Tharoor has tried to convey.