The Palace of Illusions: A Novel

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Feb 2008 · Blackstone Audio Inc. · Narrated by Sneha Mathan

About this audiobook

This vivid reimagining of the world-famous Indian epic Mahabharata takes us back to a time that is half history, half myth, and wholly magical. It is told by Panchaali, wife of the Pandava brothers, a fiery female redefining for us a world of gods and warriors.

The novel traces the princess Panchaali’s life, beginning with her birth in fire and following her spirited balancing act as a woman with five husbands who have been cheated out of their father’s kingdom. Panchaali is swept into their quest to reclaim their birthright, remaining at their side through years of exile and a terrible civil war involving all the important kings of India. Meanwhile, we never lose sight of her strategic duels with her mother-in-law, her complicated friendship with the enigmatic Krishna, or her secret attraction to the mysterious man who is her husbands’ most dangerous enemy.

Ratings and reviews

This interesting story and its engaging writing by the author has been marred by the narrator's mispronunciations of native terms and names. The narration job feels even more careless and half-hearted when you listen to her pronounce the central character's name as "Drupadi" instead of "Draupadi". If you haven't purchased the audiobook, my suggestion would be to go for the ebook or the printed version. Especially considering the unreasonable amount of money you'd be paying for a poor narrative experience. The 3 stars are solely for the author's effort.

AAA

About the author

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an award-winning and bestselling author, activist, and professor. Her work has been published in over fifty magazines, including The Atlantic and The New Yorker, and included in The Best American Short Stories and The O. Henry Prize Stories. Her books have been translated into twenty-nine languages, including Dutch, Hebrew, Bengali, Russian, and Japanese. Several have been used for campus-wide reads and made into films and plays. She teaches at the University of Houston.

Sneha Mathan is a voice actor and audiobook narrator. Her audiobook work has received several Earphones awards, and she is a two-time Audie Award finalist. Although she spent much of her childhood traveling and living in other parts of the world (including India and Africa), she is now based in Seattle.