The best thing about this book is the subject - Rani Jind Kaur. In one word - a very complex character. There are so many shades to her personality and so many parts of her life.
The second good thing about the book is the writing style - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's classic storytelling that is interesting and keeps the reader hooked.
I didn't like the cover so much. It has the only known British portrait of the Maharani, but I am sure that Indian painters would have done miniature art of her (I did find a few)
And other than these two things, there wasnt much that I liked abt the book. It reads like the screenplay of a film.
The first person storytelling somehow fails to capture the entire complexity of her thought process - perhaps because the author is NOT Rani Jindan.
While political intrigue is covered in sufficient detail, I was amazed to see that other members of the zenana, which was not insignificant, make brief guest appearances only.
I would not place this as the definitive guide to understanding the Maharani, or even Jindaan the woman. Not even close.
To that extent, the book is a disappointment. Also because I am an impatient reader and all these pages, I would have expected more. That just did not happen.
Maybe its me. The book did not work for me.
2 comments:
Maybe the movie will be better!
honest review
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