After reading first two books in the series, I was eagerly waiting for next part in this series. Written by Shubha Vilas, The Game Of Life series is a something that made me want to read whole series together. Depsite of the fact that I have, we have read numerous versions of the epic-Ramayana. As the reviews of last two books states, this too has its own strength in terms of wisdom put in footnotes. Making it different, than just being just a 'tale'.
Stolen Hope starts and ends in the exile period of Rama. How things take turns when they face demons never seen before. How they meet sages waiting for just a glance of their beloved Rama. How the delicate princes and queen Sita spend their lives in simplest manner.
Some reviews point out to excessive use of adjectives. But I see it as a valuable addition. As our original texts of ancient times, are full of such phrases. Comparing a simple thing with beautiful words. Translating them and putting them in this modern version, is commendable effort by the author. We can only imagine the vast vocabulary of our ancestors.
Combining various versions of Ramayana, we get to know some really interesting tales hidden in the large canvas of stories. Example - the story, how and why 'Sitaphal' arrived on earth and why it is in-edible for monkeys. Was 'Lakshman-rekha' really there to protect Sita or was it just another addition over the time? Why Ravana restricted himself and didn't impose Sita to be his wife? And an interesting twist why and how Sati became Sita and the twist ended up as a painful end.
Though there are glitches this time in the book in terms of mistakes so common that could have been avoided with proper proof reading. Like use of 'his' in place of 'he' and so on. Hope this would be corrected in next edition. The cover too, is underwhelming. Out of three books till now, the second book had best cover design.
In the present times, when every other author is turning to mythological tales and twisting it as their own will, The Game of Life series, is a welcome change in this scenario. A series we should preserve as a keepsake so that the original story don't get lost in many imaginative versions. Thank you Shubha Vilas for this effort.
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