Rating: 3.5/5

Chitra Banerjee's The Palace of Illusions presents a captivating retelling of the Mahabharata, centering on the enigmatic figure of Draupadi. While the novel skillfully weaves a tale of love, loss, and the complexities of human nature, it ultimately falls short of fully capturing the depth and nuance of its protagonist.

Banerjee's writing transports readers to the opulent world of the Pandavas and Kauravas. The novel delves into the complicated dynamics of the characters, particularly Draupadi's tumultuous relationship with her five husbands. However, while the author attempts to portray Draupadi as a strong and independent woman, she often succumbs to stereotypical tropes.

The novel's primary focus on Draupadi's romantic entanglements, especially her obsession with Karna, overshadows her other significant roles and accomplishments. While there are moments where Draupadi exhibits flashes of defiance and courage, these instances are fleeting. Instead, she is frequently portrayed as a capricious and impulsive figure, driven by emotions rather than reason.

Despite its shortcomings, The Palace of Illusions remains an engaging read, offering a fresh perspective on a timeless epic. However, readers seeking a truly empowering portrayal of Draupadi may be left wanting.

another rendition of the Mahabharata that makes me want to read the original more.

Palace of illusions is an engrossing retelling of the great epic Mahabharat from the perspective of Draupadi. The story unravels with the birth of Draupadi and narrates her viewpoint of the world and of the male chauvinistic society. She was unique, smart, impatient and had an unending need to know everything. The story also reveals the not so good side of her driven by revenge and also of her forbidden love with the nemesis.

I really really wanted to enjoy this book - it's a phenomenal idea and huge undertaking to retell the Mahabharata, which is over 1000+ pages in a digestible read AND told from the female protagonist's POV. I know she couldn't change the plot or characters much, but wow - no one is likeable or has any depth. The writing was beautiful and filled with great imagery, but I was literally falling asleep reading it for most of the book - that being said, I really enjoyed the last 30%, especially the very ending.

It was...um... okay?

I guess I expected a lot more from this reimagined tale of Draupadi/Panchali in her perspective. After a certain point, her character takes a backseat and things (w.r.t her) kinda stall.

Her impact on the other characters was much more in the first half of the story, than the second half (after the war starts, where it's almost nil). I do not mind the Karna-Draupadi angle, but you wonder whether it added anything to the story except for her own guilt-trip at the end.

It is certainly beautifully written and well-paced but I felt a lack of strong dialogues and something that hooks me. Until the end I did not feel any kind of hook though. Having known the Mahabharata story already, I felt familiarity in the narratives but again nothing extra that could hold my attention.

The author could have done so much more with strong and impactful dialogues. Potential wasted! (I felt it had a lot of potential considering the first few chapters).

I also had to slog through post-war chapters and skip-read them.
Probably won't be reading any retelling/reimagining of Indian mythology any time soon.

Just my two cents. Your mileage may vary.

I wish I had read the Indian myth this was based on before diving in, but I love that she took a male-centric story and told it from the women’s perspective. Filled with love, yearning, selfishness, and obsession with vengeance, a captivating read, though the main character’s musings get a tad repetitive.