Sita's Ramayana

The Ramayana, one of India's ancient epics, like the Iliad, features two kingdoms at war over a beautiful queen. Arni (The Mahabharatha: A Child's View) gives that queen a voice. Sita, imprisoned in a garden with demons for guards, hears reports of the battles between her husband's allies and those of her abductor, but they bring little satisfaction. Instead, she questions the glory of male heroism: "War, in some ways, is merciful to men.... But if you are a woman... you become the mother of dead sons, a widow, or an orphan; or worse, a prisoner." The fantastic creatures of the epic appear as in the original--the snake-eating bird-deity Garuda, the form-changing monkey hero Hanuman, the animals who build a gigantic bridge over the ocean--but their deeds are tinged with sadness. Chitrakar's (Tsunami) traditional Bengali figures, with their static poses and staring eyes, are energized by dynamic, graphic novel-style panel layouts, but they're unlikely by themselves to draw young readers, who may struggle with the story's complexity. Nonetheless, Arni's retelling is a moving and important one. Ages 10-up. (Oct.)

Gr 5 Up--The Ramayana is the story of the exiled prince Rama and his beautiful wife, Sita. When she is kidnapped by a love-struck demon king, her husband's efforts to rescue her result in a war that eventually involves not only demons and mortals, but also gods, monsters, and even animals. The story has been told and retold, performed and translated in every medium imaginable. Here, a Patua scroll painter has adapted it as a fast-paced, brilliantly bold graphic novel. All of the suspense, treachery, sorcery, and pathos of this epic is depicted in homemade natural dyes layered onto paper in energetic lines, rhythmic patterns, and fields of hot, bright colors. Taut but soulful narrative and dialogue help to tell the story, especially for readers unfamiliar with Hindu iconography. The layout merits particular mention: large panels on pages with abundant white space are interspersed with busier, more action-packed pages. Panels with diagonal edges indicate movement, while round dialogue bubbles and rectilinear swatches of narration are used as compositional elements, sometimes captioning a panel, sometimes stitching two panels together. But even if this book were not created in a little-known traditional medium, even if its story were not one of the most prominent epics in South Asian culture, even if the authors had not made the unusual choice of presenting the Ramayana from Sita's point of view--this book would be a must-purchase based on the strength of its dramatic story and arresting art, enhanced by superior design and high-quality production. Brilliant and fresh.--Paula Willey, Baltimore County Public Library, Towson, MD