Review by Janhavi

I was 9 when I attended a 7 day crash course that explained the Bhagvatgita to children. All great lessons, but it never taught me as much about the real world as the actual Mahabharat could.

But for years, I could barely understand this saga. Who was who, what all stories were connected and how, and most importantly, who mattered?

Now, almost 6 years later, after almost 15 years of listening to multiple versions of every tale, I can understand the epic that was Mahabharat.

Maybe it is Banerjee’s ability to remind us that these heroes and legends were human too, or the way she weaves a timeless tale into a fresh perspective, I finally see it. 

The novel begins with the birth of Draupadi, from a fiery yagna that gave birth to two instead of one.  In her unexpected birth, she is made an extension of her brother, named after her father. The rest of the novel focuses on Draupadi, her life and the reclamation of her identity as she is traded and used by the powerful individuals in her life. Instead of simply retelling the Mahabharat from a new perspective, Palace of illusions focuses on the story of Draupadi and her life while treating the kurukshetra war as a part of it or another event. Significant, yet not entirely defining.   

I am not the biggest fan of reading books that retell classics or epics for two reasons; they either repeat what everyone knows or strip the original story of its charm. I only picked this book up because my teacher recommended it [for the writing] and god bless her for doing that. 

I have not read a book with better writing than this, not in the sense that it has purple prose, but that it gets across the harshest of emotions in a beautiful way. It was like walking through a garden of beautiful flowers that are not scattered and unnecessary, but intentional and well utilised. To try to explain the writing would be an injustice to how it can catch you off guard as you read, so I will stop here.

The best part about it though, in my opinion, was the characters. Often we hear of the people in epics as legends, extraordinary, flawless. Banerjee challenges this outdated narrative by allowing them to breathe, be human, make mistakes and find forgiveness. She calls a spade a spade, refusing to glorify the wrong decisions and blame the innocent. Drauadi is finally portrayed as a woman, one with a heart and feelings, not just a prop. 

She breathes freedom into those confined by their status in history, challenging injustice and cowardice with sharp words and an unrelenting conscience. 

The more you read, the more you get drawn into the intricate world of Draupadi and her husbands. Their struggles with one another, the constant tug of war of opinions and ownership and the neglected thread that ties them all together. Krishna plays a pivotal role in Draupadi’s life, and this might be the first time I have seen him portrayed as her friend, instead of Arjun’s. This too adds to the whole narrative of seeing Mahabharat in a new light because we see many people that are usually stereotyped in a bold and informal way.

As for the pacing, I would recommend taking your time even though the book maintains a fast pace. Each page, chapter, dialogue provides something to think about, discuss; like making a lego set without instructions. The end result is different for every person because each step is unique to your thought process and perceivance. 

I definitely recommend this to every person who wants to rediscover history, especially from a woman’s perspective. I would encourage my fellow teenagers to read this as soon as they can so that you too get the space to form your own opinions and discover our culture without influence from only one side of it. 

This book was a 5 star read start to end. Not because I was able to fly through it, but because it made me pause, think, reflect and scrutinise the perspective that society forces upon us. It made me realise how the patriarchy affects every aspect of life, how it twists history to favour the men. I realized that just because the epic is written as it happened, does not mean people would not have added opinions and tried to influence who is held guilty for destruction and who is given credit when things go well.

Books like these change society and that will always make a book better in my opinion. 

Take your time, question the patriarchy, and never forget to challenge anyone.