If an English translation is so powerful, I wonder how much better it will be to read ‘Ponniyin Selvan’ in its original Tamil form. I guess one way to sum up a review in a nutshell is to call this, in a sense, the equivalent of “Harry Potter for adults” – in the kind of feeling it left me with, at the end of it all. But there’s a resolution at the end that satisfies, thrills, and inspires.

It’s a near-miracle that even Kalki Krishnamurthy, the author of ‘Ponniyin Selvan’, managed to keep track of the countless threads and open loops he sprinkles so generously across the five volumes.

All through the book, I felt like I was riding an emotional roller-coaster.

Emotions surge and swell as opponents pit wits and weapons, strategize and conspire against each other. The never-ending cast with their unique personalities and characters – some noble, others dastardly, some ferocious, others cunning, some foolhardy, others ruthless.Īnd there’s the use of so many literary devices that make it an intriguing, gripping read.Ĭliff-hangers end each chapter. The tense verbal fencing and pithy dialogue that sparkles and shines in every conversation. Of course, I established new reading strategies for it. There’s the brilliant storytelling, that makes even this long novel that spans 500 chapters, 2,400 pages, an un-put-downable book. Nearly everything in this epic tale is stunning. But with Ponniyin Selvan, I don’t even know where to begin – or how to go about it. I’ve written over one hundred book reviews. To follow events as they unfold in their myriad complexities, sub-plots within sub-plots creating twists and turns that alternately baffled and thrilled me. To carry on with the activities of a cast of characters so vast it’ll make your head spin. I felt a relentless tug, like gravity, to return to the story. Just so that I could go back to reading this lovely book.

Put off tasks for later – and then hurriedly finished them.

To the glamorous, glorious Chola period of Thamizhagam, in a narrative about the prince popularly known as ‘Ponniyin Selvan’. Transported into the past, a thousand years back. Slowly – very slowly – I’m coming out from under the ether.

Ponniyin selvan tamil books