Truth be told, I finished this Book a while ago but was officially walloped with a burn (a real one in the kitchen), and by the recent legal US elections. Now with the weekend behind us, there’s no reason to stall further. Roshani Chokshi finds an inspiring protagonist in Aru Shah, an all-American middle-schooler who is more curious about Indian mythology than my husband was as a child growing up in India. 

This is the first book in the series and is likely to have a new one published this year and another one in 2022. So it’s still being developed and the film rights are already sold. The book was on several bestselling lists and the writing can lend itself to something very brilliantly cinematic. Now, that’s different from me liking it as a reader, even if, I’m not the target demographic (it’s middle-school fiction). I have been on the fence about this book and maybe in writing about it, I may figure out why that is.

Despite the storyline with a mystic art curator mom living with a daughter in an Indian museum, I can’t understand how the daughter is so well versed in Indian mythology. For one, it’s not common at twelve, and not clear why it is the case with someone growing up outside of India, and wanting to fit in. Curiosity about culture does happen but I have a hard time believing that it wouldn’t be resistance or rebellion at that age. Aru’s character is this Indian Hermione of sorts who remembers random mythological characters and stories but with far less authenticity.

The entire mix of Ramayana/ Mahabharata stories that are woven into the narrative feels studied. There are many, many modern interpretations of these epics. I felt certain that Chokshi drew inspiration from the Palace of Illusions, for instance, but with little originality of her own. She’s so far from what Banerjee was able to reach. Maybe it was intended for Western kids who really would think of this as a magical or exotic Indian story (the series was listed on Oprah’s list as a book to read if you like Harry Potter). But it does a bit of a disservice to Indian mythology. It uses it instead of becoming one with it. It’s quick, convenient, and self-serving in what it draws from the Indian ethos. There’s nothing novel that feels striking.

Now taking a step back and thinking through the plethora of British books I read as a child, I did have another thought as well. How is this book different from Enid Blyton’s English books with characters that I easily fell in love with, despite not growing up there. Lemonades, jam, and bread in English settings felt exotic at that time.  And that’s how this book must feel to someone who didn’t grow up in India watching Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana or B.R. Chopra’s Mahabharat. It is something one can get hooked on to similar to the Famous Five series. But the addition of names, characters, or foreign words does not make it an Indian book. It feels like an Indian book written by a foreigner trying to impress other foreigners with exotic tales. And that’s pretentious when being read by an Indian person (me).

Major gripe: [begin] Listening to audiobooks borrowed from the library is how I generally walk and this is the second book I heard narrated by Soneela Nankani. I can’t understand why she won’t train for how Indian words are pronounced. Sure, maybe an American pre-teen will also make similar mistakes in language, but not everything is in that voice, and after a point, it feels like either no one cares, or they’re simply lazy to try. 

The protagonist is a brown girl who discovers her strengths as the book progresses through moments of doubt and self-deprecation. That suits the narrative of today’s world. It’s the hero we all need. Maybe as a pre-teen myself, I would have found more appreciation for this. As a grown woman, I need more than Western brown-lite narratives. I am not dying to pick up the next book in the series.

Although having said that, had I read stories like these as a pre-teen myself, I would have taken to writing much sooner or maybe even as a career. Sometimes you need to see things to believe them.