Book Name: Yuyutsu- The Rise of the Last Kaurava
Author: Aniket S Sharma
Publishing Year: 2021
About the story:
Everyone told me I cheated My blood, deceived My brothers, and befriended the enemies! On the holy ground of Kurukshetra, I chose the side of the Pandavas, knowing very well that they were on the right side of dharma and not My brothers, the Kauravas. But, was it only My sense of dharma or a hidden desire? Would you listen to my side of the story? Remember, there's always more to a story than what meets the eyes and what hits the ears. I wanted to reclaim what was always mine, I wanted to announce what I was truly capable of, I wanted to prove that karma could overrule bloodlines and most importantly, I wanted to be much more than a mere king! This is my journey. This is the story of Yuyutsu!
This is one of the few Mahabharat adaptations that I fell in love with. I mean, this is literally one of the best adaptations of Mahabharat I have ever read in my life, and you guys need to bear with my fangirling, because I am literally in love with this book and is one of my new favourites.
The story begins from the thirteenth day of war and continues to the end just before the Pandavas leave for Mahaprasthana and has been narrated in first person from Yuyutsu's point of view and I must say, the reader is left spellbound and a newer perspective of the already well known tale.
I'll first tell you what didn't work out for me in the book and then move on to the positive aspects and give my review. Please be warned that this may contain spoilers or snippets from the book I absolutely loved.
The Not So Impressive Points.
From a storytelling point of view I was a little disappointed in not finding much exploration of the bond of Bheem and Yuyutsu whom the latter has called his best friend. The two of them have some really beautiful moments of silent understanding in the book, but a little more dive into it would have made it more beautiful.
Another character from the book who had a potential to be explored was Swastika, who is shown as childhood friend and partner of Yuyutsu. She was an interesting character who always motivated Yuyutsu to never forget his dreams and desires of recognition and doing something for the throne, one which she assumes is ruling (but that was not the desire, a little spoiler there). She truly could have been explored on the basis of how she had influenced the man and stood by him throughout, which has been described time and again but we don't have instances.
I think these two characters deserved some more limelight for their influence on Yuyutsu's life. Especially Bheem, because of whom he makes the decision of switching sides.
The major turnoff what I felt was the length of the chapters, it's very similarly structured like how Mahabharat is structured. If you have read BORI CE its quite similar to it in structure. It may be a turn off if you want to get into it as a novel, but trust me, it's worth a shot for sure
The Impressive parts
I loved most of the book, so I shall be dividing it into sections and telling what I loved in the book. There's so much to pack in, so let's get into it.
All Facts and Authentic Retelling
If there's one thing most of us Mahabharat enthusiasts complain about fictional retellings, it's about how facts have been twisted or the absolute villain gets white washed and the beautiful characters get black washed or shown unnecessarily grey. And guess what this book has none of that, it's as if someone listened to us and decided to portray the characters of Mahabharat as they are in authentic versions.
The Pandavas are the wonderful human beings that they are. The Kauravas are as evil as they are. Characters like Bhishma and Dronacharya have been respected while also calling out their actions.
