Asura: Tale of the vanquished by Anand Neelakantan

Excerpt from the book:

All that talk about honour and pride, of race and skin colour, of morals and traditions, of triumphs and failures, was irrelevant in the greater order of things.

Blurb of the book:

It is Ravanayana....Ramayana from Ravana and his people's point of view. Also how Asuras and Devas are different from each other yet similar on certain levels. 

My take/view:

It gives you a new perspective on Ramayana, which is basically a part of our tradition and culture. How Ravana,an asura built a kingdom for his people where people will be credited for their merit and talent. Where there will be equality and freedom. Also from Bhadra's point of view, a poor man, once a soldier, narrates every day struggle to survive in a kingdom which is prosperous. This book showcases how devas and asuras culture were different and how both, treated and respected men and women.

Though different from each other, both the races don't condemn one thing...raping women belonging to other kingdoms that they invade. 

It also showcases how caste system was used to differentiate people... how it was used to degrade some and treat few as special and godlike. 

Overall... narration was good and it is a brilliantly written book. Although, I found certain parts of the book slow.

My rating-4.5 out of 5.

Recommendation:

For those who want to read Ramayana from a different angle/view, this book is a good choice. I would definitely recommend this book to them.

Happy reading!!!