A River Sutra

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Summary: It is a unique and eloquent book.
Review: A River Sutra is a great book about love and life. Yet it is not as cheesy or conventional as its topics sound. Gita Mehta tells many side stories amidst the progression of the narrator, all while revealing love's sacredness, eccentricity, and pureness.

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Summary: enchanting collection of tales
Review: I found A River Sutra to be an enchanting collection of tales incorporating rich language and multiple themes. The unique characters immersed in traditional Indian mythology creates a colorful contrast between the modern and the ancient, the individual and the collective. The format of this book (a collection of short stories within a greater novel) is effective in its ability to convey the metaphor of a flowing river. Each individual story is a gem in itself, conveying tragedy and passion in a delicate blend. Though each story conveys its own individual theme, the narrator is able to use these tales to come to a greater realization about himself and his relation to the world around him. In this way, the reader is also able to use the stories to deduce his or her own theme, whether it be similar or different to the conclusion the narrator came to. Overall, I found this book superb in its ability to effectively incorporate short stories in to a larger novel.

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Summary: This book was an intriguing collection of stories.
Review: The narrator of this book keeps you entertained with all of the people he encounters. You really see how the narrator becomes more enlightened with the world around him through the people that he talks to in this book.

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Summary: Mehta's book combines the universality of goals with India.
Review: A River Sutra is a book that combines the themes of the universality of life and the continuation of life. The book talks about how life goes on and it is illustrated well through the characters and imagery used by Mehta. Because the book is Indian, I can relate to it well. I feel that this book is quite interesting and will teach something to whomever reads it. Important lessons are learned from the characters and the descriptive imagery sparks one's imagination "like no other." Good book, if you ask me.

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Summary: This beautifully written book will open your eyes.
Review: "A River Sutra", by Gita Mehta, is not only a beautifully written book but is both exciting and moving. The narrator is basically a stander-by as the people he meets tell him the stories of their lives. These stories are interesting within themselves, but put together they show a common theme that the narrator, a man with a relatively uneventful life, sees. He then realizes the mistakes he has made in his life. This book opened my eyes, too, and anyone who reads it will make a pledge to take risks and take control of who they are.

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Summary: An enchanting tale of human emotion
Review: Along the banks of the Narmada River in India, a bureaucrat retires to reflect in a seemingly separate sphere of reality. The narrator hears anecdotes about greif, suffering and love from many different sources, among them a monk, an worried mother, a wise mullah, and a possessed businessman. One theme of the novel lies in the fact that all people, regardless of religion, culture, or upbringing, experiece frighteningly similar emotions. During the course of his reflections, the narrator realized that he could not flee the world at a rest house on the Narmada River, for "too many lives converge on (its) banks." A River Sutra reminds readers of the common thread of human emotion that links us all. Though it is not a lengthy novel, A River Sutra leaves a reader emotionally satisfied and, indeed, ready to reflect upon his or her own life.

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Summary: A beautiful book about self-awareness and enlightenment
Review: A River Sutra begins in a seemingly simple manner and quickly unravels to reveal a series of stories about lives that converge on the banks of one river. The Narmada River, the holiest river in India, is the beautiful setting of this descriptive novel. People from different backgrounds and circumstances tell their stories about enlightenment, love, and most of all, suffering. A River Sutra is exceptionally rich due to its abundance of and imagary that puts you right on the banks of the Narmada. From the stories in the book one can learn about the many facets of human nature, but the novel is not structured as a lesson about Indian culture. The novel feels comfortable yet inspires exploration of one's values, and the ending really leaves a question worth examination. I recommend this novel to anyone in the mood for a quick read that will remain a part of you; you will not soon forget the words of Gita Mehta.

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Summary: i liked a river sutra
Review: "A River Sutra" is a very good book. I can't really explain why because i'm not really sure myself. this isn't really a formal critique of the novel, more of a subjective one. i liked it because i could connect with the stories. well, not directly to the stories but to the themes in the different stories. i liked the way the main character never understood anything because he was a foil for all the other deeper characters and helped to emphasize their wisdom. i liked the setting because a lot of the stories had alot about nature in them and i am a big fan of nature. i also liked it because it talks a lot about love. and i read it at a time when i was confused about love. i also think i understood it better because im in love. i don't think its a very good book for high school kids just because they may not understand the emotions of the people in love the way adults would if they had experienced love. the end.

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Summary: Draws connections between love, death, struggle and pleasure
Review: A River Sutra is a wonderfully composed story, intertwining the lives of very different charictors. The novel focuses around a inn keeper who lives on the River Narmada and meets travelers as they pass by. Each traveler relates a story to the narrator...some uplifting, some tragic. But each story, no matter how differnt, finds connections to eachother, proving that lives, no matter how different, are connected by the fundamentals of love and truth. A true glimpse into the universiality of the human heart.

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Summary: This book was a keen examination of indian heritage.
Review: This book did a good job of writing about modern themes in relation to ancient mythology. It was well written with vivid imagery and symbolism.