Arrow of the Blue-Skinned God: Retracing the Ramayana Through India

Rating:
Summary: A person who obviously enjoyed writing his book
Review: "Arrows" tells a most interesting tale, and I recommend it highly to those interested in a well-told story, a good story of India, or a humorous style. The author journeyed across India, roughly following the journey of Rama (one of humanity's great epic heroes). He gives a brief and thoroughly enjoyable outline of Rama's adventures, and then discusses his own experiences along the way. Blank interviews dozens of Hindus, from TV idols to street sweepers, and he relates their stories with a sense of humor reminiscent of Aubrey Menon, a perceptiveness reminiscent of Tom Wolfe, and a Shakespearian sense of the universality of human experience. His stories range from the comic to the depressing (his description of the intricacies of navigating the Indian postal service was uncannily similar to my own experiences in India thirty years ago -- or with the Department of Motor Vehicles in today's Colorado --, and his impartial and informative discussion of Tamil suicide bombers reminded me that humanist or socialist faith in human nature is almost certainly dead wrong). It's pretty obvious Blank had a lot of fun writing this work, and that he knew the Ramayana pretty well. My only major criticism is that he did not provide footnotes for his work, which makes it hard to document his stories. Keep up the good work, Mr Blank!

Rating:
Summary: A person who obviously enjoyed writing his book
Review: "Arrows" tells a most interesting tale, and I recommend it highly to those interested in a well-told story, a good story of India, or a humorous style. The author journeyed across India, roughly following the journey of Rama (one of humanity's great epic heroes). He gives a brief and thoroughly enjoyable outline of Rama's adventures, and then discusses his own experiences along the way. Blank interviews dozens of Hindus, from TV idols to street sweepers, and he relates their stories with a sense of humor reminiscent of Aubrey Menon, a perceptiveness reminiscent of Tom Wolfe, and a Shakespearian sense of the universality of human experience. His stories range from the comic to the depressing (his description of the intricacies of navigating the Indian postal service was uncannily similar to my own experiences in India thirty years ago -- or with the Department of Motor Vehicles in today's Colorado --, and his impartial and informative discussion of Tamil suicide bombers reminded me that humanist or socialist faith in human nature is almost certainly dead wrong). It's pretty obvious Blank had a lot of fun writing this work, and that he knew the Ramayana pretty well. My only major criticism is that he did not provide footnotes for his work, which makes it hard to document his stories. Keep up the good work, Mr Blank!

Rating:
Summary: refound treasure
Review: A unique travel book that traces the steps of the man-god Rama across India, and gives us a vivid portrait of India today.
Superb combination travel book & mythic retelling. Though we'd read it years ago, images from the book followed us on our recent trip to India that retraced many of the paths of the story. Whether as a pre-trip study, or just arm-chair pleasure, get this book!

Rating:
Summary: refound treasure
Review: A unique travel book that traces the steps of the man-god Rama across India, and gives us a vivid portrait of India today.
Superb combination travel book & mythic retelling. Though we'd read it years ago, images from the book followed us on our recent trip to India that retraced many of the paths of the story. Whether as a pre-trip study, or just arm-chair pleasure, get this book!

Rating:
Summary: refound treasure
Review: A unique travel book that traces the steps of the man-god Rama across India, and gives us a vivid portrait of India today.
Superb combination travel book & mythic retelling. Though we'd read it years ago, images from the book followed us on our recent trip to India that retraced many of the paths of the story. Whether as a pre-trip study, or just arm-chair pleasure, get this book!

Rating:
Summary: an excellent guide to contemporary india through an epic
Review: blank does what few westerners do well: present a balanced portrayal of the distinguished history of a modern-day eastern country. at times, blank glosses over subjects, but broadly-speaking, it is an exceptional analysis of india through the ramayana. an absolute must-read for anyone with an interest in contemporary india

Rating:
Summary: A view of India through the eyes of a young fresh face
Review: I guess this book has been out for some time, but I had not known about it until I stumbled upon it at the bookstore and I am very glad I did. The book is written in a style that is unlike other travel books I have seen or read about India in that it reflects on one of the treasured literary epics in Hindu/Indian culture and mythology--the Ramayana. Each chapter focuses on a single aspect that is explained through the characters in the Ramayana, (caste, kings, swamis, fate...etc..), and each chapter begins with a summarized "Jonah Blank" version of the epic of Rama, Sita, and Hanuman. What I have enjoyed so much about this book is that the point of view that Blank brings is that of a twentysomething who is seeing India from the eyes of a young person who at times is both humorous and skeptical, yet idealistic and hopeful. You can truly tell that Blank, although a young person at the time of the writing, truly has passion and depth of vision about the complexities of India and you yourself get caught up in the majesty and the mysticism of India through his journy and the journey of Rama and Sita.

Rating:
Summary: Ramayana's powerful story makes any book on it five star.
Review: I have not read this book. From other reviews I find that this book is out of print and people are craving to read the same.The story of Ramayana contains the essensce of Vedic ethical code.This has made this epic immortal. I can arrange to provide a narration of Ramayana Story in pictures for a western reader on the CD at nominal price. contact if interested at [e-mail]

Rating:
Summary: Profound insights into Indian history, religion, and culture
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book about India. Jonah Blank has a way of writing that is both intellectually stimulating and enjoyable to read. His ability to elucidate the contribution of one of India's ancient epics (The Ramayana) to modern Indian culture is profound. Each chapter is written in a way that is enjoyable to read and for those people having traveled in India, the experiences and thoughts Blank has will sound eeriely familiar. A great book for anyone contemplating a trip to India or just interested in Indian culture.

Rating:
Summary: the mystery of the blue celestial
Review: im have lived in india for years have family and friends there ,have been back over more than three decades and have read much about this most beloved country but "the arrow of the blue skinned god" has become one of my all time favorites.....i only wish Blank had been more willing to share his own personal insights.dispassionate perspectives are less useful than they used to be and india is certainly not a place that ever engendered neutral responses. thank god for that.