Storybook Favorites

In this post I will be covering some of my favorite Indian Epics Storybooks.

Book 1: The Karma Times by Sehrish Noorali

Used on the first page of The Karma Times by Sehrish Noorali (original sight for this picture appears to be dead) 

I thought this was an interesting spin on the view many people traditionally take on the idea of Karma. It gave what in my mind was just a spiritual guideline more human characteristics. The idea that Karma was a being who could find satisfaction in his work made the real world examples of Karma I have seen much more satisfying. I think the weakest point of this story is the page design, the pictures are never included until the bottom of each page, making it hard to draw in some readers.

Book 2: Revealing Illusions of Maya by Morgan Fortner 

I was immediately drawn into this story by its creative use of an optical illusion on the front page. Fortner has styled this story as a season of a TV show, called Disillusionment hosted by Maya. Again, I liked how this story put an interesting twist on something that I had always thought was an idea, by giving it human characteristics and motivations that extended beyond just good or evil. I also thought the formatting was excellent, with the author going so far as to find pictures of actors portraying her characters, which made the show feel that much more real.  

Book 3: A Search for the Truth by Kevin Davis 

I choose to read this story because I really enjoy a good mystery, and the title intrigued me. The story involves a man who had grown up hearing tales of Gods interfering in human affairs, and going to find these Gods for himself after his parents were murdered. I liked how this story followed the classic hero arc, with the main character Vikrama reaching a low point in his life before ultimately finding the satisfaction he was looking for. Davis also did an excellent job creating personalities for the Gods that Vikrama meets, each one was distinct and accurate to their characters in classic texts.