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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Reincarnated love, October 1, 2001
This review is from: Ashes for the Elephant God (Paperback)
In France, Seventeen year old Jean-Francois died of AIDS. His last wish was for his sister, Fabienne Beranger, to take his ashes to India and scatter them over the Narmada River. Once done, Fabienne found she wanted to stay awhile. There, she learned that she had been reincarnated. Back in 1849, she had been known as Lakshmi. She had been a commoner. (Her fiancé had been Mukunda.) Lakshmi had been murdered, trampled under an elephant, by a Kali worshiper. Princess Korana had wanted Mukunda in her bed. When told of Lakshmi's death, Mukunda directed his anger at the princess, knowing she had somehow been responsible. He died, never seeing his beloved again. Mukunda was reincarnated as an American. He was called "Sahib" by all, but had the honor of being renamed by a swami named Baba. He was renamed, amazingly, Mukunda. He was the chief engineer of the dam project in India. The project had about ten more months of work to be completed. He met Kora, who worked in the beauty shop. She had an Australian accent in today's world. (But you guessed it, she was the Princess Korana from the past!) She, again, wanted Mukunda as her own. Once again, Mukunda and Fabienne were reunited in love. Yet, once again, Kora would try to tear them apart! * Author, Vijaya Schartz, succeeded in making Princess Korana the type of villain that everyone loves to hate! That alone shows major talent! The story was slow to start off, but once done (and it did not take too long) I was hooked! The book blended the past and present so well that, while reading, I was not sure which time intrigued me more, 1849 or present date. In fact, I'm still not sure! The characters were well developed. By the ending, I even saw Kora in a different light. An extremely satisfying read! *
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A striking and highly recommended metaphysical novel., April 6, 2000
This review is from: Ashes for the Elephant God (Paperback)
To scatter her brother's ashes over the Narmada River, Fabienne leaves France for the fabled India of her childhood dreams. Soon, as she awakens to a newfound spirituality, unexpected visions of a former life during the Raj stir ancient yearnings for a long lost passion. Mukunda, the palace architect Fabienne loved in another life a century and a half earlier, lives again as an American engineer and works on the local dam project. But, in this karmic land of the blue gods, the Kali worshiper who murdered the two lovers in a faraway past also awaits. Ashes For The Elephant God is a striking and highly recommended metaphysical novel about love, reincarnation, spiritual awakenings, suspense -- all set against the twin backdrops of modern and ancient India.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Exotic and Thrilling Romance Adventure, May 2, 2011
Anyone could pick up this book and understand even its highest concepts because the author so clearly (and entertainingly) explains how it all works.
The basic premise is that in the 1800's, four souls -- beautiful, poor Lakshmi/Fabienne, handsome Mukunda, depraved Shankarananda, and evil princess Korana -- entered into deadly conflict, which is told in highly sensory flashbacks that come to the modern-day characters in dreams or visions. Thrown back together in India from all the corners of the globe, the modern characters learn about their past lives together in tantalizing bits and pieces while they try to understand their destiny in this life.
Although I can tell when reading this book that English is not Schartz's first language (she was born in France and took on her first name while living in India), the language was perfect because the book is told from the perspective of the French main character and is filled with the Indian English of the many people she meets. Truly, reading this story is like voyaging across the world with the characters.
SPOILER ALERT
This book is inherently optimistic, and the final message is that even if it didn't go so well in the last life, this time around, you have a chance to make good, and improve your karma, and even... be happy! It's an important message, even for people who don't believe in reincarnation, because it implies that it's never too late. It's never too late to change your behavior in the world, it's never too late to start again, and it's never too late to be happy and/or help others to find their happiness. Schartz's characters get to live out their happiness in all its glory at the end of the book. It's a dose of bliss in what can be a dreary world.
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