“A giddy invasion of stories–brilliant, enigmatic, troubling, outrageous, erotic, beautiful.” –The New York Times Book Review
“So brilliant that you can’t look at it anymore–and you can’t look at anything else. . . . No one will read it without reward.”
–The Boston Globe
With the same narrative fecundity and imaginative sympathy he brought to his acclaimed retelling of the Greek myths, Roberto Calasso plunges Western readers into the mind of an… More >>
Ka: Stories of the Mind and Gods of India
The ocean of Indian legends, tales and mythology is so vast that no body can cover its significant part in one book. In this book author has used his imagination to weave some of the stories around prjapati. Book is good from literary point of view but a waste of time from it’s content perspective; in particular, if reader has some knowledge of Indian myths, tales, legends or culture.
Rating: 1 / 5
This book is invaluable to those who understand the meaning of this statement “everything orginates and dissolves in the mind”. But even though people may read this a thousand times, they may not get the “gesture” of thought the statement is attempting to describe. If by the word “understand” we mean the thought Gesture “to know”, then noone knows Ka…least of all calasso. The understanding is precisely this~the thought gesture of “understanding” Ka and the thought Gesture of “being totally ignorant” of Ka, dissolve in Ka. What frequency of glimpse did calasso get from his writings? Did he realize that yajnavalkya was admiring gardis personality (her robe) which she had meticulouly weaved with her thoughts? Did he understand that the sabha was a physical image of the mind..with it’s 100 doors and 1000 columns? Or did he just churn out literature for his affinity towards literature? (yet doors within doors in that sabha)whatever may be the case, this is rare work, and worthy of your thoughts’ (Ka?) attention.
Rating: 5 / 5
Roberto Calasso’s “Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony” is a masterful re-reading of the Greek myths. It completely outstrips Edith Hamilton, and challenges Joseph Campbell’s position of superiority as a mythologist – at least as far as the Greeks are concerned. With “Ka: Stories of the Mind and Gods of India,” a retelling of the Hindu myths, Mr. Calasso falls short of “…Cadmus and Harmony.” The book is quite interesting both in style and content, but it’s in style that Mr. Calasso fails. First to content: Hindu mythology provides a wonderful field for the imagination because it seems to exist in thought, that is to say, in the mind. This book even tells us in its title that that is where we’re going to be dwelling. Events occur on earth, but are not really earth bound. Ka, the first character in this mythology is the first thought, and all else exists in this thought – or in the thoughts of the thought. Perhaps, ad infinitum. Yes, Lord Krisna, the beautiful prankster and lover has a family, a sexuality, and an affect on humanity; but, his life is more in the cosmic imagination than the created world. The same is true of the other characters, except for the author’s foray into the life of the Buddha. It’s here, with the Buddha’s challenge to Hinduism that the preceeding pages are brought together because we are finally brought to earth. Interestingly enough, the Buddha subdues “mind,” and if it is true that the Hindu creation exists only in the “mind,” or thought, then the Buddha has also subdued an entire cosmology. Mr. Calasso believes the Buddha’s challenge was to the notion of sacrifice, I think, by Mr. Calasso’s telling, the challenge was more radical. Regardless of the character’s lack of solid form, the stories are compelling. Creation, the balance of life, its destruction, and the cycle’s foreigness to Western thought could only be dull in the telling of a dolt. Mr. Calasso is not a dolt. But, he may be too clever. Which brings us to style: Mr. Calasso can tell a story, but in “Ka” he falls in love with stylization. This is a minor flaw in “…Cadmus and Harmony,” in “Ka” it is a major distraction. It’s also an interesting dilemna because it appears that Mr. Calasso has attempted to re-imagine the book as mind itself. Reading becomes telepathy – which in a sense, it always has been. When we read, we are reading the author’s mind. Here we are reading the author’s mind read the mind of Ka, which is the mind of all creation, and Mr. Calasso’s skill as a stylist isn’t great enough to keep things from running amuck. However, his attempt is valiant, and it shouldn’t keep you from giving this book a try, and from keeping it on your shelf for a re-read – or two.
Rating: 4 / 5
This book is truly exquisite. Beautifully written, it is a wonderful exploration through the ideas and beliefs of Hindu mythology and correlates to ancient Hindi texts. But more than that it is an exploration of humanity and our need for religion and rituals. A must read for anyone who wants to learn about Hindi Mythology and for anyone interested in learning, exploring and thinking about the nature of our need for myths and ritual.
Rating: 5 / 5
Having enjoyed “The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony”, and wanting to learn something about Hindu mythology, I was really excited to get my copy of “KA”. Unfortunately, I still don’t know much about Hindu Mythology. “KA” is difficult. Perhaps if I’d started with some knowledge of the subject (as was the case for the Greek myths of “Marriage…”) I would have been able to get something out of the book – but it’s certainly not appropriate for absolute beginners in Hindu mythology. I read about half of it, and absorbed nothing.
Rating: 2 / 5