The Palace of Illusions: A Novel

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Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, Feb 10, 2009 - Fiction - 384 pages

Taking us back to a time that is half history, half myth and wholly magical, bestselling author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni gives voice to Panchaali, the fire-born heroine of the Mahabharata, as she weaves a vibrant retelling of an ancient epic saga.

Married to five royal husbands who have been cheated out of their father's kingdom, Panchaali aids their quest to reclaim their birthright, remaining at their side through years of exile and a terrible civil war. But she cannot deny her complicated friendship with the enigmatic Krishna—or her secret attraction to the mysterious man who is her husbands' most dangerous enemy—as she is caught up in the ever-manipulating hands of fate.

 

Selected pages

Contents

Section 1
1
Section 2
8
Section 3
13
Section 4
22
Section 5
34
Section 6
44
Section 7
53
Section 8
60
Section 23
168
Section 24
180
Section 25
188
Section 26
197
Section 27
205
Section 28
211
Section 29
216
Section 30
223

Section 9
67
Section 10
75
Section 11
80
Section 12
90
Section 13
98
Section 14
105
Section 15
112
Section 16
116
Section 17
123
Section 18
131
Section 19
141
Section 20
151
Section 21
155
Section 22
160
Section 31
234
Section 32
245
Section 33
259
Section 34
268
Section 35
283
Section 36
293
Section 37
299
Section 38
310
Section 39
319
Section 40
326
Section 41
335
Section 42
341
Section 43
350
Copyright

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About the author (2009)

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is the author of the novels Queen of Dreams, The Mistress of Spices, Sister of My Heart, Before We Visit the Goddess, One Amazing Thing, Oleander Girl, and The Vine of Desire, and of the prizewinning story collections Arranged Marriage and The Unknown Errors of Our Lives. She lives in Houston, Texas, and teaches creative writing at the University of Houston.

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