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Title: Seasons of Splendour: Tales, Myths & Legends of India by Madhur Jaffrey, Michael Foreman, Tonie Holt, Valmai Holt ISBN: 1-85793-364-8 Publisher: Pavilion Pub. Date: March, 1995 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $19.95

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Average Customer Rating: 4.6 (5 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: I had tucked this one away in memory...
Comment: I read this book over and over as a child. The stories always stayed with me, but the book is long gone. One day, while browsing through cookbooks, I found one by Madhur Jaffrey and couldn't remember why her name sounded so familiar. So I got onto Amazon and realized that she was the author of this fantastic book.
I highly recommend it. The stories, while simplified greatly for the young audience, give the reader a magical entry into Indian myth. The illustrations are beautiful as well.

Many years later, this book is still a point of reference for me. Give it to your children, friends, and family.

Rating: 3
Summary: For children --- and children alone please !
Comment: The reading age for this book on the description page has been put in the range 9-12 years.Actually,6-9 would be a more apt range.While it is true that this book would be thoroughly enjoyed by children in that age group (to which the excellent illustration would have a lot of contribution),and also that it might be a book good for bedtime reading by parents to children ---it is certainly not meant for an adult audience.I decided to buy it for a non-Indian friend interested in Indian mythology.It certainly proved to be a big disappointment.For serious first-time adult readers of Indian mythology & legends, I would suggest the following : 'Ka:Stories of the Minds & Gods of India' by Roberto Calasso & Tim Parks, and 'Folktales of India :A Selection of Oral Tales from 22 Languages' by A.K.Ramanujan.When one reads translations of any mythology meant for an adult audience (Greek mythology,for example) what marks a good translation from the bad is whether the language has a cadence particular to the rendition of mythology,whichever part of the world it might be from.Also, a book of Indian legends read by adults should not be as supercondensed as this one, as to lose all sense of detail. So if you are looking for an adult perspective on Indian mythology or legends,please don't try this book--you will be getting a very trivialised picture of Indian mythology.Indian culture would suffer by comparision if you took this book to be the yardstick for its narration. However,it should be kept in mind that this book is indeed a good buy for children in the age group 6-9, & the site actually does a good job of officially recommending it for a readership almost similar to that.

Rating: 5
Summary: A delightful book for both children and adults!
Comment: I admit it, I didn't read this book to a child...it was for me. The stories are enchanting, well-written and beautifully illustrated. Hindu mythology is very complex, but in this book the stories are clearly told. I especially liked the "personal touch" where the author has sprinkled in her own experiences and what the stories mean to her. The joint family system she grew up in was nostalgic for me (I also grew up in such a family) and would help explain this lifestyle to those unfamiliar with it. To sum up: a fascinating collection of stories and the pictures are pure eye-candy. I highly recommend this book.