Ka: Stories of the Mind and Gods of India (Vintage International)

I have read "Ka" twice and still not come close to absorbing the wisdom in this very fine book. It is a study and retelling of some of the great Vedic Hindu myths; and the myths come alive in full depth in Roberto Calasso's writing. Shiva and Daksha and Usha and Rohini and Prajapati have never been so subtly understood and explained to the modern reader..A truly great work.

One of the best critics, essayists, philosophers alive today. This is part of a series on religion unlike anything else available. This one is about Hinduism. He's also written on Greece, Baudelaire, art history, Tiepolo, and numerous critical essays on a variety of topics. Superb writer. (This portion of review repeats for other books.) This is a companion volume to Ardor (q.v.), also Hinduism but more in his usual narrative fashion.

Great book for those interested in diving into the mythologies of India. For yoga teachers, yoga students, or anyone interested in mythologies. Calasso's style of writing is engaging and never felt I was trudging through a text book. By the end I wanted to go back and reread from the start. It's set up as individual chapters that are self-contained stories (as opposed to a full novel narrative), and yet the entire book is connected via references of common figures/characters in the mythos.

Makes mythology really come alive. As it should. The stories are gems. His commentary thought provoking. It did take me a while to read it all but well worth it.

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