Rama: A Legend

by Jamake Highwater, Vālmīki, Kelli Glancey (Illustrator)

In a story based on the great Indian and Southeast Asian epic, the Ramayana, Prince Rama falls in love with Sita, a beautiful nature goddess, but when a jealous queen forces him from his throne, Rama, Sita, and his brother Laksmana must battle the evil King Ravana.

Genres: Fiction

226 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1994

About the author

Jamake Highwater, born as Jackie Marks, and also known as Jay or J Marks (14 February 1931–June 3, 2001), was an American writer and journalist of eastern European Jewish ancestry.[1] From the late 1960s he claimed to be of Native American ancestry, specifically Cherokee. In that period, he published extensively under the name of Jamake Highwater. One version of his shifting story was that he had been adopted as a child and taken from his Indian home in Montana to grow up in a Greek or Armenian family in Los Angeles, California.

Reviews

[Althea Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

The lengthy Hindu epic of the Ramayana doesn't necessarily lend itself to being condensed into a short novel told in the language of traditional Western fairy tales - but this is what Highwater attempts in this volume.
Overall, the result isn't bad. I would say this book wouldn't be essential for those who are already very familiar with Indian and Balinese mythology, but for those who aren't that familiar with it (like me!) this is a quick and enjoyable read, serving as a basic introduction to the story.

[Bernie4444 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Corruption of the Ramayana.

Reading this story is slightly better than not knowing about Rama at all. If you want to start somewhere, try the "Ramayana" by William Buck's version.

The Jamake Highwater version or twist of the original story by Valmiki has been so Americanized and kibitzed, that the original purpose of the story is completely lost. Ravenna does not even have the redeeming value of Darth Vader. The only Dharma is more like Dharma Greg. The good guys wear white, and the bad guys wear black. The good guys win and the bad guys die a horrible death.

[Subin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The version of Ramayan told in this book is different in several ways than the version I was familiar with. My knowledge of Ramayan is through the Indian TV series from the 1980s that I believe is the north Indian version of Ramayan while the story in this book is Bali's version of Ramayan. So there were surprises in the story that kept me entertained.

[HadiDee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kudos for trying to make the story more accessible