ASOCA: A Sutra

by Irwin Allan Sealy

Asoca-often spelled Ashoka-was hailed as Ashoka the Great, the emperor who ruled most of the Indian Subcontinent and was pivotal in the spread of Buddhism from India to other parts of Asia in the third century BC. But his life as emperor was not always led by non-violence. History has it that he masterminded one of the biggest and deadliest wars ever fought, and it was the insurmountable grief he experienced at the sight of the people dying and dead on the battleground that made him turn to Buddhism and take a vow of ahimsa. Who was the man, and who was the king? What were his demons, and what gave him strength? This historical novel, drawn from research and portrayed with energy and complexity, transports the reader to the era of the Mauryan dynasty with atmospheric vividness and insight. Epic in scope and Shakespearean in drama, A Sutra leaves the reader breathless with the full-bodied richness of Sealy's prose, his trademark whimsy and his imaginative modern reconstruction of that enigmatic and brilliant ruler of the Indian subcontinent.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, India, Indian Literature

440 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 12, 2021

About the author

One of India's post-Independence writers, Allan Sealy was born in 1951 in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. After schooling in Lucknow, he attended Delhi University, then studied and worked in the United States, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Now he spends much of his time in Dehra Dun. His eye for place and his evocative descriptions are apparent in all his novels and in his travelogue, From Yukon to Yukatan. Sealy's first novel, The Trotter-Nama: A Chronicle, is a tale of seven generations of an Anglo-Indian family. His more recent novel, The Everest Hotel: A Calendar, gained him an international following after being short-listed for the Booker Prize in 1998.

According to Alex Tickell of the University of York, Allan Sealy has introduced "a memorable cast of characters in The Everest Hotel [and] his talents are equally evident in the luminous descriptive passages in the text, and in his feel for the lighter brushwork of natural detail, and shades of color and texture."

Allan Sealy has won a number of awards for his writing including the Commonwealth Best Book Award in 1989, Sahitya Akademi Award in 1991 and the Crossword Book Award in 1998.

The Library of Congress has four works by him.

Reviews

[David - marigold_bookshelf · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had looked forward to Asoca since reading many favourable reviews on Instagram, and especially after it was longlisted for the 2021 JCB Prize and won the Tata Live Book of the Year Award. I was disappointed, therefore, to not find it as engaging as I had hoped for.

It is a historical novel written in the form of an autobiography by Ashoka, the Emperor who spread Buddhism throughout India and beyond during the 3rd century BC. Few facts are known about him other than the inscriptions of his Edicts on stone pillars and rocks. Descriptions that actually cover his life were not written down until several centuries after his death. The author must have faced very few restrictions, but few references to build the story around.

Interestingly, the Ashoka that Irwin Allan Sealy presents us with is a flawed, tormented and self-doubting human being, certainly not the hero I had expected to encounter. We follow his life from a young prince playing around the royal palace in Pataliputra, to his appointment as a local governor as a young adult, and then his victory over his siblings to become coronated Emperor after the death of his father Bindusara. After a bloody military campaign against the Kalinga region in the South of India, which will forever haunt him, he seeks to promote peace through adopting and promoting Buddhism throughout his Empire and to Sri Lanka and beyond.

Perhaps because the scope of the book is so great, and limited by the first-person narrative, I felt it didn’t really convey a feel for what daily life was like for the subjects of Ashoka, or even provide any depth to the characters around him. The prose seemed to be a strange imagined historical narration, mixed with modern day speech (eg: “Desi soil”!), which I found annoying and hard to enjoy.

[Book_withquotes · Rating 4 out of 5]

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In the annals of history, Asoca, or Ashoka the Great, stands as an indelible figure—a ruler whose influence spanned the vast expanse of the Indian Subcontinent and whose transformative journey mirrored the tumultuous currents of the third century BC. Though hailed for spreading Buddhism and championing non-violence, Asoca’s imperial reign bore witness to the orchestration of one of history’s greatest and deadliest wars. This enigmatic emperor, draped in the complex tapestry of ambition and remorse, comes to life in a historical novel that delves beyond the pages of textbooks. Through meticulous research and vibrant storytelling, the narrative breathes life into the era of the Mauryan dynasty, capturing the essence of Asoca’s demons, his moments of strength, and the profound transformation that led him to embrace Buddhism and the vow of ahimsa.

This book unfolds as an epic journey through time, offering readers an immersive experience into the atmosphere of a bygone era and the enigmatic brilliance of Asoca, the ruler who left an indelible mark on the Indians. The biggest factor that turns this book into an extraordinary one is the language. I felt like I was looking at a fine piece of jewelry, where all the jewels of language fit the sentences beautifully, making the piece a masterpiece.

The only thing that was lacking for me was a single POV, I would have loved the book more if it was written in multiple POVs. However, the portrayal of Ashoka was amazing, the other characters who play an important role in his life are explained beautifully too. This shows how much research the author went through to connect all of these mesmerizing characters to the readers. I was transported to the Mauryan dynasty, and this book satisfied the history geek in me. I will look into the other works by the author, as I am highly impressed by his work. Go for this book if you love history and want to learn more about Ashoka the Great!

[Parvathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A first person fictional narrative on, arguably, one of the greatest Indian kings. The 3rd century BC history is murky, and most of what we know of Ashoka comes from legends, and his own edicts on stone pillars. But Sealy paints an intimate portrait of the man and the subcontinent in the age of the Mauryas - and he does this through a very contemporary lens. The story is well known, and while Sealy rarely departs from its broad strokes, he creates some finely etched characters, not all of them real. His feisty, wise daughter, a beloved first-love who chooses religion over life in a palace, a worldly-wise brother-in-law, a cynical Chola bureaucrat, a monk who turns jailer…the list is long and interesting. Asoca himself is a lovely portrayal, moving from worldly and ambitious, ever mindful of Kautilya’s (Uncle K, he calls him) precepts, to slowly becoming conscious of and absorbed into the Buddha’s teachings. Sealy chooses to end Asoka’s life in Burma, preaching the Dhamma as he travels through the kingdom he built, being able to finally say “As a boy playing the conquering general, I held such a pass against the Greeks. By another I took China. Now my troops are these monks. They will conquer men’s minds.” Ashoka’s is a beloved story we learnt as children. Sealy manages to tell his Asoca story and make it his own. Quite loved it.

[Sachin Chiramel · Rating 2 out of 5]

TL;DR: unless you're a big fan of Mauryan / Asoka history, skip this review and also the book.

Note: this review is ideally for Penguin / Viking who badly edited this book and / or the author who badly wrote it. Mostly I was frustrated and had a lot of time on my hands. I mean this is Goodreads, I'm aware no one is reading this.

I love most historical fiction, especially anything about Asoka. I've even read half of that 'tiresome novel by a Dutchman' paraphrasing Sealy whom I agree with in this case.

But there were too many moments in Sealy's novel where I got annoyed by his superfluous words, confusing phrasing and or just bad editing. Here are a few examples of each.

Superfluous:

1) Calling a clasp a 'tiny stupa'; seems like he's doing some obvious foreshadowing of Asoka's conversion to Buddhism

2) 'You need a decent mount, gymnosophist!' Was there really a need for this word here other than to display knowledge of its meaning and existence? Or was it some sort of shitty contrast to the use of sophist later?

Confusing phrasing:

1) 'Udays found a new resemblance'. Is an allusion to 'crocodile tears' a 'resemblqance' to a croc like Asoka's rough skin is? Wasted 3 seconds of my life trying to figure what this new resemblance was

2) 'It was not contempt. It was scorn' - eh? In this context, whats the difference? The next sentence says 'he never railed at me again' and 'I took it as a sign'. Wtf is going on? Where is the scorn?!

Bad editing:

1) pg 87 - Asoca is interested in the honey girl. But then his hitherto unnamed batman gets the girl. And then the chapter ends with the erstwhile husband / charioteer boasting about 'how he once shared a mistress with emperor of India.' Plus a whole para on his fear of being assassinated by the charioteer.

So here's what I think happened: Sealy initially had decided to have Asoca get the girl. But changed his mind later at the same time that he decides to beef up the part of the batman (unnamed so far) by making him Waru. Or making Waru his batman.

2) ref pt 1 - no mention of Waru after the drumming incident and then suddenly he's Asoca's batman and he got the honey lady.

3) Is it Pataliputra or Pataliputta? I think it should be spelt one way for consistency, plus it's the capital of the largest Indian empire in history (fine, barring the Brits) - the subject of the novel.


Finally I think it's important to note that I've only read till chapter 20 (of 77 - they're small chapters) and I missed a few examples especially in the superfluous words category. Personally I love looking up new words I've never seen before (Carfax is a town / intersection of four roads, cool!) but while I'll probably learn 7-8 new words in a Rushdie novel, its never contrived and you're mostly marveling at his creativity. Anyway, I think I'm done. Back to reading. My intense desire to absorb all things Asoka will see me through this. Or maybe it really picks up in chapter 21

Update: Sealy went to Stephens! All is forgiven!

[Manvi Narang · Rating 3 out of 5]

"In the all-comprehending dark, you still are."

The structural hallmarks of Allan Sealy's writing—his ferocious yet warming prose, his revealing narratives and the adroitness in his every word, all make an appearance in his new novel, Asoca: A Sutra.

Irwin Allan Seally brings to life the elusive story of one of the most talked about king in the history, but his different sides are still an enigma to us.
Asoca, a new historical fiction entry to the list of eloquent literatary works explores the side of the Mauryan King Ashoka, that one is neither taught about in history books nor in the stories you hear from your grandparents.
Seally has laid down a finely molded story of the life of Ashoka, not only about his role in the Kalinga War but also about his indispensable part in the spread of Buddhism and also his humane side that is mostly overshadowed by the former 2 stories but Seally has made sure to present the shadowed narrative with such grace and strength that is utterly impossible to ignore. You see someone that you put on a pedestal come down to the level you relate to. You see their ideals and experience their challenges and grief along with the power they wield. Writing the story with a first-person narrative has to probably be the best decision for this book. The way 'the closet archaeologist' has explored the life of the Mauryan King, both on the surface level and deep beneath it, is clearly visible in the self-introspections of the King. Asoca is a tale that will make you see it all. All at once. As the author said- "this is a story spun out in one long yarn," Asoca will keep you intertwined in it's own profound ways.

[Ingrid · Rating 5 out of 5]

This sweeping first person narrative of Ashoka, one of the greatest and most complex emperors in Indian history, is gripping and lyrical. From boyhood, through rewriting the rules of rulership, and his Damascus moment which led him to adopt, champion and spread Buddhism through Asia, Irwin Allan Sealy brilliantly captures the human, personal point of view, struggles and joys of one of history’s more remarkable individuals.

[Navraj · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great writing, and one of the best authors of English writing from India that I have come across. Why isn't he more popular in the subcontinent and diaspora? Great piece of historical fiction; thought provoking, character development, and story are captivating.

[Shrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good work of historical fiction about an emperor who has captured imaginations in a way few others have in history. Like H.G. Wells wrote - Ashoka shines and shines brightly like a bright star, even unto this day.

I've always had an idealized view of Ashoka as an emperor who ruled through the force of moral authority and ethics rather than arms, even though I know reality would have been far messier. This is the reason part of me found the book hard to read - Sealy's work wrenches Ashoka down from the pedestal and tries to imagine how he would have become the man who tried to spread dhamma throughout his empire. It paints a wonderful picture of a flawed individual, with a healthy dose of self-doubt, always striving for something better and shows his struggle to reconcile his ideals with the pitiless reality of running an empire.

On a side-note, Uncle K's portrayal matched my imagination - cantankerous, imperious, impatient, ruthless and utterly devoted to the Mauryan state. It was fun to see this view of that remarkable individual being expressed in the book.

This is the time I've read one of Sealy's books and I really enjoyed his writing style and his imagination of these historical events. Definitely worth reading.