I Am Om

by Veena Damle

Fiction. In Veena Damle's premier novel, I AM OM, one sees a blend of East and West, realism and fairy tale. "The vehicle she has chosen is the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata...As young Manju's... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0942979796
• ISBN13: 9780942979794
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Livingston Press (AL)
• Length: 165 Pages
• Weight: 0.94 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 8.7"

Customer Reviews

Thought-provoking cross-cultural reading

Veena Damle's I Am Om is a novel that mixes East Indian culture with that of the west, and fables with heavy realism. The never-ending struggle of the Hindu epic known as the Mahabharata is a direct analogy to a household in conflict, with a mother wishes to achieve fame while a father struggles with dharma and a grandfather strives to be worthy of final release into samadhi. The household daughter and main heroine measures herself against her personal hero, the Archer Prince. I Am Om is a particularly fascinating work of fiction for its innovative bridge between ways of life and frames of reference, and that makes for intensely enjoyable and thought-provoking cross-cultural reading.

Indian Women on the march!

Readers cannot fail to notice that women from the Indian sub-continent have recently made great strides in the fields of literature(Arundhati Roy,Jhumpa Lahiri etc.),movie-making(Leela Nayar),and even in the struggle against "Corporate-Globalism"(Vandana Shiva)! "I am 0m" is the latest additon. Two tales have been ingeniously woven together in this beautifully written novel.A child hears from her grandfather the struggle between good and evil depicted in the great Hindu epic,"The Mahabarat".Simultaneously she is also a witness to the tragic events unfolding in her own family. Her mother,a beautiful and accomplished doctor, is infatuated with a high-caste "Brahman" who is equally known for his surgical skills as for his reputation with women! This inevitably leads to her ruin and that of her family.In the childs' mind the Epic and the reality become blended into one. The reader is also guided into a higher plane of "Karma","Samadhi",re-birth; all those lofty ideas that makes Indian philosophy so facinating!It is an unusual work and I throughly enjoyed it.Ted Wright.

I Am Om

'I AM OM' is a terrific story. I loved the parallel of myth and reality. The book is definitely worth reading.

Delightful reading pleasure

I rarely read fiction but this gem of a first novel was delightful from beginning to end. It is a gripping story of a Westernized Indian family meltdown and transcending redemption. One reason I avoid novels is the poorly constructed characters that don't hold up. Not this book. The people in this story are so real, plausible, and absorbing that you could almost touch them. And they in turn touched my heart and made me feel right there amidst their confusion and pain. The book starts with a bang and the action and suspense build to such a frenzy it was hard to put the book down. Beautifully crafted description and dialogue make each page a delight to digest. I appreciated the directness of the writing especially in simplifying the essence of complex Hindu literature so any reader can understand the inspiring message. It is hard to believe that this is Veena Damle's first writing effort. I eagerly await her next work.

Delightful reading pleasure

I rarely read fiction but this gem of a first novel was delightful from beginning to end. It is a gripping story of a Westernized Indian family meltdown and transcending redemption. One reason I avoid novels is the poorly constructed characters that don't hold up. Not this book. The people in this story are so real, plausible, and absorbing that you could almost touch them. And they in turn touched my heart and made me feel right there amidst their confusion and pain. The book starts with a bang and the action and suspense build to such a frenzy it was hard to put the book down. Beautifully crafted description and dialogue make each page a delight to digest. I appreciated the directness of the writing especially in simplifying the essence of complex Hindu literature so any reader can understand the message. It is hard to believe that this is Veena Damle's first writing effort. I eagerly await her next work.