I haven't reviewed books since the seventh grade, when we had to pick a book we'd read and comment on it. I believe I chose "Wuthering Heights" and called it "boring," whereupon my teacher advised, "Next time, don't take potshots at the classics." Perhaps that feedback permanently killed my career as a critic, because although I've given blurbs to a few novels I've loved, I've never agreed to review one. (For one thing, being a novelist myself, I'd hate to have to keep looking over my shoulder, waiting to be stabbed in print by someone I'd dissed - right now, I only have to worry about the ghost of Emily Brontë - whose book I really must read again.) I'm not going to deviate from my policy here, but I will comment on "The Hindus - An Alternative History" - a 700 + page book by Wendy Doniger that I've just finished.
First of all, I'd forgotten how long it takes me to read 700 pages (Doniger apologizes that she intended it to be a brief survey, but the book "got the bit between its teeth and ran away" from her). It took me over two months, simply because the book is so dense and compelling that it's hard to skip over anything. (NOTE TO SELF: Never write a novel over 300 pages again.) The material is not tedious academic-type stuff, but well-written, witty exposition crackling with energy. It's obviously not for everyone, but if you enjoy mythology and are interested in Hinduism, this is the book to read.
I can't imagine too many people who'd agree with everything Doniger says. (Being born a Hindu myself, some of the introductory material made me feel like a specimen she had fixed on a slide and was about to examine through a microscope.) Although the book is backed by decades of research, the very title says it all - this is an "alternative history." TRANSLATION (and WARNING!): the author is quite opinionated about everything, and uses all her considerable skills in interpetation and analysis to further her points (not to mention her vast knowledge of Hindu mythology, which she constantly mines to create supporting examples). One of her central theses is that the voices of both women and lower castes, which one might suppose were automatically excluded, have in reality found their way into the evolution of Hinduism. The larger goal that she tackles - a formidable undertaking - is to show how Indian history has shaped Hinduism. It's quite fascinating to watch her corelate the Vedas or the Upanishads or the Epics with what was going on at that time in India, politically and socially speaking.
If this were a review, I'd now carp about a few things to show how clever I was - find some inaccuracies or omissions or misinterpretations (please refer to online reviews of the book for these, including some of the controversy it's caused). But in keeping with the rating system I developed in the seventh grade, I'm simply going to end here, and say the book is the opposite of "boring." That means entertaining, interesting, exhilarating and even, for some, upsetting and infuriating. Well worth reading!