Reviews: (by author)

Jendresen, Erik and Joshua Greene, retellers. Illustrated by Li Ming. Hanuman. Berkeley: Tricycle Press, 1998. ISBN 1-883672-78-3. $15.95

Based on Valmiki's Ramayana, the beloved Hindu epic, this tale of a cosmic battle between good embodied in Rama, the prince, Sita, the princess, and Hanuman, the monkey god, and evil incarnated in the demon king Ravana is known to every Indian child and too little known in the West. The great epic is the kind of cultural bond that includes children and adults, as, for example, stories from Greek myth and the Bible used to be. In this rendition, the retellers have selected the kidnapping of Sita to Sri Lanka, the island ruled by Ravana. The great heroes Rama and Hanuman rescue her, of course, but the battle is fierce and the sacrifices enormous. When Rama and Sita, the Hindu exemplars of lasting love and devotion, are reunited, the entire universe rejoices.

The story is told by Hanuman and closes with a reference to the timelessness of the great tales: Hanuman, he says of himself, is still telling the story. The art by Li Ming is outstanding, memorable, and elevates the story so well retold even more with its vivid scenes and beautiful perspectives-as on the final double-truck page.

This is as magnificent an adventure as any better known in the West and Tricycle has produced a beautiful and valuable book.

A. Allison

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