Essays

Muna Madan : Book Review

Disclaimer: I am NOT used to writing book reviews. This is most probably the third time in my life I'm writing one. So, I apologize for any inconvenience that this causes, and especially if this book review doesn't follow the format of one.

Title of the book: Muna Madan
Author:Laxmi Prasad Devkota
Publisher:
Characters: Muna, Madan, Bhote, Madan's mother, Madan's friends, etc. 
Genre:Fiction
Published on:

'Muna Madan' is a short narrative poetry written by the famous Nepali poet Laxmi Prasad Devkota. It is a tragic love story of Muna and Madan, who act as the protagonists of the book. Madan, in this story is a young man who is ready to set foot onto a foreign land to earn a better livelihood for his family. Muna is his wife who wants to stop him from leaving to a foreign land, but later consents to his wishes. The rest of the book is about their struggle as Muna tries to adjust to a life without her beloved Madan and Madan tries to make a livelihood in Lhasa and return home safely to the awaiting arms of his mother and his wife. There are no antagonists in the book in the usual sense. However, although the book doesn't explicitly state so, it is clear that social problems and the poor mindset of the people in the society act as the antagonists of the story.

The book beautifully represents many of the horrible aspects of the society. In the story, Madan plays the role of all the youths in the society, the ones who think that foreign is the only place where they can earn the life that they desire; the ones who believe that the only way to feed their family is by setting foot on an unfamiliar land; the ones who dream of bringing back boxes of gold to their motherland, only to return in a box themselves and the unfortunate ones who return, only to find everyone whom they loved, gone, never to return. Muna, on the other hand, plays the role of all mothers, wives and sisters who unwittingly bid goodbyes to their loved ones
with eyes filled with tears and hands yearning for another hug, unsure of the return of their loved ones. This book also brings forth the shameful tendency of men to prey on young, naive and single women who are not under the protection of men and the discrimination that still prevails in the Nepalese society, both of which are respectively represented by the men asking for Muna's hand in marriage despite being aware of her marital status and a quote that mentions the Bhote,a so-called lower caste person.

'Muna Madan' is a book suitable for people of any age group. It's simple language makes the book easy to read as long as the reader is able to read and understand Nepali language. The book clearly and beautifully communicates the feelings of the characters to the readers. The author manages to weave every little detail in the book, without it seeming heavy and unrealistic. The description of every scenery and every feeling is so real that one cannot help but feel as if they were Muna and Madan themselves, shivering in the coldness of the snow or feeling the pain of losing a loved one. An avid reader or an aspiring writer would easily identify this book as a masterpiece—— one which is capable of playing with the hearts of the readers, enthralling them, and making them fall in love with the characters—— and a great example of a popular writing advice, 'show, don't tell'.

Aside from great writing and even better storytelling, 'Muna Madan' also features some thought-provoking quotes, which arise under various circumstances and give some valuable life lessons.

"Wealth is but dirt one's hands, it doesn't serve any purpose for us. Isn't it better to be content eating what we get in our household, rather than go in search of such wealth?"

"Truly, a man's heart is made of stone."

"A man is held great in accordance to his heart (actions), and not his caste."

The first quote enlightens the readers of the youths' search for wealth, leaving behind their happiness to gain something that is momentary, like the dirt on our hands. It makes the reader wonder if riches are truly worth losing everyone in life. The second one establishes the selfish and heartless behavior of the humankind, especially towards those in dire need of their help and the third one directly stabs the discrimination the so-called lower caste people of Nepal face, proving that truly, a person's caste matters not if he has a great heart and an honest desire to help others.

As an avid reader myself, I would highly recommend 'Muna Madan' to anyone who is yet to read it. It is a good example of a great work of literature that can make even the one who loathes reading, fall in love with it. The book is a unique piece of writing, one without any cliché plot or characters and with a lot of social messages,yet one which is able to prove itself timeless. The best part of the book certainly lies within the fact that it is able to impart such heavy messages in a love story without disturbing the flow of the story, which could've definitely made it boring had it gone wrong. All in all, this book is definitely worth a read.