Rantings of an Educated Fool

So yeah…here’s the review…tell me how much it sucks ^_^

Update! Even with my poor grammar (which I was never taught btw!) I got a B+…hollaaaaaaa

Golden Fire: A Novel of Ancient India by Jonathan Fast

Jonathan Fast’s novel, Golden Fire, takes place during the decadent period of the Gupta Empire; his novel weaves a tale of forbidden love, sibling rivalry, endless adventure, and the humanization of royalty all while accurately presenting factual tidbits of information on the ancient people of Patliputra of the time. The novel was constructed from the fragments of a mysterious tale of the ancient king, Rama Gupta, who until recently was only described in an ancient Sanskrit play. Fortunately, Fast is incredibly talented in taking nothing but a seed of information and allowing it to bud into a marvelous tree of wonder. While the novel is an extremely easy read, there are a few instances where jargonistic Sanskrit, shifts in time, and over-developed minor character stories slow the readers progress, but in the end it all helps contribute to the beautiful story that Fast has written for us.

Fast, now an Associate Professor at Yeshiva University in New York City currently dedicates his life to teaching and publishing work on school violence and safety. In his early years following his graduation from Princeton, Columbia, and Yeshiva, Fast spent his days writing works ranging from science fiction to his more recent works of historical reference such as The Jade Stalk and of course, Golden Fire, which is by far his greatest literary success. While Fast’s early science fiction work were purely creations of his imagination, it is evident that Fast was able to meld history (however vague) and fantasy together in order to achieve the wondrous novel, Golden Fire. It is clear that Fast is hardly dedicated to studying the history of ancient India in its entirety, but his effort to compile what little information there is available into a noteworthy novel cannot go without praise. It is important to note that with Fast’s vivid imagination, his choice to study and write a novel on the ancient Gupta Empire is extremely fitting as that time period is widely know for its decadence which could have only been properly recreated by a visionary such as Fast.

As exclaimed in the Afterword of Golden Fire, Fast has intended on writing a novel about Ancient India “as early as 1979”, 9 years before the books publication. It is unclear what Fast had hoped to achieve with the novel, as it seems he simply had an interest in studying a sliver of history that would prove worthy enough to write a compelling novel about. While only this one novel arose from his interest in Ancient India, it would seem that Fast had a fleeting interest in the subject matter. The fact of the matter is that Fast informed the reader in his Afterword that he spent four years researching the time of the Gupta Empire so that his novel, while fiction, would still be as historically accurate as possible. By reading upwards of sixty books on the subject and consulting his professional colleagues on his historical accuracy and proper Sanskrit usage, Fast was able to create a fantasy world that was as historically accurate as possible which made the novel that much more interesting. All historical references are accurate to my knowledge.

The novel, Golden Fire, while a work of fiction, provides an immense amount of relevant information on the Gupta Empire and Ancient Indian culture ranging from the position of women within society, the rigidity of caste, the religious, economic, and political climate of the empire and the perpetuation of Hinduism. Through his story, Fast was able to provide information that gave light into the position of women within society by presenting them as mothers, lovers, fighters, artists, monks, and widows. His presentation gave light to the fact that even though women were seemingly powerless to their destiny (as it was maintained by men), there was possibility for personal growth and enlightenment. In addition, the rigidity of the caste system was developed within the novel, as Fast was able to accurately able to demonstrate the vast differences between a Brahmin and Sudra as well as everything in between. While reinforcing the stability of caste, Fast was also able to provide examples of lateral and vertical movement within the classes, which is something that was entirely possible, albeit, difficult. A prime example of this movement is prevalent throughout the novel, as we see a young Candra living as a Vaishya would, by working as a Silk merchant (helping run his adoptive fathers business) despite that he is told he is the son of a Ksatriya while in all actuality he is a Brahmin and heir to the throne. While Candra was able to ascend the ranks of caste due to his true identity, it is still important to note that this example is referencing the fact that Silk traders had the opportunity (and money) to move upwards in society, despite their labeled caste. In addition to the cultural validity that the novel had, Fast was also able to accurately portray the political climate as a time of kings, imperialism and constant shifts of power from king to king due to natural death or assassination. The economic climate is also properly developed, as Fast portrays Ancient India as an Empire dependent on trade with the East and constant attempts to obtain safe harbors to expand trade. In addition, the religious climate is also appropriately displayed, as the Gupta empire is known for being exclusively Hindu (demonstrated by the lavish festivals, death pyres and Sati, and references to the Hindu gods Siva, Kama, Dharma, Yama, and Rati) but showing acceptance for Buddhist and Jains, which is evident due to both Candra and Samudra Gupta’s temporary adoption of Buddhism. It is evident that Fast was able to glean much information from the books he studied and from his colleagues, as he was accurately able to recreate a model of Patliputra and Ancient India as it might have been during the Gupta period. Fast, with extensive research under his belt, ensures that he is not simply generalizing the facts of Hinduism, the caste system and the overall tone of the Gupta period as is shown by his careful presentation of all these aspects within the novel.

Overall the novel is a large success, as it presents valid information that would often be regarded as dry historical facts, but disguised as an exciting story that is hard to pull yourself away from. While quite lengthy, the novel is an easy read for the most part and keeps your attention for hours on end. One issue that was of concern was the use of Sanskrit within the novel, which only served as an obstacle between this marvelous novel and the reader. While the names of the characters is important, I fail to see the importance of using words such as “yoni” or “lingam” or “kama” (among other Sanskrit words used) as opposed to their English translation within the novel. Yes, these words set the historical time frame and reiterate the cultural setting, but the fact of the matter is that without prior knowledge to what these words mean, one would constantly have to pull away from reading the novel to search for its meaning. I should note that while these words would have lost some aesthetic meaning if replaced with their English translation, it would have nonetheless, made the book an easier read. Another issue that presented itself was the over-development of minor characters such as the Vaidya and Sutanuka. While these characters had some influence on Candra’s life, Sutanuka’s relationship with the Vaidya is of little importance and simply adds more pages to the novel. I do not question Sutanuka’s importance to the young Candra, nor the Vaidya’s importance during Candras education as a monk, but the quest for love and acceptance between the Vaidya and Sutanuka is a side-story that is better fit for a noontime television show rather than a novel. I should mention that while the sub-story of the Vaidya and Sutanuka is not entirely relevant to the overall story of Candra’s and Rama’s battle for the throne, the inclusion of the story gives clues to how passion and lust –especially during the Gupta period – could often take priority over civic duties. The last issue that presented some difficulty were the constant shifts in time towards the end of the novel. All too often a paragraph would end as normal, but the following paragraph would pick up in the future or past without any indication that it would do so. While these random shifts in time were difficult to keep track of, they nonetheless assured that the reader was paying attention, otherwise they become lost in the novel. Aside from these minor issues that are present in the novel, the cons are far outweighed by the pros.

Fast is incredibly talented in the sense that he is able to create a fantasy world within the novels bindings and can transport the reader to a distant world while still allowing the reader to find common ground with his characters. The novel itself a roller-coaster of emotion and managed to bring me to tears, laughter, disgust and anger all while reading. I have never read a novel that could do all of this. The amount of imagination that was necessary to construct this novel is astounding, as Fast himself noted that like his previous novels, he had nothing but a “kernel of information” to base his story off of, which allowed his creativity to fill in the numerous blanks that existed. While this novel is a work of fiction, it is evident that the amount of historical accuracy present is enough to make it both enjoyable and educational. Fast’s dedication to ensuring that all historical references were as accurate as possible while keeping his artistic vision intact is what makes this novel such a success. I highly recommend this novel to all readers with an interest in Ancient India, the Gupta Empire, as well as readers with a taste for a story about love, hate and adventure.