Reviews: (by author)

Weitzman, David. Rama and Sita. Boston: David Godine, 2002. ISBN 1-56792-151-5. $19.95.

Rama is the prince; Sita is his wife. Just as they are about to ascend the throne, a familial plot deposes them and they must wander in exile. True to the heroic tale, they live harmoniously off the land, until Rama succumbs to Sita's wish that he catch for her a lovely deer. He leaves her with his brother Lesmana, a faithful companion but, alas, also easily distracted. While Rama is away, Lesmana and Sita are tricked by the great demon Ravana, who kidnaps Sita. He flies her to his dark kingdom in the South. Rama and Lesmana pursue, on the way earning the aid of the Monkey God Hanuman and his army. Ravana calls in the Giant Kumbakarna. The battle is fierce, but the giant is brought down. Rama finds Ravana and shoots an arrow through his heart. The demon falls. Suddenly Spring comes and the world is at peace. Ten years pass. Rama returns to his homeland, where he and Leswana are honored by the king. He even turns the kingdom over to Rama, and he rules peacefully for 10,000 years.

The Indian epic The Ramayana is known to every Hindu in its entirety; Weitzman abridges the story into a poetic, action-filled saga. He wisely leaves out more upsetting parts, such as the manner of Sita's death, and employs a fictional storyteller to address his words to the young reader or listener, giving the tale the feel of an oral performance.

Weitzman's retelling of the story is accompanied by his own glorious art. He chooses to use Balinese shadow puppets as the characters, and he colors these astonishing puppets as glowingly on his pages as they are colored in real life. From the batik patterned endpapers to the thank you by Weitzman at the end, the book is imbdued with the Balinese aesthetic and each page is brilliantly laid out to emphasis both art and literary action.

A. Allison, June 2006

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