Critics’ Comments on Arrow of the Blue-Skinned God

“A travel book unlike any other-- a vivid retelling of the great epic, interwoven with a lively and sympathetic account of the author’s encounters across the subcontinent.”

Shashi Tharoor, India Today

“What Hollywood attempted on the big screen with casts of thousands in ‘Gandhi’ and ‘A Passage to India’ Jonah Blank has achieved in 350 stylistically rich pages. The splendors of India past and present are mirrored in the author’s exquisitely detailed observations.”

The Los Angeles Times

“Blank has proven himself worthy of keeping company with the likes of Naipaul. Arrow of the Blue-Skinned God is quite possibly the most perceptive book that I have come across on India since the British Raj ended 45 years ago. Jonah Blank’s extraordinary book is timely, and I dare say, invaluable. Arrow of the Blue-Skinned God is simply splendid.”

The Washington Post

“This informative and entertaining book is something to be thankful for.”

The New York Times

“Blank writes beautifully and taps into India’s elusive, indestructible soul with a clarity few writers attain.”

Publishers’ Weekly

“The most appealing rendering of Valmiki’s poetry available in English. One recaptures in his narration a world of visual grandeur, otherwise accessible only to those who can read Valmiki in the original. One has a feeling of gratitude when one comes across a book like this.”

Times Literary Supplement

“A delightfully offbeat travelogue.”

Kirkus Reviews

“Join Blank, a young American freelance journalist and Asiaphile, on his very special passage through India. Delving beneath the colorful exotica, he finds the newest incarnation of this enduring enigma, a country ‘starting to trade stagnation and peace of mind for opportunity and frustration.’”

People Magazine (a People Pick)

“The Indian-American highly recommends this brilliant travel book.”

The Indian-American

“Which arrow flies forever? The arrow that has hit its mark.' Blank always seems to know the right question to ask, and the range of his sympathies is bracingly humane and perceptive. One will surely leave the pages of this admirable book with a heightened understanding of Indian existence then and now.”

The Boston Globe