Title: American Maharajah
Author: Mark Stephen Levy
Review by: Active Reader (Ravi)
Published: 2018, White Falcon Publishing
Rating: 3.7/5 stars
One-line-thought: More a literary fiction than a contemporary one

American Maharajah was the fourth book that I finished in the month of April 2018. While other books were too fast and somewhat abrupt, except the Anita Krishan’s Despite Stolen Dreams that I reviewed recently, American Maharajah was one sober and serious fiction. Written by Mark S. Levy, American Maharajah begins in the USA and then remains in India throughout the novel except for once when the protagonist, Ravi Shankar, goes back to his parents. Based on an Indian theme, the novel is more Indian than one could have imagined by seeing the name of the author – while most of the Indians cannot adapt the foreign fiction, Mark, maybe because of his frequent visits to India, has done tremendously in giving his novel an Indian touch!

The story of the novel is basically about a ‘thought-reincarnation’ of Amar, a prince of some village in Rajasthan who died a few years ago. Ravi, who looks exactly like Amar, is thought to be Amar by Suraj Pershad, the king of Bharthambhor and Aishani, the lady betrothed to Amar. While Ravi feels a strange union with Aishani and Suraj Pershad, he isn’t that comfortable about the possibility of being a reincarnated person because as far as he remembers, he has been in the US all his life! So, at the very core of the novel, you will find this purely Indian concept of reincarnation playing out.

The central characters, Ravi Shankar and Aishani, will impress the readers a lot. Along with them, the one stands out, or is made to stand out is Sushil – the guide to Ravi in India. All other characters play their part and fade away and yet, their parts are very important. The characters will be best realised once you start reading the novel from the beginning until the end.

There is no more to comment about the plot of the novel as well as the language. These two qualities are rather simple, straightforward and not that spicy because the story demands these things to be simple and natural. The plot does have one or two twist – one factual and another supernatural. And I believe that the readers might not anticipate these twists in advance! Mark has done very well here as well.

To conclude and to put out my suggestion to the readers, I won’t say that the book is a must-read for all. The readers of youthful fiction might conclude it a misfit – however, if they want a change of taste, they are more than welcome to read the novel as American Maharajah will take them to a different level of reading experience. For the readers who like sober and literary kind of fiction, this novel might be a very good piece of literature to them.

You can get a copy of this novel from Amazon link below:

American Maharajah on Amazon – buy now

review by Ravi for Active Reader