Redeeming the Kamasutra

Of all the books written about the Kamasutra, this one by Wendy Doniger will give the reader a deep understanding of this scripture.She is also a concise writer who clearly conveys her knowledge of Hindu scripture. She can be caustic in her analysis and sometimes brutally honest, and even sometimes provocative in apply the sutra to modern day conditions, but she is never boring. It is her ability to apply the contents of this sutra to today which makes her book stand out.She dispels many myths about the Kamasutra. Contrary to popular belief, this is not a strictly how-to book. A small portion of the book, in fact, deal with sex positions. Also, while it is true the book was written at a time when India was, as it still is, a male-dominated society, the sutra was written for women as well as men.Doniger has written a more recent book, Against Dharma. That book is written about the Kamasutra as well, and how it interrelates with the Arthasastra and Laws of Manu. This book offers nothing new about the Kamasutra. The major arguments and observations in Redeeming the Kamasutra are repeated, virtually verbatim, in Against Dharma. The reader who wants to know more about the dharma sastras, the Kamasutra, Arthasastra and Laws of Manu, should read Against Dharma, but if the reader wants to know more about the Kamasutra, stick with this one.Both books are excellent because Doniger clearly conveys her considerable knowledge of Hindu scripture to the reader.

Wendy Doniger has provided a clear and concise overview of the Kamasutra's structure, themes, and historical background. She navigates the ambiguity of the text with skill, showing how on one hand, the Kamasutra was highly progressive for its time (allowing for extramarital affairs from women as well as men, not condemning homosexual relations, and even subtly acknowledging the presence of bisexuality, etc.), and on the other hand perpetuating a rape mentality (for example, taking a woman's protests and screams as an attempt at arousing her partner, rather than something genuine).She illustrates how the Kamasutra draws on older works such as the Arthashastra and the works attributed to the mythological Manu) and plays on their themes. She also looks a bit further in history, bringing the tale to the period of British imperial rule and modern day instances of puritanism and censorship. She makes a strong case for the ascetic and anti-erotic traditions having always been a part of India's history and culture, rather than as being the sole product of Muslim and British occupations; it is only in the aftermath of the latter occupation that (primarily upper class) India has privileged the ascetic and anti-erotic and sought to revise history, trying to make the erotic streams of culture and spirituality appear as aberrations (most recently caused by the West).If you're interested in seeing a tiny piece of India's erotic history, then you could do worse than Redeeming the Kamasutra. Hopefully, Doniger's work will take things at least one step further against the tides of censorship and puritanism.On the downside, do not go into this book expecting a conventionally "entertaining" book, like many popular histories. Doniger remains a scholar and despite her humor, the book remains in that mode. The text is lively, undoubtedly, but still formal to a degree. It is a short and quick read, however, so this may balance out for some readers.As a final note, you will see with many of the other reviews for this book, and others by Wendy Doniger, examples of puritanical anger in response to her illustrations of narratives alternative to the standard one preached by the upper classes of India and the Indian diaspora. The Indian culture was not always one of sanitized, ascetic spirituality - there was, and still is, flesh on the bones and a healthy appreciation of kama, or desire.

Guess what? For 'scholars' of the language who think that the words mean something they want it to mean; whatever the proficiency of the Sanskrit language doesn't matter; especially given the higher abstractive nature of the language.

Very complicated and wordy writing- not easy to read.

Piece of junk and waste of paper. Better to feed the trees to herbivores animals than use it to print this crap. The author seems to have some sexual problems in life and they come up in the book. Can I return this s*** and get my money back?