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If by "great" you mean influential, then definitely India's epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata would fit the bill IMO. Wikipedia has this to say about Mah

by Arun2009 8y ago

If by "great" you mean influential, then definitely India's epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata would fit the bill IMO. Wikipedia has this to say about Mahabharata: > The Mahābhārata is the longest epic poem known and has been described as "the longest poem ever written".[7][8] Its longest version consists of over 100,000 śloka or over 200,000 individual verse lines (each shloka is a couplet), and long prose passages. At about 1.8 million words in total, the Mahābhārata is roughly ten times the length of the Iliad and the Odyssey combined, or about four times the length of the Rāmāyaṇa.[9][10] W. J. Johnson has compared the importance of the Mahābhārata in the context of world civilization to that of the Bible, the works of William Shakespeare, the works of Homer, Greek drama, or the Quran.[11] Within the Indian tradition it is sometimes called the Fifth Veda.

akashakya 8y ago
On top of that, there are hundreds of versions of Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata with different themes and story[1]. Excluding retellings in different languages with a different style and changes story depending on languages, region & religion. My mother tongue (Kannada) alone has more than 10 ancient version or so which I heard of. It seems that old writers had a different idea of storytelling. They were focused more on the theme & prosody[2] than the story. I think it set the bar very high since everyone know the base story. No wonder they had this complex structure and ideas for prosody[2] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rama_in_Jainism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rama_in_Jainism [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit_prosody https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit_prosody
_jgdh 8y ago
But if by “great” you mean a lot of fun to read, then I’m skeptical. I grew up with these stories since my mother and grandmother told them as bedtime stories. As I learned to read I picked up the comic book versions (known as Amar Chitra Katha) and later the novels. As far as the stories themselves go, they’re pretty drab. The plot is predictable, dialogue is meh, characters (apart from 2) are more like caricatures than real people, the morals are as subtle as bludgeons, they drag on for no reason. I would not recommend them to anyone. That’s not to say they’re not important books. They were and are influential. Today’s books might be better but they owe a debt of gratitude to the classics. So in some ways reading the Mahabharata today and complaining it isn’t great is similar to complaining that Seinfeld Isn’t Funny. Plus I will say, at least half a billion people love these stories and worship the characters as Gods. If that makes you curious, pick them up.
- akashakya 8y ago
  You should definitely check out different versions. The story they usually use in tv-series and 'parents' tell is the same version which is as you said boring, and plain good guy vs bad guy plot. But many ancient versions excellent[1][2] and they not dragged like the original!, even better if you are into prosody(kavya)[3]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urubhanga https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urubhanga [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikramarjuna_Vijaya https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikramarjuna_Vijaya [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit_prosody https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit_prosody
- nojvek 8y ago
  Mahabharata has some fiction and plot twists. However I have to say George R R Martin ruined it for me with Game of Thrones. Nothing beats his plot twists and story telling. The Weiss brothers and HBO did a decent job with the series as well. It kind of connects and entire generation of viewers and book readers.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
closeparen 8y ago
This is a staple of any high school or college world literature class.
kamaal 8y ago
Both the books are quite famous in the US. Thanks to our H1-B/Green Card and US passport diaspora brethren. I wouldn't call them less famous or less known.
the_greyd 8y ago
Giving my 2 cents here: Mahabharat was the first epic which I fell in love with. It is fair to draw parallels with the Trojan War in terms of scale & sheer amount of narrative. It's ultimately about a war, there are gods & demigods involved, and it's tragic. Many complex storylines, plot twists, motives are intertwined. The centrestage is set to 5 demigod brothers who fight a war for their birthright, to rule their kingdom. There's Krishna involved; if you ever wanted to know the context of Dharma and Karma (Bhagvat Gita) this is where you'll find it. Characters act out of greed, lust, power, pride; you won't be so sure about who are the good guys (which IMO is the best kind of story). My favorite character is Karna, the 6th brother who was separated at birth and has to fight against his brothers for his friendship. 10/10 would recommend.

akashakya 8y ago

On top of that, there are hundreds of versions of Rāmāyaṇa and Mahābhārata with different themes and story[1]. Excluding retellings in different languages with a different style and changes story depending on languages, region & religion. My mother tongue (Kannada) alone has more than 10 ancient version or so which I heard of. It seems that old writers had a different idea of storytelling. They were focused more on the theme & prosody[2] than the story. I think it set the bar very high since everyone know the base story. No wonder they had this complex structure and ideas for prosody[2] [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rama_in_Jainism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rama_in_Jainism [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit_prosody https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit_prosody

_jgdh 8y ago

But if by “great” you mean a lot of fun to read, then I’m skeptical. I grew up with these stories since my mother and grandmother told them as bedtime stories. As I learned to read I picked up the comic book versions (known as Amar Chitra Katha) and later the novels. As far as the stories themselves go, they’re pretty drab. The plot is predictable, dialogue is meh, characters (apart from 2) are more like caricatures than real people, the morals are as subtle as bludgeons, they drag on for no reason. I would not recommend them to anyone. That’s not to say they’re not important books. They were and are influential. Today’s books might be better but they owe a debt of gratitude to the classics. So in some ways reading the Mahabharata today and complaining it isn’t great is similar to complaining that Seinfeld Isn’t Funny. Plus I will say, at least half a billion people love these stories and worship the characters as Gods. If that makes you curious, pick them up.

akashakya 8y ago
You should definitely check out different versions. The story they usually use in tv-series and 'parents' tell is the same version which is as you said boring, and plain good guy vs bad guy plot. But many ancient versions excellent[1][2] and they not dragged like the original!, even better if you are into prosody(kavya)[3]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urubhanga https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urubhanga [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikramarjuna_Vijaya https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vikramarjuna_Vijaya [3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit_prosody https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit_prosody
nojvek 8y ago
Mahabharata has some fiction and plot twists. However I have to say George R R Martin ruined it for me with Game of Thrones. Nothing beats his plot twists and story telling. The Weiss brothers and HBO did a decent job with the series as well. It kind of connects and entire generation of viewers and book readers.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

closeparen 8y ago

This is a staple of any high school or college world literature class.

kamaal 8y ago

Both the books are quite famous in the US. Thanks to our H1-B/Green Card and US passport diaspora brethren. I wouldn't call them less famous or less known.

the_greyd 8y ago

Giving my 2 cents here: Mahabharat was the first epic which I fell in love with. It is fair to draw parallels with the Trojan War in terms of scale & sheer amount of narrative. It's ultimately about a war, there are gods & demigods involved, and it's tragic. Many complex storylines, plot twists, motives are intertwined. The centrestage is set to 5 demigod brothers who fight a war for their birthright, to rule their kingdom. There's Krishna involved; if you ever wanted to know the context of Dharma and Karma (Bhagvat Gita) this is where you'll find it. Characters act out of greed, lust, power, pride; you won't be so sure about who are the good guys (which IMO is the best kind of story). My favorite character is Karna, the 6th brother who was separated at birth and has to fight against his brothers for his friendship. 10/10 would recommend.