Two Tales: Jamali Kamali and ZundelState

By: Karen Chase

Narrated by: Vikas Adam

Beautifully narrated by Golden Voice narrator Vikas Adams, these two tales of outsiders, one from the distant past and the other from the far-off future, explore love and beauty in the context of fear and threats and reflect upon one another in surprising ways.

Jamali Kamali is a book-length poem about two men who lived in 16th century India. For hundreds of years, the story that these men were lovers has been passed down through the generations. Jamali Kamali is a fictional account of their love, longing, separation, and death. ZundelState, a novella in verse, takes place a thousand years in the future in a repressive land where history is banned, and dreaming has vanished. Joe, a lover of history, is rebellious and secretive. Marianna is a model worker for the State where she works in the HistoryShit Apparatchik Division. They fall in love against all odds. Original ZundelState music by Galen Wade.

"As soon as I read these stories I knew they must come to life on audio, and that Vikas Adam must narrate them," said producer Alison Larkin. "The result is quite magical."

©2025 Karen Chase (P)2025 Alison Larkin Presents

• Two Tales: Jamali Kamali and Zundel State •

• Two Tales: Jamali Kamali and Zundel State
• By Karen Chase
• Reviewed by William Kornblum

Poet Karen Chase spins two beautiful tall tales of love and adventure. Jamali and Kamali are historic figures in Indian history, a noble and his servant, whose vivid feelings and erotic love for each other were never recorded. Chase brings lovers to life here in finely crafted fictional monologs. Zundel State projects us into a future five hundred years hence where people must hide their individuality and take on the collective personalities they learn through government regulated dreams. The main characters, Marianne, Joe, and Pavel, stumble through a fabulous post-apocalyptic, timeless, and boundless landscape where they encounter Albert Einstein in a Seven Eleven on Long Island’s North Fork and much more.
Both are reading experiences of the could-not-put-down variety.
I listened as well to the Audible audio production. The narration and production values, sound, music, were outstanding.

Enchanting

This book pairs 2 extraordinary love stories across hundreds of years. Jamali Kamali is a lush narrative poem about 2 men, lovers in 16th century India. We learn from the author how she was sparked by discovering the tombs of Jamali and Kamali in India and hearing the legend of their secret love. While the details are fictional, the poem's passion is very moving, drenched in gorgeous images. Quite intense, especially because of the reader's gentle, insistent voice. The second book, Zundelstat, is a romance set in post-apocalyptic times where history and dreams are taboo. Post-apocalypse is not my usual cup of tea, but I couldn't stop listening to this completely original and sometimes very funny tale about Joe and Marianna, the HistoryShitApparatchik Division and a world where even Albert Einstein makes an appearance. The combination of these 2 stories is powerful.

The beautiful language…True emotion wrapped in fantasy

Unstated yet powerful drama. Different environments and souls yet the human spirit and internal power prevails in direct and subtle ways. Like a stormy cloud.

A powerful book, BEAUTIFULLY read by Vikas Adam

I've never heard anything like this before! A sexy, evocative love story in verse about two lovers in 16th century India is followed by a story set in a dystopian future where Art and all that is beautiful is being stamped out. What do they have in common? Love - and Vikas Adam - who is undoubtedly one of the great narrators of our time. His melodic voice takes this extraordinary little book, written in beautiful verse - not something you come across often these days - and brings it to a whole new level. I've never heard anything quite like it. I had chills and loved it. And I'm still thinking about it.