Kaikeyi: A Novel by Vaishnavi Patel
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Beautifully Written Mythological Fantasy
Vaishnavi Patel’s KAIKEYI is a hard to put down mythological fantasy featuring beautiful, illustrious writing and an intense sense of foreboding and tension that the author wields masterfully. Following a bold and flawed protagonist, Kaikeyi uses an intriguing magic system that explores the ways in which human nature unfolds and the intrinsic manipulative nature we all have the potential to tap into. I’ll definitely read more by this author.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A Story Perfect for Fans of Circe
“I was born on the full moon under an auspicious constellation, the holiest of positions—much good it did me.” Before reading this, I had no idea who Kaikeyi was or any mythology involving her and her family; however, after finishing this, I want to know everything about her. Kaikeyi tells the story of Kaikeyi, a woman who did everything in her power to save her people and her children, but wasn’t appreciated for it. The story opens up with us meeting her when she was a young girl and she finds out that her mom has been banished by her father, but neither her nor her brothers know why. This puts Kaikeyi in an awful position because now she has to be the woman of the family considering the fact that she’s the only girl in the family. As Kaikeyi gets older, her father decides it’s time for her to marry to make their kingdom stronger. She is not happy with this because it takes away her choice. She hopes that her twin, Yudhajit, will take her side, but he doesn’t exactly do that. She is married off to this powerful raja named Dasharath and she becomes his third wife. While all of this is happening, Kaikeyi discovers that she has this secret ability that involves strings and connections to people, which she constantly uses to her advantage. I really loved this from beginning to end. Kaikeyi is such a dynamic character. She practically comes alive on page and I found myself going through a range of emotions when reading about her. There were times when I was happy, angry, frustrated and sad. I think a lot of this has to do not only with Patel’s great character writing, but the fact that we literally follow Kaikeyi from when she is young to when she gets older and has her own family. It was so easy to become attached to her as we are in her head for the entirety of the book, it was no wonder that I felt so connected to her. She is such a complicated character because while there were moments when she was done wrong and had a right to be angry, there were also times when she was either overreacting or making terrible decisions. However, I understood every decision she made and while they weren’t all great, she was entitled to the feelings that led to those decisions. She felt betrayed by those closest to her and that is what led her to some of her decisions in the beginning. “How can you be fine with consigning me to life as nothing but a brood mare? You’re my brother, Yudhajit! You’re my brother.” I blinked back hot tears.” It was also interesting seeing all these relationships she developed over the course of the story and how they changed over time. I especially enjoyed seeing her relationship with her husband, Dasharath, and the other two wives grow and develop. Kaikeyi is a woman who loves her children and tries to do what is best for them. All of this leads to the complicated relationship she has with one of her sons, Rama. Rama is very powerful and he is actually deserving of this power, but there are people (mainly men) in his life that don’t give him the best advice, especially as it pertains to women. That is where Kaikeyi steps in the most. She sees her son listening to the misogynistic men in their community and she tries her best to shield him from that so that he doesn’t become that kind of ruler that her father was. One thing that she always did in the story was stand up for women and change their lives for the best. We see Kaikeyi go from this beloved woman to the whole kingdom turning on her and all because she tried to protect them. She saw what could have been and tried to prevent it. I don’t know this mythology and I won’t pretend to. I do think that the author wanted to give Kaikeyi, a woman who is villainized, a voice and show how wasn’t the villain that she was painted as. This is a slow moving story, but at no point did I feel bored while reading. I honestly felt like I was reading a mythology mixed with a character study. If you’re looking for something fast paced and action packed, this won’t be the story for you. If you’re looking for something beautifully written that will sweep you away, then give this a try. I would definitely recommend this to fans of Circe and The Witch’s Heart. In fact, I think it’s the closest mythology story that we’ve gotten to Circe and it deserves all the praise because it’s truly fantastic.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
A great feminist reimagining
From the second I saw this announced I had to have it. That cover! And then the fact that Book of the Month was teasing it long before the month reset…it was a done deal. This is feminist reimagining of the Hindu epic, the Ramayan. Truthfully I 100% knew nothing about it, so I only researched the original after finishing this one. I will try my hardest to compare them little, as it would only be spoilers. The author does such an incredible job in this novel with characters and their interactions. Parents, siblings, husbands, in-laws, children, all read as so fresh and real it was a pleasure to read. The way they interact is so real at times and pure that I actually smiled at some of their exchanges, like Kaikeyi with her siblings, or her with her husband and children. When the interactions are negative, or fights, you feel it all too, and that’s impressive to me. The novel follows the life and exchanges of Kaikeyi (as you’d imagine), and it is entirely in her perspective. This grounds her choices throughout her life in a way that for the most part makes a lot more sense then I’m guessing the Ramayan does, as she’s the villain or evil person or wrongdoer. She is blamed for everything that happens, and even though she is certainly the pinnacle for it in this one too, her choices are all grounded in what she perceives around her. Whether right or wrong, she is simply reacting and doing what she thinks is right.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Just amazing
One of the best novels I have ever read
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Fascinating
What a time to be writing a review for a book like this. We just found out a couple of days ago the extent of the attempt to suppress women’s rights here in the US. None of us are surprised. We knew it was coming, but the Supreme Court is looking to do away with a woman’s right to choose and wants to exert control over women’s bodies to an extent that hasn’t been seen in decades. Here I am writing a book review for a feminist book that reflects on the difficulty of overcoming the deeply held misogyny that exists around the world. Like I said, what a day. I am not familiar with the original story from the Ramayana, the good thing is this book is written in a way that makes the story completely accessible to outsiders. I’m sure that being familiar with the story would have probably deepened my understanding and enjoyment but I liked it all the same. Kaikeyi is an interesting character. She is not completely multi-faceted. She has faults a plenty, but ultimately she is working toward a goal. The betterment of women in her culture, as well as the prevention of what she see’s as a potential evil gaining control in her kingdom. It makes for a fascinating story. I could not put it down. I can fully recommend this book. If you are looking for something from POC author and set in a non-European culture, give this a try. Disclaimer: I received this book free from Netgalley.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
An Amazing Retelling
I received Kaikeyi as an ARC from NetGalley. And I want to call out Vaishnavi Patel from the start to say thank you for writing this powerful book. It wrecked me! (In a good way.) Kaikeyi drew me in from the first page. I'm not even sure how, but it worked. Maybe I was vested in Kaikeyi because she had so many brothers (I have so many sons and relate). But I think her appeal is more universal than one element—she feels like she doesn't have power or control over her life (and she doesn't) and she still tries to work toward her goals. We all feel misunderstood and at odds with those we love at different times in our lives. (*Cough*—possibly even yesterday.) Also there are a ton of cool factors in this book. The concept of the gods blessing and cursing or ignoring mortals was fascinating. The dynamics of the gods' influence made me gape several times. And the way the women worked together! Oh, wow—I loved it! Such a different perspective. (See me trying not to spoil it for you?) I wasn't sure about how Kaikeyi gave us a "spoiler" of what was coming the first time. Did it work or didn't it? But as the story kept spinning, and she'd give another key "spoiler", they increased my dread. And dread I did! Hats off to you Patel for making it work in such a brilliant way. So, yes, I was crying for Kaikeyi. That woman! Do I recommend this book? Wholeheartedly! It's going on my list of all-time favorites. I was not familiar with the Ramayana—so don't let that hold you back. Patel has included everything you need to know to enjoy this book. Please go out and get Kaikeyi! Read it, adore it, and talk about it. ps- Isn't the cover gorgeous?
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
An excellent feminist retelling of the Ramayana
Full Disclosure: This book was read as an e-ARC (Advance Reader Copy) obtained via Netgalley from the publisher in advance of the book's release on April 26, 2022 in exchange for a potential review. I give my word that this did not affect my review in any way - if I felt conflicted in any way, I would simply have declined to review the book. Kaikeyi, the debut novel by Indian-American author Vaishnavi Patel, is a feminist retelling of part of the Ramayana, one of the most famous Indian/Hindu epics. It is not the first such retelling I've read this past year (Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's "The Forest of Enchantments" was the other) and is almost certainly one of many such retellings out there - think of how many retellings there are of classic American stories published here. Still, this book is a bit different than Divakaruni's adaptation - in the vein of say a "Circe" by Madeline Miller, this book retells parts of the story, and the myths, from the perspective of Kaikeyi, the jealous/villainous Queen who in the classic story manipulates the King to have the hero Rama exiled and her own biological son crowned in his stead. The result is a pretty good feminist retelling which goes a lot farther than Divakaruni's tale, with the story reframed as one of Kaikeyi struggling against a society ordained by sages and gods to be chauvinist at its core - with women like Kaikeyi supposed to be subservient, silent, and invisible in the backdrop of great and common men. Instead, Kaikeyi uses her privilege, her courage and determination, and a bit of magic to try and fight for women everywhere to have their own freedoms and choices, only to be resisted by those Sages and Gods who are determined to keep up the status quo. The result is a pretty strong story even as it doesn't change the big events of the epic, although at times it can be a bit repetitively bleak as Kaikeyi struggles against fate over and over for something better. Note: Although this is a retelling of the Ramayana, no prior knowledge is needed to enjoy this book - but you will enjoy it more if you have some familiarity with the story in the end to realize what has and hasn't changed. My familiarity with the source material is solely through Wikipedia and from Divakaruni's retelling, but that was enough to very much enjoy this book. Some more specific thoughts: Kaikeyi is a type of story that is very much in vogue these days, as seen in Madeline Miller's Circe, to which the marketing compares this book - except that rather than dealing with Greek Mythology, this story deals with Kaikeyi, a character portrayed villainously in the Ramayana, one of the two most famous Indian/Hindu epics. As with other stories of this type, it attempts to take the same story elements as in the original and add changes to the context, such that the heroes and villains are not the same, and the story takes a bit more of a Feminist bent - as well as taking a bend towards free will vs destiny. The story sometimes feels like it's trying too hard when it's trying to make these twists, particularly in some early chapters, which feature Kaikeyi narrating the story and referencing events to come in the future before returning to the story's present. These moments just feel like the story trying to yell at the reader "Hey you know what's coming next if you know the Ramayana" and it really isn't necessary and is a bit offputting. Still, this retelling works quite well, and it does so in large part due to the voice of Kaikeyi as she experiences the world and reacts to what she finds. Even in the original Kaikeyi was portrayed as a warrior woman - but here that comes about not due to Kaikeyi being drawn towards battle, but because she wanted to try her hand at the lessons and activities taught to her brothers but were denied to her. In fact here, when Kaikeyi experiences war, and has her moment of martial greatness, she is horrified by the death and destruction and becomes desperate to avoid that outcome ever again. And so when she goes to her new land, her strangeness with her sister Queens/Wives isn't due to being rude, but because she's basically a girl who is out of place and unfamiliar. Similarly, when she sees the Elders and Sages trying to teach that women should be submissive, or sees women in the market who know better forced to remain in the shadows - or hears the Gods declaring that her actions are against the natural order, she becomes more and more determined to fight against it for the better of all. And so you have a very different kind of epic than the original - and of ancient epics in general. Here is a story where war is not glorified by the narrative, but is instead something that is a horror. Here is a story where the Gods can be wrong and cruel and uncaring towards mortals - and where a protagonist forsaken by them can be right in trying to change their ways which don't actually benefit all - especially not the women and common people - and just promote the gods' own interests. And so in this version of the story, Kaikeyi is a woman who loves her family, even Rama - the son who is a god, who is supposedly righteous, but who Kaikeyi rightfully sees as not ready for rule and corrupted by the teachings of a Sage who is misogynist and cruel into only caring about his own self worth and the self-worth of men above women. And that's demonstrated the most with the magic that both Kaikeyi and Rama possess in this book - the magical ability to see and manipulate emotional bonds between people. For Kaikeyi she absolutely is willing and does manipulate people with those bonds on a small scale, but she is terrified of breaking those bonds entirely by pushing too strong, and traumatized by incidents when she does it. For Rama, he unknowingly does manipulate those bonds for control and dominance without a care, believing in his justice above all else. And so the book shows how caring for others and not focusing entirely on control, but instead making sure to preserve free will, and to allow everyone to be free to have their own destinies - whether they be man or woman - is the better way. It's a story that is probably one that would be considered blasphemous in some Indian/Hindu circles for how it shows little regards for the righteousness of Rama and the Gods at times. But it's one that's undoubtedly relevant and one of our time and worth reading.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
An Empowering and Fierce Reimagining
"Kaikeyi" by Vaishnavi Patel is an empowering and fierce reimagining of the epic "Ramayana." From the woman who was originally portrayed as a villain comes a tale that will evoke resilience, admiration, and strength among readers. Kaikeyi's perspective reveals that not every villain is truly evil and some have a complex narrative worth hearing. Kaikeyi grew up with stories about the gods, the power and influence they hold, and how they answer people’s prayers and grant them boons. She watched her father rule a kingdom and her brothers are trained in the art of war. Everyone had power, it seemed, except for her. None of the gods listened to her prayers despite her devotion to them. Even though she was a princess, her sole role was to be sold into a beneficial marriage alliance. After her mother was exiled and banished from the kingdom without a word to her children, Kaikeyi saw it as a sign that she needed to prove to the gods, the sages, her community, and her family that women were capable, independent, self-sufficient beings. She decided she would be a fierce warrior like her brothers, an intellectual mastermind like her father, resilient like any man, but most importantly, she would be as talented and kind-hearted as any woman. Kaikeyi will have to rise up against the gods, confront the sages that enforce the hierarchy and ask her family and community to question everything that came easily to them at the risk of her own life and reputation. Anyone who hears the Ramayana tale will easily be persuaded into thinking Kaikeyi is a jealous, monstrous, villainous woman who is determined to get her way. It is easy to judge her character when the facts are presented so callously and boldly in the epic. Patel is someone who bravely sparks a conversation about what might have led Kaikeyi to make the decisions she did and whether she is truly deserving of the title “villain.” What ensues is a harrowing tale full of magic, heroism, love, and the kind of power that even the gods themselves feel threatened by. Readers will easily be drawn to this story for its action-filled pages and for Kaikeyi’s unshaken determination to prove herself a woman capable of anything. Words cannot describe how incredible this story is. Magic has been written into these pages, the characters become real, and Kaikeyi’s world will devour readers until they, too, feel the strength and power behind Kaikeyi’s emotions. This is a novel that is going to be talked about for a long, long time and is one that readers should definitely get their hands on. “Kaikeyi” by Vaishnavi Patel comes out on April 26, 2022. Save the date and be on the lookout when it hits the shelves! Thank you to NetGalley and Redhook Books for providing me with a free e-arc of this novel and giving me the opportunity to share my honest opinion in this review.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com