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orlalynn1's review against another edition
Hated the writing style too many descriptions of everything it got really repetitive
lucyp747d4's review
adventurous
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
theoverbookedbibliophile's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.0
In 1757 Calcutta (Kolkata), Meena, the seventeen-year-old daughter of the Nawab of Bengal, meets and falls in love and James Chilcott, the nephew of one of the most powerful officers of the East India Company with which the whole of India is at war. James claims to not share the ideology of the EIC and offers information to help the Nawab, which is not well received. Meena falls in love with James and hopes to lead a life different from the restrictions and abuse that are a part of her present life. But escaping won’t be easy and Meena, in a moment of desperation, elopes with James after a horrific showdown with her brother that ends in tragedy. We follow James and Meena over the next eight years, as they travel from Calcutta to Ceylon, then to South Africa and finally to England, and as Meena begins to comprehend the reality of her husband, his motives and how his world truly judges outsiders, it is only a matter of time before she is compelled to resort to drastic measures to save herself and her son from those wish to harm them.
I’m a fan of Greek mythology and when I heard of Rani Selvarajah’s Savage Beasts, a retelling of Medea’s story revolving around the theme of colonization and in particular, British occupation of India, I was intrigued. Unfortunately, the execution of this story leaves a lot to be desired.
1757 is a crucial year in the history of India and Bengal, with the East India Company gaining territory and finally defeating the ruling Nawab at the Battle of Plassey, thereby cementing its foothold in Bengal and India as a whole. No matter how young or gullible the seventeen-year-old princess of a royal family might be, it is difficult to believe that Meena would succumb to the charms of an Englishman who is the nephew of one of the most high-ranking officers of the East India Company even though he claims to have disavowed the values (or lack thereof) of the East India Company. Even if I choose to ignore that fact (I know this story is supposed to be fiction!), their initial interaction reads more like a Bridgerton novel than two people from completely different cultural backgrounds interacting for the first time and Meena’s reactions throughout this novel read more like contemporary fiction than a story set in the eighteenth century. Was it absolutely necessary to portray Indian rulers as barbaric to justify Meena eloping with a man she only recently met, betraying her country and her family, fully aware of the ongoing war with the British? The author portrays the Nawab and his son as despicable men who don’t hesitate to torture Meena, even having her beaten by their guards in court. Again, I'm aware this is fiction, but in conservative society and culture dating 1757 India, I believe there would be a difference between how a royal family would conduct itself and a scene that sounds like something from Game of Thrones. (I’m a fan of GoT, no offense intended!) The handling of the characters and the setting is inauthentic in many ways, but I’m stopping myself here. As the story progresses, we can draw parallels to Medea’s story and we know that things will not end well for Meena.
The narrative suffers from minor repetition and the pacing is uneven, but not so much that it would impact the overall reading experience. I’m all for retellings of the myths and creative license and I don’t look for factual accuracy in said reimaginings or retellings. But overall, I felt that the characterizations lacked depth and I wasn’t quite invested in Meena’s story. Medea is a fierce and compelling character in Greek mythology but sadly, Meena is not portrayed with the same intensity.
Please note that there are some disturbingly violent scenes in this novel and much bigotry and abusive language directed toward Indians (as would be expected, given the era and the settings, so no surprises there!)
Many thanks to One More Chapter, HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for the digital review copy of Savage Beasts. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
I’m a fan of Greek mythology and when I heard of Rani Selvarajah’s Savage Beasts, a retelling of Medea’s story revolving around the theme of colonization and in particular, British occupation of India, I was intrigued. Unfortunately, the execution of this story leaves a lot to be desired.
1757 is a crucial year in the history of India and Bengal, with the East India Company gaining territory and finally defeating the ruling Nawab at the Battle of Plassey, thereby cementing its foothold in Bengal and India as a whole. No matter how young or gullible the seventeen-year-old princess of a royal family might be, it is difficult to believe that Meena would succumb to the charms of an Englishman who is the nephew of one of the most high-ranking officers of the East India Company even though he claims to have disavowed the values (or lack thereof) of the East India Company. Even if I choose to ignore that fact (I know this story is supposed to be fiction!), their initial interaction reads more like a Bridgerton novel than two people from completely different cultural backgrounds interacting for the first time and Meena’s reactions throughout this novel read more like contemporary fiction than a story set in the eighteenth century. Was it absolutely necessary to portray Indian rulers as barbaric to justify Meena eloping with a man she only recently met, betraying her country and her family, fully aware of the ongoing war with the British? The author portrays the Nawab and his son as despicable men who don’t hesitate to torture Meena, even having her beaten by their guards in court. Again, I'm aware this is fiction, but in conservative society and culture dating 1757 India, I believe there would be a difference between how a royal family would conduct itself and a scene that sounds like something from Game of Thrones. (I’m a fan of GoT, no offense intended!) The handling of the characters and the setting is inauthentic in many ways, but I’m stopping myself here. As the story progresses, we can draw parallels to Medea’s story and we know that things will not end well for Meena.
The narrative suffers from minor repetition and the pacing is uneven, but not so much that it would impact the overall reading experience. I’m all for retellings of the myths and creative license and I don’t look for factual accuracy in said reimaginings or retellings. But overall, I felt that the characterizations lacked depth and I wasn’t quite invested in Meena’s story. Medea is a fierce and compelling character in Greek mythology but sadly, Meena is not portrayed with the same intensity.
Please note that there are some disturbingly violent scenes in this novel and much bigotry and abusive language directed toward Indians (as would be expected, given the era and the settings, so no surprises there!)
Many thanks to One More Chapter, HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for the digital review copy of Savage Beasts. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
tessa_talks_books's review against another edition
I’ve been picking this one up and putting it back down since last week because I’m struggling with a few things about it. The abuse is very hard to read and is the main reason I am DNFing this one - it’s just too pervasive . But also in the 20% I read, there are lots of inconsistencies that make it impossible to suspend disbelief. Lastly, it’s just not a story that is written in a way that I want to immerse myself in even if the writing didn’t already make it impossible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Child abuse
historic_chronicles's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
"While men had their swords, a woman's weapon was her words. A woman needed to know how to speak and put her point across, even when they refused to listen."
Against the turbulent backdrop of 18th century Calcutta, war is brewing as the East India Company rises in power under the formidable leadership of Sir Peter Chilcott.
Meena, daughter of the Bengali Nawab, lives in a sheltered but abusive home and longs to escape. When she encounters James Chilcott, nephew of the enemy, who represents change and the potential of love, Meena finds herself growing increasingly entranced by his charm and must discover quickly what she is willing to sacrifice in the name of love.
Rani Selvarajah translates the captivating and brutal tale of Medea that has so much allured readers for centuries beautifully into the time period of the British Colonisation of India.
Rich, vivid and filled to the brim with descriptive storytelling, Savage Beasts does not shy away from the dark themes of the original tale through the exploration of historical events relevant to the time period such as oppression, racism and the impact of colonisation.
A fearless and powerful novel, Meena's development in love and the sensation of powerlessness is heart-rending and one that will be sympathised with by many modern readers.
Thank you to @onemorechapterhc and @netgalley for allowing me to read this hugely interesting book!
Against the turbulent backdrop of 18th century Calcutta, war is brewing as the East India Company rises in power under the formidable leadership of Sir Peter Chilcott.
Meena, daughter of the Bengali Nawab, lives in a sheltered but abusive home and longs to escape. When she encounters James Chilcott, nephew of the enemy, who represents change and the potential of love, Meena finds herself growing increasingly entranced by his charm and must discover quickly what she is willing to sacrifice in the name of love.
Rani Selvarajah translates the captivating and brutal tale of Medea that has so much allured readers for centuries beautifully into the time period of the British Colonisation of India.
Rich, vivid and filled to the brim with descriptive storytelling, Savage Beasts does not shy away from the dark themes of the original tale through the exploration of historical events relevant to the time period such as oppression, racism and the impact of colonisation.
A fearless and powerful novel, Meena's development in love and the sensation of powerlessness is heart-rending and one that will be sympathised with by many modern readers.
Thank you to @onemorechapterhc and @netgalley for allowing me to read this hugely interesting book!
bookedbymadeline's review against another edition
The plotline follows the myth fairly closely from what I know about Medea’s story, as I know only the basics from the myth. I loved all the allusions to the original story with the names of the ships and other small details. I also liked the setting and historical background of the VOC (Dutch East India Company)
Sadly though I just couldn’t get into it. As much as I love myth retellings, the writing and characters were just okay-nothing to pull me in or making me want to keep reading-just not my cup of tea but others will most likely enjoy it.
Sadly though I just couldn’t get into it. As much as I love myth retellings, the writing and characters were just okay-nothing to pull me in or making me want to keep reading-just not my cup of tea but others will most likely enjoy it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Colonisation, and Violence
jellifysh's review against another edition
This is mostly because of Meena, our main character, which I could barely stand.
First, she has zero agenda on her own in the first third. She gets pushed around by other people and the only reasons why she chooses to do something is because people told her she should. Great exception: her first encounter with James, which just makes zero sense why she was there in the first place, and also, why she interrupted.
Second, she immediately falls in deep deep "love" with the first guy that's not a bitch to her. They meet twice from what I can tell before he gets his ass arrested, followed by two other discussions, and then they're proclaiming their undying love to each other. She steals money from her family and plans to run away with him. They've only talked a handful of times beforehand.
The setting was cool, I guess. It didn't fit the way the characters interacted and just from that, it wouldn't have made much of a differene if this hadn't been set in the time and place that it was, aside of the brewing war with the East India Company. Meena mentions in the first chapter that she shouldn't be caught without a chaperone, but she never has a chaperone with her in the first place, so that didn't mean anything I guess.
Well, I'm sad but not surprised. YA-Greek-Mythology-Retellings are apparently just not my genre. I should just stop reading them, honestly.
@NetGalley and Harper Collins: Thank you guys for this ARC!
First, she has zero agenda on her own in the first third. She gets pushed around by other people and the only reasons why she chooses to do something is because people told her she should. Great exception: her first encounter with James, which just makes zero sense why she was there in the first place, and also, why she interrupted.
Second, she immediately falls in deep deep "love" with the first guy that's not a bitch to her. They meet twice from what I can tell before he gets his ass arrested, followed by two other discussions, and then they're proclaiming their undying love to each other. She steals money from her family and plans to run away with him. They've only talked a handful of times beforehand.
The setting was cool, I guess. It didn't fit the way the characters interacted and just from that, it wouldn't have made much of a differene if this hadn't been set in the time and place that it was, aside of the brewing war with the East India Company. Meena mentions in the first chapter that she shouldn't be caught without a chaperone, but she never has a chaperone with her in the first place, so that didn't mean anything I guess.
Well, I'm sad but not surprised. YA-Greek-Mythology-Retellings are apparently just not my genre. I should just stop reading them, honestly.
@NetGalley and Harper Collins: Thank you guys for this ARC!
katrin_loves_books's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
bamamelereads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Wow. So Medea is one of my all time favorite characters in Greek mythology. And I have been dying for someone to write a book worthy of her. And ladies and gentlemen, I think we’ve got it. The setting of the British imperial takeover of India and having “Jason” be part of the East India Company was a surprisingly perfect twist. Meena is such a strong character, even as all the men around her underestimate her and abuse her. The plotline follows the myth fairly closely while still being fresh. I loved all the allusions to the myths with Kiran and her wild boars, the names of the ships, and so many other small details.
But the heart of this story is both a woman being betrayed, but also the evils of colonialism. These intertwine so seamlessly. Because ultimately, Medea was otherized by Jason, and Meena is absolutely otherized by James and every other white person she meets. I love how fiesty she is, even while that fire has her being called hysterical. The absolute rage she feels and that I felt on her behalf was consuming. And knowing how the story traditionally ends had me on edge the entire second half of the book. I won’t give anything away, but the narrative choices were perfect. I raged, I cried, and I promise the journey was worth it.
Highly recommend this one!
4.5 stars
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a requested copy to review. All opinions are my own.
But the heart of this story is both a woman being betrayed, but also the evils of colonialism. These intertwine so seamlessly. Because ultimately, Medea was otherized by Jason, and Meena is absolutely otherized by James and every other white person she meets. I love how fiesty she is, even while that fire has her being called hysterical. The absolute rage she feels and that I felt on her behalf was consuming. And knowing how the story traditionally ends had me on edge the entire second half of the book. I won’t give anything away, but the narrative choices were perfect. I raged, I cried, and I promise the journey was worth it.
Highly recommend this one!
4.5 stars
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a requested copy to review. All opinions are my own.
sol_journal's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
*Thank you Netgalley and One More Chapter for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!*
Posted to: NetGalley, Goodreads, and The StoryGraph
Posted on: 7 April 2023
3.8 (rounded up to 4) out of 5 stars.
Like Rani Selvarajah, I read ‘Medea’ in one of my classics class in university. I loved the story of her righting the wrongs done to her and throwing desperation back into the face of the people who tried to ruin her.
With this retelling, a lot of those same traits from the original work were featured. It has the same structure of ‘Medea’ so it made it, for the most part, predictable in what would happen or in who was supposed to represent who. I especially enjoyed the references to the original work- the Argo, the Helios, etc. It was like little Easter eggs being able to spot and figure out the translations of Euripides’ original to Selvarajah’s work.
That change in setting, focusing on colonialism by the East India Company and the VOC, definitely added some more new-ness to the take of the story.
The characters weren’t so very likable in my opinion. I mean, obviously there’s some characters you are *made* to hate, but even the ones you’re supposed to like or lean more in favor of tended to teeter a line between like and dislike.
A lot of other reviews bring up the slight modernness in the characters’s tone and voice despite the rest of the dated setting as well. Honestly, I didn’t notice this too much during my reading of it. I suppose it’s just a preference thing, but I personally didn’t feel it take away too much from the overall story. There were a few places where, briefly, the writing did feel weak or awkward though.
What I do wish would’ve been played more on was the building anger and that feeling of betrayal. Maybe it’s because I read ‘Medea’ already and knew what to expect, but I feel like those building tensions and breaking points were hit and then backed away from too suddenly.
I was totally on the edge of my seat by the end (around the 80% mark, I didn’t want to put the book down), but it also felt like the burning fire of Meena just rushed forward. I, personally, would have loved to have seen it play more into the story somehow, or constantly felt rather than just lightly mentioned when it was needed and then moving on from it. When it did finally hit at the climax of the book, it felt a bit sudden or rushed to show why Meena was doing what she was.
All in all though, ‘Savage Beasts’ was a good read. I think Rani Selvarajah delivered an *amazing* take on the classic ‘Medea’ with a touch of history that made the tale a lot heavier and hit just a tad bit harder.
*a side note: the term ‘savage’ is used based on a direct quote from one of the translations of Euripides’ play. The usage of it is limited in the actual story itself, but it’s still an uncomfortable word to see based on many opinions from the actual marginalized group it was/is still used against. This was one of the only reasons I was a bit reluctant to read this story for the usage of that word and the history behind it.
I think the way Selvarajah uses it was to also show the racism Meena saw and felt against herself as a minority in this westernized and white world, but I am not the one to excuse the use of it as I am not part of the group this would affect. I do think it’s something to not ignore, however, and I respect the viewpoints of the people who do deserve the platform to speak on this!*
Posted to: NetGalley, Goodreads, and The StoryGraph
Posted on: 7 April 2023
3.8 (rounded up to 4) out of 5 stars.
Like Rani Selvarajah, I read ‘Medea’ in one of my classics class in university. I loved the story of her righting the wrongs done to her and throwing desperation back into the face of the people who tried to ruin her.
With this retelling, a lot of those same traits from the original work were featured. It has the same structure of ‘Medea’ so it made it, for the most part, predictable in what would happen or in who was supposed to represent who. I especially enjoyed the references to the original work- the Argo, the Helios, etc. It was like little Easter eggs being able to spot and figure out the translations of Euripides’ original to Selvarajah’s work.
That change in setting, focusing on colonialism by the East India Company and the VOC, definitely added some more new-ness to the take of the story.
The characters weren’t so very likable in my opinion. I mean, obviously there’s some characters you are *made* to hate, but even the ones you’re supposed to like or lean more in favor of tended to teeter a line between like and dislike.
A lot of other reviews bring up the slight modernness in the characters’s tone and voice despite the rest of the dated setting as well. Honestly, I didn’t notice this too much during my reading of it. I suppose it’s just a preference thing, but I personally didn’t feel it take away too much from the overall story. There were a few places where, briefly, the writing did feel weak or awkward though.
What I do wish would’ve been played more on was the building anger and that feeling of betrayal. Maybe it’s because I read ‘Medea’ already and knew what to expect, but I feel like those building tensions and breaking points were hit and then backed away from too suddenly.
I was totally on the edge of my seat by the end (around the 80% mark, I didn’t want to put the book down), but it also felt like the burning fire of Meena just rushed forward. I, personally, would have loved to have seen it play more into the story somehow, or constantly felt rather than just lightly mentioned when it was needed and then moving on from it. When it did finally hit at the climax of the book, it felt a bit sudden or rushed to show why Meena was doing what she was.
All in all though, ‘Savage Beasts’ was a good read. I think Rani Selvarajah delivered an *amazing* take on the classic ‘Medea’ with a touch of history that made the tale a lot heavier and hit just a tad bit harder.
*a side note: the term ‘savage’ is used based on a direct quote from one of the translations of Euripides’ play. The usage of it is limited in the actual story itself, but it’s still an uncomfortable word to see based on many opinions from the actual marginalized group it was/is still used against. This was one of the only reasons I was a bit reluctant to read this story for the usage of that word and the history behind it.
I think the way Selvarajah uses it was to also show the racism Meena saw and felt against herself as a minority in this westernized and white world, but I am not the one to excuse the use of it as I am not part of the group this would affect. I do think it’s something to not ignore, however, and I respect the viewpoints of the people who do deserve the platform to speak on this!*
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Violence, Blood, Racism, Murder, and Colonisation
Minor: Sexual content and Pregnancy