Reviews with content warning for War - Kaikeyi

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Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel

130 reviews

nicoleisalwaysreading's review against another edition

adventurous emotional informative inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

interesting feminist commentary in ancient myth, I learned a lot about ancient India and was very captivated! the pacing was a bit off but it was easy to get into

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shruti_menon's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

beautiful, beautiful book, a gorgeous retelling (maybe goes a little too far to redeem the kaikeyi we know but I'll allow it) superbly feminist and EXCELLENT aro ace representation. did not like that it was caste agnostic however.

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leahrosiee's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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just_one_more_paige's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I love a good retelling, so I'm here for the overall boom in feminist classic mythology retellings. The Witch's Heart and The Silence of the Girls are both great, and of course Circe is an all-time favorite of mine. So I was super excited to delve into this feminist retelling of a non-Western epic, the Ramayana.

The titular protagonist, Kaikeyi, is, in essence, Rama's (step)mother. In the original epic, the story focuses on Rama's exile to the forest at Kaikeyi's urging, and his battle with Ravana after he kidnaps Rama's wife, Sita, and his eventual crowning as king. Patel takes this original story as the scaffold, but turns the focus to Kaikeyi, building her characterization and the unfolding of events that explain why she urged Rama's exile. We follow Kaikeyi through her youth, as she realizes that, as a woman, she has nowhere near the power and position of the men in her world, and that despite all her prayers to the gods (as urged by society and tradition), they seem to have forsaken her. And yet, Kaikeyi makes a life with what she can, forging forward with a bit of magic, a bit of manipulation, a bit of secret training with her twin brother, and a whole lot of effort to create a better world for herself and the women of her nation. When the will/plan of the gods for the human world clashes with her own, threatening her family, her status, her relationships, her life's work, she must make an impossible choice between averting war (saving her homeland and her new land) or preserving the public legacy of her years of diplomacy and advocacy (and her familial ties).

Well, I loved this retelling. Kaikeyi became such a fleshed out and fully developed character in Patel's hands. I loved reading about her youth, both the difficult parts of finding her own ways without a mother or the gods to guide and help her, and the sweet and fun parts, like her relationships with her brothers, especially her twin. This is one of the only books I have read that goes into the art of charioteering (the Nevernight trilogy is the only other one I can think of), and I was fascinated reading about it. Plus, I am a sucker for a lady in battle, historically (I was weirdly obsessed with Joan of Arc as a kid, and loved Tamora Pierce's Alanna series), so the entire "Kaikeyi winning over Dasharath and Ayodhya through her horse/weapons prowess" really hit the spot for me. As Kaikeyi got older, I really enjoyed reading about her mind-opening about how she could help the women of her nation. There was some great insight into how being raised in one way (within a powerful family/court life) can limit one in the ways a person thinks about potential for change or how to make it happen, but with a little looking outside oneself, there are many creative and roundabout ways to affect change. As for her role as a mother, it was well-written, but not as much the highlight for me personally. I was much more into the ways she found to influence and act as a diplomat and use her small magic to create connections. And finally, I was so here for the ace spectrum coding on Kaikeyi’s character; it was smooth and natural and just....felt so right.

The writing itself was perfect for the genre, that sort of the folklore-y narrative voice that feels like classic fairy-tale story-telling. It's narrated by Kaikeyi herself, sort of looking back on everything after it all played out, so there is some fairly heavy-handed foreshadowing, with (short) reflections on what decisions could have been different or moments might have been altered to change the way things happened (just as a heads up, in case you, like myself, are not the biggest fan of that stylistic device). There were a couple other common plot devices that were recognizable, but well used, like the dangers of open-ended promises/boons as repayment/gift/in recognition. Also, and you can see it coming from a mile away but can't look away from it, the inevitable finale due to Kaikeyi keeping secrets (because she is a woman and grew up with little power/support/trust) leading to making decisions for the best possible outcome...but the lack of confiding in others about her knowledge plays a major part in her downfall of status/trust with those closest to her (because they didn’t understand her reasoning for having to make the decisions in the first place and felt taken advantage of and strong armed). That was a long description, but I was trying to convey the vibe while staying vague. The point is, it's a pattern I've definitely read before, but the confluence of situations/events built to Kaikeyi's tragedy in a wonderful way. Finally, I want to mention that the magic/gods aspects were in great balance to the rest of the novel (plot and character development - which were well-balanced and paced in their own right - and feminist themes); present, but never overpowering.

This was a cinematic, adventurous and spectacular retelling. The female gaze and centering was spot on and, as it always is, so refreshing. I always go into these retellings hoping for a happier story, even though I know that the women in these classics are tragic characters, the ones that suffered. So though these retellings are their perspectives, they are not happier for it, just given their own voice to tell it. Regardless, the forceful (though subtle within the plot itself, as necessary) feminism of historical, "powerful" women, was reminscient of Signe Pike's Langoureth (The Lost Queen and The Forgotten Kingdom) in all the best ways (I personally love that vibe/style). All in all, I just really enjoyed this reading experience and definitely recommend this book.

“I could not stop thinking about Ahalya, doomed to remain a stone statue in a forest, slowly eroding while her husband continued to wander the world. If a woman crafted by the gods themselves could be consigned to this fate, what hope was there for a woman born of a woman?”

“I had long thought of Ahalya as the foremost example of how a man might devastate a woman, but as I saw more of the world, I was realizing there were many ways to ruin a person's life. Most women were not cursed by their husbands, but they suffered all the same.”

“In helping another woman, I had in fact helped myself.” (love love love)

“I did not wish to bring a daughter into this world of men, into a world that would silence her thoughts before she could even speak them. I wondered how many women had felt this same fear, deep in their bones. [...] I had to build a world where [...] her opinion could be valued…”

“If the gods had already ordained my evil deeds, then I had nothing to lose by defying them now. So, I would defy them.”

“It is not weak to avoid war [...] It is the strongest thing you could do, to avoid unnecessary bloodshed.”

“'Then why do I feel wicked?' / 'Because those who are good question themselves. Because those who are good always wonder if there was a better way, a way that could have helped more and hurt less. That feeling is why you are good.'”

“Before this story was Rama’s, it was mine.”

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hanarama's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

CWs: sexism, misogyny, death, violence, abandonment, infertility, abuse

*3.5*

Kaikeyi is Vaishnavi Patel’s ambitious debut novel, retelling the first part of the Ramayana from the perspective of one of its most complicated characters. The only daughter amongst seven brothers, Kaikeyi is often ignored, both by her father and by the gods themselves. What power she has, she fought tooth and nail for, and in doing so becomes a formidable warrior, advisor, diplomat, and queen.

The power and influence that she has spent a lifetime carefully cultivating is thrown off kilter as her step-son Rama begins to ascend into his own power.

I loved the first half of this book, though it moved slowly. The meandering pace gives the reader space to get to know Kaikeyi and to understand her motivations. Her flaws and virtues are presented side by side throughout her rise to power, making her feel very real.

Though most of the other characters are not given the same detail as Kaikeyi, their relationships to her feel clear. While reading, I felt connections to them through Kaikeyi. Particularly, I loved her interactions with Dasharatha. I loved how asexuality was represented in their relationship. Though she didn’t love him as a romantic partner, her love for him as a friend felt so real.

The Binding Plane was beautifully handled. Its introduction makes for an interesting dynamic between Kaikeyi and the court intrigues of Kekeya and Ayodhya. The power felt very defined, but also strong, making Kaikeyi’s use of the Binding Plane feel very impactful.

The second half lost me a little bit. While compelling and fun to read, I felt that Patel framed too much of it in black and white. This was jarring, considering the care given in the first half to portray things in shades of gray. Kaikeyi is presented initially as an ambitious, sometimes callous, sometimes caring woman, but as Rama becomes more prominent, Patel presents her as wholly in the right and Rama as wholly in the wrong. I feel like there was a way for Patel to have shown them both as complicated, whole people.

It felt too much like Patel was trying to flip the entire narrative in reverse, rather than to give more space to the female characters to be rich and interesting people. Because despite Kaikeyi’s efforts in the story to raise the station of women in Kosala, she’s really the only female character to get thorough characterization. Others like Sita and Sumitra feel very flat. Framing the major conflict between Kaikeyi and Rama as a disagreement of women’s place in society rings kind of hollow given how they seem to only matter as a concept and not so much as characters.

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sunfalls's review

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Edit: changed rating to 3 stars. I just realized that I read this book through the lens of my upbringing, which is very Western. I wasn't raised in India, so I'm definitely much more Western than Indian, and therefore, it was hard to realize that the perspective that this book was written in did not really align with more traditional views and kind of maligned those views as well. I think if I were raised in India, I would look less favorably upon this retelling, since it doesn't just expand on Kaikeyi's story; it also actively maligns Rama to some extent and makes Ravana supposedly more kind than he was ever considered to be by any other stories.

I never read any of the translations of the Ramayana, considering I'm not fluent in Hindi or Sanskrit, and thus could not read any of the originals. However, I am vaguely familiar with the story of the Ramayana, as well as other stories of the gods and goddesses of the past. After reading this version, I think I vastly prefer this interpretation. I have never heard of anything like the

Binding Plane or any version in which Ravana is the father of Sita or where he is only half-rakshasa and mostly man-like in appearance, but for the color of his eyes.

However, none of that detracts from the pleasure I derived from this version. Even when I was younger, I didn't much like the way that after retrieving Sita, Rama had her go through the fire. That seemed to me like an unfair reaction to your beloved pious wife who had been kidnapped against her will, who had suffered in hope that her husband would arrive to save her. Not to mention, there are plenty of other stories in which women, even the goddesses, suffered the distrust or the judgement of their husbands. All of that tended to rub me the wrong way, though I didn't really quite know why back then. After reading this version, some of what felt off to me solidified in my mind. It was the less than ideal treatment of any female, even if they were divine, and therefore symbolized a lot of wonderful virtues.

I know that this retelling has a lot of fabricated material in it as well, but I did enjoy it all in all. It was well-written, and it was a refreshing new take on a story that has been told to many people in many ways for generations. For those that believe very devoutly that the Ramayana is more than an epic or a legend, this retelling will undoubtedly cause offense, but if anything, this endeared the original version to me more, by bringing the old characters into new more interesting light. I don't know the ages of Rama and Lakshmana when they were exiled, but with how young they were in this book, their behavior prior did make a lot of sense to me. If you were growing up human with the knowledge that you are also a god, I feel as though that would definitely stoke ego in a way that isn't entirely positive. Supposedly, in the original epic, or at least the version that is most commonly known, Rama knew he was a god, but he still grew up being extremely pious and well behaved nonetheless. In any case, I think it's possible to believe multiple versions of the same tale can be true. From the way it was portrayed here, Radnyi Kaikeyi was alone in noticing how extreme Rama's youthful prejudice towards women became, since she was the one out of all their mothers who became the dealer of punishment when her children became too mischievous. While in this version, Radnyi Kaushalya knew to some extent that Rama was not ready to assume the throne, she did not have the same insight Kaikeyi had, and also was forced to pretend to hate Kaikeyi, in order to not lose all that she had, in the same way. This really makes it seem as though Kaikeyi was mostly alone, since Kaushalya seemingly hadn't mentioned it to anyone.

I'm not sure if anyone would be bothered by the heavy-handed foreshadowing, but I feel as though most readers of this book would be familiar with the Ramayana to some extent. At least, I did not mind it; in fact, I liked it, since I already knew what the perception of Kaikeyi is in pretty much all versions of the Ramayana, as well as the general plot-line of the epic. I think any of my thoughts on this book are all within the context of the original Ramayana. I don't have many thoughts on this book without that context, since I cannot separate myself from my knowledge of the Ramayana well enough to evaluate this book as a stand-alone, look at its merits or lack-thereof, if there is in fact a lack, objectively without my opinions colored by my ideas and remembrances of the Ramayana. If you have no knowledge of the Ramayana, it might be useful to read other reviews to see if they read this book without that innate context.

Overall, I did enjoy this book a lot, and I think the character development and portrayal of depression and difficulty was very well done. I think this book was very well done, in terms of plot, placing, character development, even all the minutiae that comes with writing books, like grammar, punctuation, etc. I would definitely recommend reading this, even if you have no knowledge of the Ramayana, since there is plenty of action, and stories that fill in the gaps in Kaikeyi's generally known life. I quite like the feminist take on this as well. 5/5, would recommend.

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jaan's review

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emotional fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a fantastic story. I've read multiple feminist mythological retellings before, including The Palace of Illusions and The Kaunteyas, which have to do with the two major feminine figures from India's other great epic, the Mahabharata. I thought both those books were fine, but Kaikeyi is different in that it doesn't just give Kaikeyi a voice; it gives her agency.

Patel's inclusion of magic in this book is interesting. On one hand, I've read reviews saying it wasn't really necessary to the story. I understand this perspective, as it does feature prominently in the first act before largely fading to the background. I think it plays a pivotal role for two reasons. The first is

Ravana as a character and his relationship with Kaikeyi

. The second is that much of Kaikeyi's story deals with her acquisition and wielding of power, and in this, magic is, arguably, indispensable. During the later acts of the book, Kaikeyi's power is established, which is why it too fades from narrative significance. I do believe that Patel could have written an excellent story without its inclusion (even though it would be difficult), although it would be a different story.

In my imagination, the exclusion of magic would have created a story exactly opposite to the one Patel is trying to write: without it, Kaikeyi's growing power would easily be read as due to "feminine wiles," cunning manipulation, and malicious jealousy. She would also be sexually voracious, which Patel's Kaikeyi, out of narrative necessity, is not. This is the figure I remember from my childhood interactions with the Ramayana, and not one whose story I want to read, especially in a book wherein the protagonist so vehemently rankles from—and combats—sexism and institutional misogyny.

As an aside, I truly hate how popular culture has boiled down this book to "asexual representation." It's reductive to call Kaikeyi asexual from three perspectives. First, cultural: contemporary ideas of gender and sexuality are a product of imperial Western ideas and developments, and thus should not be applied to a figure from ancient Indian epics. Second, historical: Egyptologists refuse to apply contemporary labels of gender and sexuality onto historical figures. rudjedet (at least, I believe it was her; I can't find the post) on Tumblr explains excellently that just as she enjoys the privilege and dignity of defining herself, so should historical figures retain that dignity, and they would categorically define themselves differently than we would. Out of respect, she does not apply these labels. Third, narratively: Kaikeyi's indifference towards sexual relations with her husband is extremely minor in the story, and for me, as a person on the asexual spectrum, is not proof she does not experience sexual attraction. Once again, historical and cultural approaches to sex and sexual desire, especially for women, are drastically different than contemporary understandings. The fact that this book is considered LGBTQIA fiction is, frankly, insulting to me both as a Desi person and as a queer person.

Patel has taken some artistic liberties in this book which devout Hindus may not appreciate, especially with the convergence of Vamadeva and Gautama into one person, which she acknowledges in a note. This book is neither a historical document nor Hindu scripture. However, many of her choices align with the Ramayana, to which this book serves as a "prologue." I found her characterization of Rama really interesting, especially in light of the fact that, mythologically, he banishes Sita after their period of exile is over.

In major versions of the myth, Ravana is not Sita's father, but indeed a jealous suitor. Much of the Ramayana is about Ravana's kidnap of Sita, her rescue by Rama, and this proxy battle between good and evil. Although Ravana never forces himself on Sita and she never returns his advances, Kosala believes Sita was adulterous during her capture, which causes dissent as the people do not want an adulterous queen. Even after Sita proves her fidelity by sitting in divine fire, Rama sends her away to calm his kingdom, while she is pregnant.

People familiar with the Ramayana will find this book a refreshing, if somewhat deviant, retelling of Kaikeyi, who has long been considered one of the most villainous figures in Hindu mythology.

TLDR: I COULD NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN!! The reason it took me two days to read is because I fell asleep around 2AM and work up the next morning. Kaikeyi is sharp, endearing, and flawed. I am thankful to Patel for this version of her.

"In the end, I have always been concerned with mortal affairs. But the fact that they were mortal did not make them small. Nor did it make me wrong."

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mali33102's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The premise of this book was really intriguing. I felt like, overall, it was well-done, however, I found it difficult to want to pick up at times. I definitely believe that I would have enjoyed the book more had I read it more quickly. However, it was a solid realistic fantasy set in a culture that I have not read about before!

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regen20's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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chelsaat's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

After being disappointed about how Kaikeyi and Sita were treated in the Ramayana, it was so refreshing to read this excellent perspective that flipped the myth on its head. I loved so much about this book, from the concept of the Binding Plane to how Kaikeyi’s Big Decision rested on what was best for the women of the kingdom. There were some twists here that made me absolutely cackle with glee. Highly recommend this to any mythology lover, especially if you enjoyed Circe.

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