Reviews with content warning for Bullying - Kaikeyi

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Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel

4 reviews

rnbhargava's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense 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? Yes

4.25

I loved so much about this Ramayana expansion and partial retelling. The highs and lows are dramatic and I love this book for it. I also love that the title character’s mind is where we exclusively reside in for this retelling given she’s usually depicted as a wicked stepmother type in many Ramayana variations. Seeing her extended family, early days of her marriage, her bonds with her fellow wives and the community of her adopted home Ayodhya. Seeing her build bonds and falter in others. Seeing her reconnect with others across time. I liked the recontextualizinv of Ravana too. The depiction of Rama is done for a specific reason and I kind of loved that surprising shift. I’m sure it ruffled some but I think fine, it’s merely one retelling so if you dislike it, disregard it. The family bonds really define the narrative here and it’s so good to read through. The characterizations of Kaikeyi’s fellow wives could have been expanded but then I guess it would take away from being solely Kaikeyi’s point of view.

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just_one_more_paige's review

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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.”

Content Warnings

charlereads's review against another edition

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dark sad 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

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jessgreads's review

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adventurous challenging emotional informative inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.5

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐✨

Title: Kaikeyi

Author: Vaishnavi Patel

Genre: Fantasy

Setting: Bharat

Month Read: April 2022

Book Type: Hardcover

Publication:2022

Publisher: Redhook

Pages: 475

*Book of the Month Selection

TRIGGER WARNING-

Violence / Death / Rape? / Arranged Marriage

"Regardless of birth position, Yudhajit, being a boy, was the heir to the Kekaya kingdom. I was but a dowry of fifty fine horses waiting to happen."

No Spoiler Summary:

In the vein of Madeline Miller’s Circe comes a bold and sweeping debut that reimagines the life of Kaikeyi, the vilified queen of the Indian epic the Ramayana.

“I was born on the full moon under an auspicious constellation, the holiest of positions—much good it did me.”

So begins Kaikeyi’s story, that of a young woman determined to create her own destiny in a world where gods and men dictate the shape of things to come. But as she transforms herself from an overlooked princess into a warrior, diplomat, and most-favored queen, Kaikeyi’s will clashes with the path that has been chosen for her family. And she must decide if her resistance is worth the destruction it will wreak.

-Goodreads Summary

Review:

It has been no secret if you know me by how excited I was that this book was coming out, and that Book of the Month was offering it in April. I am so thrilled to say that my specific hype for this novel did not let me know, and I devoured this novel in a few days (despite being my third 400+ page book of April.) I don't know much about the Ramayana, but I was absolutely engrossed in Kaikeyi's story, and the mythos and lore within the pages.

I'm a sucker for a good feminist perspective, especially in books like this where women are typically uh--- demonized? Second class characters? I love that Kaikeyi did what she had to do, no matter the cost, but never ever gave up on her power, and what she felt she deserved. She frequently is villainized for standing up for herself, and for others, and at the end of the day has to pay the consequences for this.

I loved the tales of Sisterhood woven throughout Kaikeyi. Whether it is with her brothers in her homeland, or with her sister-wives in Ayodhya, Kaikeyi loves those around her hard, and selflessly once she warms up to someone. I thought she was an incredibly gracious person, and her fight for women never ceased.

Kaikeyi is a dense book, and at times slows down, but reading it is so worth it (especially for fans of Circe!) The reading of this felt a lot like Circe (but more fun, in my opinion) and if you like Madeline Miller or Jennifer Saint you'll definitely like this. It was also a nice break from the Greeks.

10/10 recommend- you won't regret it.

"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."

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