Reviews

overall enjoyed this twist/retelling of traditional mythology. Not super familiar with the sources so enjoyed just reading this story and learning a little about something new. At times it felt repetitive in terms of what Kaikeyi was saying/thinking and for some reason felt that I was missing some more detailed description and atmosphere. And I do agree with the Circe comparison on this one.

anonymous_blobfish's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-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

Wow wow WOW! May Bookclub really said sit down, shut up and bask in my glory!!
Kaikeyi is a strong, feminist retelling of the Ramayana, one of the great Hindu epic stories. The Ramayana follows a young man, touched by power, as he battles evil, including his wicked stepmother. Kaikeyi is the story of this allegedly wicked woman, only told from her perspective, where her wickedness was little more than her sex and her aim to better the lives of her fellow women.

This book was so powerful and emotional and oftentimes left me feeling so raw. I hated so many things that happened and felt myself all but physically reaching out to try and pull characters back from certain choices. I also think this book was incredibly beautiful. The relationships especially were oftentimes incredibly lovely and I enjoyed the portrayal of Kaykeyi as ace/aro.

If I had any criticisms of this book, it would be that the ending came to feel quite rushed and the depiction of the villain origin felt a bit incomplete. I did appreciate the slow build of a certain character’s arc to evil but I think that there was little time given to this journey, especially in the latter half of the book, that it left the story feeling a bit more hollow. I understand that this was probably intentional so as to give more time with Kaikeyi and her specific plight and perhaps because the original story focuses more specifically on that character but I had no prior knowledge of the Ramayana and so it left me wanting.

That aside, this book was fantastic. I would like to read it again in the future at my own pace because I think I will get even more from it. I’m very excited to read more from this author and highly recommend them!