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A review by sunfalls
Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel
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 theBinding 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.
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
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Death