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A review by mystralstorm
Goddess of the River by Vaishnavi Patel
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
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
4.5
Thank you for the eARC NetGalley, Orbit books US, Redhook. All opinions provided are my own.
This is the first book I have read from Vaishnavi Patel and the first exposure to the story of Mahabharata. As someone who has had no experience with the original epic, Vaishnavi did a wonderful job of weaving the retelling into a beautiful new story. I could not put the book down; each time I thought about taking a break, the anticipation of the next section of Ganga’s life kept me going.
Goddess of the River is the reimagining of the story of Mahabharata, an epic that revolves around Bhishma, the son of the river goddess Ganga, and the conflicts of ancient India. Goddess of the River follows the journey of Ganga as she leaves the Heavens and the consequences of interacting with the mortal realm. The two main points of views are Ganga and her son Bhishma. The ripple effects of Ganga’s actions can be seen through Bhishma’s point of view. The actions of the divine and the consequences of men is one of the focus points of the story. For every action taken, good or evil, there is some kind of consequence to the characters.
I think one of my favorite parts of the story is how Ganga never stops acting like a goddess. Even when she is cursed to a mortal body, she still thinks of herself as a goddess. Being a mortal is temporary and every action she takes is working her way to breaking the curse. She doesn’t really try to blend in with civilization, which does cause her some trouble down the road. While she doesn’t struggle with mortality, she does struggle with her behavior as a goddess. It was fun watching her journey from a raging goddess, hating being trapped and separated from her heavenly family, to someone who accepts the nature of mortals and finds her place among them.
While I did enjoy the story, it did not take long for me to get lost with all the characters introduced. Even now I can only really remember four or five in the sea of characters. I also lost track of who was related to who. The eARC did not come with the family tree and I didn’t see the Goodreads one in time; if I was reread with a physical copy later, I’m sure the availability to reference the characters would make keeping track easier.
Overall, Goddess of the River borders on 4.5 stars for me. It might be bumped up to a 5 once I have the family tree in my hand.
PS: Screw Shiva and his actions. I wanted to drown him in the river multiple times. Without his interference there would be no story but his arrogance made me want to scream. I get he is supposed to be a foil of some kind to Ganga but I hated him even at the end of the story.
This is the first book I have read from Vaishnavi Patel and the first exposure to the story of Mahabharata. As someone who has had no experience with the original epic, Vaishnavi did a wonderful job of weaving the retelling into a beautiful new story. I could not put the book down; each time I thought about taking a break, the anticipation of the next section of Ganga’s life kept me going.
Goddess of the River is the reimagining of the story of Mahabharata, an epic that revolves around Bhishma, the son of the river goddess Ganga, and the conflicts of ancient India. Goddess of the River follows the journey of Ganga as she leaves the Heavens and the consequences of interacting with the mortal realm. The two main points of views are Ganga and her son Bhishma. The ripple effects of Ganga’s actions can be seen through Bhishma’s point of view. The actions of the divine and the consequences of men is one of the focus points of the story. For every action taken, good or evil, there is some kind of consequence to the characters.
I think one of my favorite parts of the story is how Ganga never stops acting like a goddess. Even when she is cursed to a mortal body, she still thinks of herself as a goddess. Being a mortal is temporary and every action she takes is working her way to breaking the curse. She doesn’t really try to blend in with civilization, which does cause her some trouble down the road. While she doesn’t struggle with mortality, she does struggle with her behavior as a goddess. It was fun watching her journey from a raging goddess, hating being trapped and separated from her heavenly family, to someone who accepts the nature of mortals and finds her place among them.
While I did enjoy the story, it did not take long for me to get lost with all the characters introduced. Even now I can only really remember four or five in the sea of characters. I also lost track of who was related to who. The eARC did not come with the family tree and I didn’t see the Goodreads one in time; if I was reread with a physical copy later, I’m sure the availability to reference the characters would make keeping track easier.
Overall, Goddess of the River borders on 4.5 stars for me. It might be bumped up to a 5 once I have the family tree in my hand.
PS: Screw Shiva and his actions. I wanted to drown him in the river multiple times. Without his interference there would be no story but his arrogance made me want to scream. I get he is supposed to be a foil of some kind to Ganga but I hated him even at the end of the story.