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A review by megatza
Ten Incarnations of Rebellion by Vaishnavi Patel
challenging
emotional
informative
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
5.0
In an alternate history, set in a 1960 India that never attained Independence from Great Britain, a new generation of freedom fighters rises from the colonized Indians. Patel's timeline deviates from our history in 1910, and by 1960, the city of Kingston (a common name for a city in the British colonies) has been built over the ashes of old Bombay. Kalki Divekar is the daughter of the previous generation of revolutionaries, and at 19 starts sowing the seeds for her own generation of revolutionaries.
The novel traces ten years of fighting, one for each of the ten Incarnations of Vishnu. Like Vaishnavi Patel's other novels, this is expertly structured and plays brilliantly with character and plot: each chapter is a new year, a new incarnation, and contains a version of the story of the incarnation as it ties to her plot. I love a well-structured novel, even one so obvious, so this speaks deeply to me.
This has an unmissable author's note, highlighting rebellion and revolution (and citing two of my favorite rebellion stories as well: Lagaan and Star Wars), and framing the novel and alternate history as a conceit to play with more modern anticolonial rebellion. She emphasizes that this is not history, and suggests further reading. While it isn't history, the premise remains true: oppression is real, yet hope abounds. It highlights the dangers of erasure of culture, multiple voices (caste, religion, race) within the liberation movement, and structural inequity that any reader will view as intolerant and yet we often fail to recognize within our own experiences of society.
Kalki is a compelling character. Coming of age in a land where she has access to education and therefore some privilege, she makes choices which send her in her father's footsteps. She's flawed but determined, fitting for a kali yuga revolutionary. Her approach to rebellion comes from her position as a woman; she leverages resources and provides aid (like battery powered fans during rolling blackouts) in acts of subversion. She struggles with her desire to lead and her drive for Indian Independence with the pressures of being a young woman who cares for her family and for her friends. She's demisexual, and we see the way she grows and embraces love.
While there is a heavy emphasis on Indian culture, history and alternate history, and Hindu religious stories, Vaishnavi Patel does an excellent job at making her novel accessible to readers with a range of knowledge on those subjects.
The novel traces ten years of fighting, one for each of the ten Incarnations of Vishnu. Like Vaishnavi Patel's other novels, this is expertly structured and plays brilliantly with character and plot: each chapter is a new year, a new incarnation, and contains a version of the story of the incarnation as it ties to her plot. I love a well-structured novel, even one so obvious, so this speaks deeply to me.
This has an unmissable author's note, highlighting rebellion and revolution (and citing two of my favorite rebellion stories as well: Lagaan and Star Wars), and framing the novel and alternate history as a conceit to play with more modern anticolonial rebellion. She emphasizes that this is not history, and suggests further reading. While it isn't history, the premise remains true: oppression is real, yet hope abounds. It highlights the dangers of erasure of culture, multiple voices (caste, religion, race) within the liberation movement, and structural inequity that any reader will view as intolerant and yet we often fail to recognize within our own experiences of society.
Kalki is a compelling character. Coming of age in a land where she has access to education and therefore some privilege, she makes choices which send her in her father's footsteps. She's flawed but determined, fitting for a kali yuga revolutionary. Her approach to rebellion comes from her position as a woman; she leverages resources and provides aid (like battery powered fans during rolling blackouts) in acts of subversion. She struggles with her desire to lead and her drive for Indian Independence with the pressures of being a young woman who cares for her family and for her friends. She's demisexual, and we see the way she grows and embraces love.
While there is a heavy emphasis on Indian culture, history and alternate history, and Hindu religious stories, Vaishnavi Patel does an excellent job at making her novel accessible to readers with a range of knowledge on those subjects.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: Death, Police brutality, War
Minor: Misogyny