Kaikeyi

Welcome, friend! Today Ariel and I are very excited to share our thoughts on one of our favorite fantasy books of the year – Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel. This is the retelling of the Hindu epic of the Ramayana. We love reading books where we come in with different backgrounds and hope that you will enjoy this book as well as this discussion. Take a look at the synopsis of the book and then let’s get started.

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Kaikeyi
Whole book Discussion

As a huge fan of ancient history, folklore/mythology retellings, and powerful women in leading roles, this book seemed right up my alley. When Orbit sent the ARCs to us, I was so excited for our discussions about this book! When I picked up Kaikeyi,  I found myself reluctant to put it down. The narrative voice of the author flowed very well, and I was completely immersed in this colorful kingdom and interesting characters. I had read Ramayana years and years ago, so I only remembered brief major portions of it, like Rama’s exile. I really loved how the author had Kaikeyi reclaim her own narrative in this, in spite of the misogyny she faced. 

A portion I really loved in this book was how women supported each other. I think that’s such an important aspect in feminist retellings; to ensure that other women aren’t petty competition or rivals. Kaikeyi formed a bond with the other wives, and her support network made her character strong and likeable. 

My grandma told me many stories about kings and queens when I was growing up and I don’t remember one where the king’s many wives got along! Come to think of it now, it is quite sad that the pattern was this way. It is always so nice to see women working together and supporting each other because we do in real life! High political and tense situations are depicted like a cut throat competition but Kaikeyi presents a beautiful family structure where all the queens are mothers and it doesn’t matter who the birth mother is. As a ruling family, there is no higher position in society to get to, so any sort of rivalry is useless. How can they be good to their people if they are busy amongst themselves? I think the people of Ayodhya felt  the sharing of power: Dasharath ruled his way but also let the queens rule with him in their unique way. It was such a wonderful kingdom.

There’s also an added magical element that Kaikeyi has for her own– the Binding Plane. What did you think of that? 

I love this question! My interactions with Hindu mythology epics have been centred around the main characters – reincarnations of god. It wasn’t until I read The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni that I noticed that some other characters are also divine and have important things to contribute. By that I simply mean that they have some powers or boons, they have been blessed with something special. I knew they existed, I had just never paid much attention to them before.

While in The Palace of Illusions (the retelling of the Mahabharata, by the way), the divine aspect was quite clear in which goddess had reincarnated, Kaikeyi is ultimately not a goddess and I loved that in being god-touched, she was still powerful in whatever way she chose to yield her power. Since I never thought of her as god, my expectations of her actions were not limited by my assumption of the good divine people are supposed to do. Does that make any sense? She was truly human and used her abilities like a human.

Yes! She has power but there are also consequences to that power. If she pushed too hard in the Binding Plane, she risked severing her relationship with that person. She has choices to make and incredible agency; she makes mistakes and has to deal with the repercussions of those actions. 

Ram is the perfect contrast in the book because he is divine and once he knows he is divine and has reincarnated for a purpose, he is driven by morals he doesn’t even understand. So, he is swayed by his teachers and does all he can to impress them. This young, sometimes heartless version of him was certainly hard for me to accept since in the Ramayana I grew up reading, he is one of the most beloved characters who follows dharma and can do no wrong. Kaikeyi really questioned how he came to become that Ram and the author sets this up as a tale that will continue with more powerful voices.

A theme in this book that resonated deeply and my own journey of leaving a blind faith is how Kaikeyi constantly challenges the power structure and how her very existence is limited by what is deemed “holy.” She doesn’t necessarily hate the gods, or Rama (she does genuinely love Rama as her own son), but she challenges unquestioning faith and holds a mirror of critical thought up to those who confront her, and they are left with uncertainty, doubt, and bitterness. 

This makes me think of the little truths from Ramayana that this book is based on and how much more can  be behind them: In the shortest version, King Dashrath of Ayodhya had three wives and, at the time of marrying his youngest wife, Kaikeyi, he had promised her that her son would be the king. When Dashrath is ready to abdicate the throne, Kaikeyi reminds him of his promise and Dashrath is forced to send Ram, his eldest born from his first wife, Kaushalya, on an exile. We have both read this and we know all that could have been behind Keikeyi’s decision and how summaries sometimes strip too much of the truth, making black and white where there is only grey.

Lastly, I’ve seen some negative reviews on Goodreads and even the author talk about how some people are not satisfied with her not living in India so therefore she doesn’t have “claim” to Kaikeyi’s story. What are your thoughts on that?

I looked up the author when I finished the book. I wanted to know her roots, where she grew up and where she is now. I honestly wasn’t surprised that she doesn’t live in India but she has Indian roots, whether she ever lived there is beside the point. Our culture goes with us wherever we go and we all embrace it to whatever levels we want to. I haven’t thought a lot about my religion but the more I am exposed to retellings of my epics (and plan my wedding since we are infusing some of the hindu rituals in it!), I get more curious and start to learn more about the stories that have passed down for generations. My living or growing up in India has nothing to do with it. These tales are older than what we call ‘India’ today. A place has no singular right on these stories and I love that readers around the world have access to stories from so many cultures, old and new!

I felt the same way when I read Sistersong, and the book made me think deeply about how my pre-Christianized ancestors viewed the world. There’s a beauty in retelling ancient stories and having those stories be viewed around the world; shared and experienced together in a way that helps us grow and support each other even more as we deepen our understanding through many perspectives.

Thanks for joining us today! Will you pick up this book?

Add the book to your shelves on Goodreads and Storygraph.

Many thanks to Orbit for providing us a review copy for our honest thoughts.