Book Review: Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel
Length: 432 Pages
Genres: Fantasy and Historical Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

A special thanks to NetGalley and Redhook for providing me with an ARC of this novel!

Trigger Warnings in this book for Blood, Gore, Misogyny and Death

I've always loved mythology ever since I was little (one of my favorite gifts I received for my birthday was a book on Greek mythology), but like many, I've neglected learning more about mythologies outside of a Eurocentric view. Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel was one of my most anticipated reads of 2022 and I'm so excited to say I think it will be one of my top books of 2022 as well!

Kaikeyi is the oldest daughter, a yuvradnyi (crown princess) to her twin brother's yuvraja (heir apparent), of the raja of Kekeya, and a mother who has been banished, forgotten as easily as if she was a mere servant. Life among seven brothers and a father who sees her as nothing more than bait for a political marriage, is both privileged and hopeless. She wants to be just as good a warrior, just as good a politician and student, as her many brothers. With the loss of her mother, she is plunged into despair and turns to her beloved scrolls for advice. There, she discovers a secret, a place that she can enter into with meditation, a place where she can see all the many tethers that make up the relationships around her. With practice, she will be able to manipulate those tethers, to stroke them into calmness, or suggest someone confess to her a secret.

Years later, Kaikeyi is bargained away as a third wife to the raja Dasharath, who desires nothing more than an heir--but it is in a bargain of her own making. In exchange for her hand, she asks that should she produce a son, he will be made the sole heir to the kingdom, no matter if his other wives eventually have sons as well. He accepts, before her father and twin and their entire court.

At her new home, Kaikeyi cultivates relationships with servants, courtiers, and her fellow radnyi. But still she does not have a son. Desperate, Dasharath calls on the gods for help, and they answer, offering magical kheer for the wives to drink in order to produce heirs. Little do they know that the gods have set into motion a plan that will bring bloodshed and betrayal in its wake.

But Kaikeyi has one last trick up her sleeve. When her marriage to Dasharath was still young, she saved his life in battle. In payment he granted her two boons, oaths to the gods that whatever she wanted he must grant. Now, Kaikeyi can choose to use these boons to save her kingdom and her family, but at the cost of being forevermore a villain in her own tale.

Based on the ancient Sanskrit epic Ramayana (which is one of the largest epic poems in the history of the world), Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel explores a much-maligned character, that of the stepmother to the hero of the story, Rama. He is an avatar of the god Vishnu and is an incredibly important character in Hindusim. While in the epic Kaikeyi is somewhat given the excuse of being swayed by her maid, the humpbacked and conniving Manthara, in this version, she makes choices of her own free will, for better or worse. She is full of strength and doubts, goodness when she is afraid she is nothing but wicked and forsaken by her gods. Kaikeyi is truly a character that will stick with you long after you turn the last page.

Full of fascinating deities, magic and heartbreak, Patel has breathed new life into a character who before existed little beyond her betrayal and her womanhood. Perfect for fans of Ariadne by Jennifer Saint and Circe by Madeline Miller--welcome Kaikeyi into your collection of favorite mythology villainesses!