Genre Fiction
![Vaishnavi Patel - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B09CYK65GQ.jpg)
Kaikeyi: A Novel
"Mythic retelling at its best." ―R. F. Kuang, author of The Poppy War
"Easily earns its place on shelves alongside Madeline Miller's Circe." –Publishers Weekly (starred review)
A stunning debut from a powerful new voice, Kaikeyi reimagines the life of the infamous queen from the Indian epic the Ramayana. It is a tale of fate, family, courage, and heartbreak-and an extraordinary woman determined to leave her mark in a world where gods and men dictate the shape of things to come.
I was born on the full moon under an auspicious constellation, the holiest of positions-much good it did me.
So begins Kaikeyi's story. The only daughter of the kingdom of Kekaya, she is raised on tales of the gods: how they churned the vast ocean to obtain the nectar of immortality, how they vanquish evil and ensure the land of Bharat prospers, and how they offer powerful boons to the devout and the wise. Yet she watches as her father unceremoniously banishes her mother, listens as her own worth is reduced to how great a marriage alliance she can secure. And when she calls upon the gods for help, they never seem to hear.
Desperate for some measure of independence, she turns to the texts she once read with her mother and discovers a magic that is hers alone. With this power, Kaikeyi transforms herself from an overlooked princess into a warrior, diplomat, and most favored queen, determined to carve a better world for herself and the women around her.
But as the evil from her childhood stories threatens the cosmic order, the path she has forged clashes with the destiny the gods have chosen for her family. And Kaikeyi must decide if resistance is worth the destruction it will wreak-and what legacy she intends to leave behind.
Praise for Kaikeyi:
"Utterly captivating from start to finish." ―Genevieve Gornichec, author of The Witch's Heart
"Brave, compassionate and powerful." ―Tasha Suri, author of The Jasmine Throne
"A lyrical and evocative retelling, full of power and grace." ―Ava Reid, author of The Wolf and the Woodsman
"Compulsively readable and infinitely compassionate." ―Roshani Chokshi, author of The Gilded Wolves
"A thought-provoking, nuanced new look at one of humanity's most foundational stories." -S. A. Chakraborty, author of The City of Brass
"Fans of Madeline Miller's Circe will fall hard for this story." ―Booklist (starred review)
"Easily earns its place on shelves alongside Madeline Miller's Circe." –Publishers Weekly (starred review)
A stunning debut from a powerful new voice, Kaikeyi reimagines the life of the infamous queen from the Indian epic the Ramayana. It is a tale of fate, family, courage, and heartbreak-and an extraordinary woman determined to leave her mark in a world where gods and men dictate the shape of things to come.
I was born on the full moon under an auspicious constellation, the holiest of positions-much good it did me.
So begins Kaikeyi's story. The only daughter of the kingdom of Kekaya, she is raised on tales of the gods: how they churned the vast ocean to obtain the nectar of immortality, how they vanquish evil and ensure the land of Bharat prospers, and how they offer powerful boons to the devout and the wise. Yet she watches as her father unceremoniously banishes her mother, listens as her own worth is reduced to how great a marriage alliance she can secure. And when she calls upon the gods for help, they never seem to hear.
Desperate for some measure of independence, she turns to the texts she once read with her mother and discovers a magic that is hers alone. With this power, Kaikeyi transforms herself from an overlooked princess into a warrior, diplomat, and most favored queen, determined to carve a better world for herself and the women around her.
But as the evil from her childhood stories threatens the cosmic order, the path she has forged clashes with the destiny the gods have chosen for her family. And Kaikeyi must decide if resistance is worth the destruction it will wreak-and what legacy she intends to leave behind.
Praise for Kaikeyi:
"Utterly captivating from start to finish." ―Genevieve Gornichec, author of The Witch's Heart
"Brave, compassionate and powerful." ―Tasha Suri, author of The Jasmine Throne
"A lyrical and evocative retelling, full of power and grace." ―Ava Reid, author of The Wolf and the Woodsman
"Compulsively readable and infinitely compassionate." ―Roshani Chokshi, author of The Gilded Wolves
"A thought-provoking, nuanced new look at one of humanity's most foundational stories." -S. A. Chakraborty, author of The City of Brass
"Fans of Madeline Miller's Circe will fall hard for this story." ―Booklist (starred review)
Editorial Reviews
"The novel is compelling and rich, drawing on the source material while furnishing its characters with new complexity and motivations. Fans of Madeline Miller's Circe will fall hard for this story about a woman determined to do what's right for her kingdom and its women, walking the fine line between rebellion and convention."―Booklist (starred review)
"A powerful examination of a woman maligned by myth and men. Patel's imagination takes a hammer to the image of a stonehearted villainess and reveals the woman within, whose choices sparked immortal legends. Compulsively readable and infinitely compassionate, this is the story I've been yearning for all my life."―Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of the Aru Shah and Gilded Wolves series
"Utterly captivating from start to finish. I was immersed in Kaikeyi's world from the moment I opened Vaishnavi Patel's stunning debut, and whether or not you already know how the story ends, there is so much here to enjoy. Kaikeyi truly shines."―Genevieve Gornichec, author of The Witch's Heart
"A lyrical and evocative retelling, full of power and grace, which brings forward a traditionally maligned woman of myth. Kaikeyi's life is rendered with richness and nuance, yielding a story that feels both novel and classic. A spellbinding debut."―Ava Reid, author The Wolf and the Woodsman
"Patel shines an elegant, incisive lens on an ancient epic and the vilified queen tangled within it. Brave, compassionate and powerful, Kaikeyi is a novel that will live in my head and my heart for a long time to come."―Tasha Suri, author of The Jasmine Throne
"A glorious tapestry of a novel. This book is a deft and heartrending portrayal of a family torn apart and of the sacrifices we demand of each other, written with great depth of feeling and hope for brighter times. I adored it."―Lucy Holland, author of Sistersong
"The best kind of retelling. Deftly weaving fantasy elements with beloved mythology, this brilliant reinterpretation enriches the Ramayana with counternarratives, so that the original epic becomes the gods' version of the story, and Patel's indelible debut goes to deeper places where the gods cannot follow. I can't stop thinking about Kaikeyi."―
"A powerful examination of a woman maligned by myth and men. Patel's imagination takes a hammer to the image of a stonehearted villainess and reveals the woman within, whose choices sparked immortal legends. Compulsively readable and infinitely compassionate, this is the story I've been yearning for all my life."―Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of the Aru Shah and Gilded Wolves series
"Utterly captivating from start to finish. I was immersed in Kaikeyi's world from the moment I opened Vaishnavi Patel's stunning debut, and whether or not you already know how the story ends, there is so much here to enjoy. Kaikeyi truly shines."―Genevieve Gornichec, author of The Witch's Heart
"A lyrical and evocative retelling, full of power and grace, which brings forward a traditionally maligned woman of myth. Kaikeyi's life is rendered with richness and nuance, yielding a story that feels both novel and classic. A spellbinding debut."―Ava Reid, author The Wolf and the Woodsman
"Patel shines an elegant, incisive lens on an ancient epic and the vilified queen tangled within it. Brave, compassionate and powerful, Kaikeyi is a novel that will live in my head and my heart for a long time to come."―Tasha Suri, author of The Jasmine Throne
"A glorious tapestry of a novel. This book is a deft and heartrending portrayal of a family torn apart and of the sacrifices we demand of each other, written with great depth of feeling and hope for brighter times. I adored it."―Lucy Holland, author of Sistersong
"The best kind of retelling. Deftly weaving fantasy elements with beloved mythology, this brilliant reinterpretation enriches the Ramayana with counternarratives, so that the original epic becomes the gods' version of the story, and Patel's indelible debut goes to deeper places where the gods cannot follow. I can't stop thinking about Kaikeyi."―
Readers Top Reviews
Jillcd
This story has such a strong character who seems to be what legends are made of. Well, that’s exactly what Kaikeyi is, an almost mythological figure so different from the women of her time. Born as a princess in a family of all males, she excels at skills that were only suitable for men such as driving a chariot, throwing a spear, and archery. But as the only daughter, it is her duty to marry to form alliances with neighboring kingdoms. Reluctantly, Kaikeyi becomes the third wife of a raja with the promise that if she bears him a son, her son would be the crown prince. Kaikeyi, having read the scrolls that she studied with her mother, discovers she has a gift in that she can put thoughts into others and is thought to be god-touched. While she prays to the gods (and goddesses) she feels that her wishes are never heard. Kaikeyi seeks to control her destiny and be very independent. In her new home, she finds sisterhood with the other wives, and elevates herself as an advisor to her husband. Kaikeyi, having raised her brothers, is a natural to raise the four princes born to the wives. However, it is Rama, not her biological son Bharata who is being primed for being the next raja. Only Kaikeyi knows that Rama, who wields a lot of influence over others, is a god and that all is not right in her kingdom. When Kaikeyi tries to save her new home, she faces opposition to the social changes that she wants made to help those around her, especially from Rama and the Sages. There is an unknown evil that is amiss. Well crafted, this is not your typical novel or story but full of adventure and magic. It is about family, loyalty, courage, and value of self. Not familiar with all the legends or mythology of India, it was interesting to see the relationships of the characters to their gods, their beliefs, and how this shaped their destiny. A complex but intriguing story, Kaikeyi is well worth the read. Once started, I couldn’t put it down and I felt the joys and the heartaches right with Kaikeyi as she experienced it. Well done. Many thanks to #netgalley #kaikeyi #vaishnavipatel for the opportunity to read and review this book.
Heather HHeather
Before I start my review, I want to say that I am not at all familiar with the source material, Ramayana. However, I absolutely loved this retelling. What I thought I knew going into this book was that it was intended to give a voice to Kaikeyi, the antagonist in Ramayana. Again, I can’t compare it to the original, but I adored the character of Kaikeyi. Every decision she made came from a place of well meaning and love. She fought against the patriarchy and worked her entire life to help the women of her kingdom. It wasn’t just her political work that made her so endearing though. We follow her as a child growing up with seven brothers, then as a queen/wife/friend, and as a mother not only to her blood son, but to the other three sons of her husband. Her relationships with all of them helped her to be a sympathetic character. I loved this book and would like to read more more books inspired by Hindu mythology (possibly the original Ramayana).
Krista C.Heather
"If the gods had already ordained my evil deeds, then I had nothing to lose by defying them now. So, I would defy them." Fans of Circe by Madeline Miller need to get their hands on this book ASAP. This glorious, epic, feminist retelling of yet another myth that villainizes a woman reimagines Kaikeyi as a brilliantly complex, richly developed character. Patel's masterful depiction of the vilified radnyi is full of contradictions, and that's what makes her such a compelling, fully-realized woman and character. She's wise yet sometimes naive; proud to the point of arrogance but wonderfully compassionate; a skilled warrior who counsels against war; and staunchly independent while starved for love and affection. I loved watching Kaikeyi grow across the decades. Kaikeyi is, thanks to its epic scope, is a slow building story. But don't mistake that for boring. Much of the front half of the book is devoted to Kaikeyi's growth - from a lonely princess discovering her powers, determined to snatch any scrap of power she can to a queen who has built herself a loving family, discovered some semblance of happiness for the first time, and realized that her accumulated power can be wielded to build a better world for all women and not just for securing her own independence. I found myself smiling at the well-deserved moments of happiness Kaikeyi found in Ayodhya. At the same time, however, Patel never lets forget that Kaikeyi's story is not a happy one. She deftly builds a sense of foreboding, of dread for the tragedies we know are coming. And those tragedies, when they finally occur, are truly devastating. Kaikeyi is a bittersweet story about a woman, forsaken by the gods, who is determined to build a better world. And she succeeds, at devastating cost. "I had to build a world where my daughter would not be exiled by her husband on a whim, where her opinion could be valued without first having to save her husband's life in battle."
KarlieKarlieKrist
"...but then again, most boys knew nothing of their incredible luck." Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel is everything I hoped it would be and so much more. It reminded me more of Signe Pike's work than Madeline Miller's to be honest, and I mean that as a fantastic compliment because I love The Lost Queen. The Bharat/India setting may possibly be my most favorite setting for a historical fantasy ever. Kaikeyi is an amazing main character. She is strong and smart yet also vulnerable. The way she makes women empowerment her life's work only adds to her depth and relatability. This is one of those books you never want to put down but that you're also trying to read slowly in order to savor it. I'm really sad it's over and I pray to Sarasvati that Vaishnavi Patel publishes more work sometime in the near future.
