Table of Contents
Preamble
I feel like a broken clock saying this – Kaikeyi is another book that’s been sitting in my to-be-read pile for years and it is also another library borrowed book. I originally planned to read this in May 2025 for Asian Heritage Month but I got lost in The Daevabad Trilogy that month and I put this book off for another time.
Minor aside – the library copy of this that I read is a hardcover copy. The thing of note is that the hardcover version of this book has deckled edges. I continue to not be a fan of books that have deckled edges. I just don’t like how they look or feel. It really is the most inconsequential of opinions, the kind of which one tends to pick up after having a particular hobby for a long time.
With that aside, let’s get into the book.
The Book
Kaikeyi is a historical fantasy novel that retells a story from the Ramayana from the perspective of the titular Kaikeyi. The most direct comparison points for this novel that I’ve read are – Circe by Madeline Miller, The Legend of Meneka by Kritika H. Rao, and Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan. Feminist retelling of ancient myths and stories.
I generally seem to enjoy reading historical fiction of this nature especially if it is of a mythology not commonly written about in Western historical fiction. I didn’t particularly enjoy The Legend of Meneka when I read it earlier this year but that was mostly because of its romantasy elements rather than the mythology. So I was looking forward to reading another book that used Hindu mythology.
Themes
This book is not subtle at all with its themes – namely misogyny and sexism. Throughout the narrative, Kaikeyi has to deal with rampant sexism and misogyny from the society she resides in. However Kaikeyi herself is not depicted as powerless or lacking any agency – in fact she often uses the power she does have as a queen to help herself and other people.
Generally speaking, I think this book succeeds in its goal at being a feminist retelling of this particular myth. However I did find that the book could have in fact used a little more subtlety in portraying its themes, a little more “show” rather than “tell”. There are points in the story where Kaikeyi’s inner monologue will explain the hypocrisy and double standards of the sexism she’s facing to the reader and I found this to be unnecessary.
Narrative
I found the narrative in Kaikeyi to be compelling. The story weaves in everything I generally like – a bit of politics and court intrigue, interpersonal drama, gods and goddesses intervening in mortal affairs and just a dollop of magic. I especially found the way the interpersonal relationships are developed through the book to be some of the best aspects of the book.
The story ultimately is a tragedy and the reader is given direct hints of this throughout the book. So halfway through the story I had a general idea where the plot was headed but I didn’t know how we were going to get there. This is a case of where the journey is more important than the ultimate destination. I could tell you what happens at the end of the book and I don’t think it would spoil your enjoyment of the book. I enjoyed the journey this book took me on.
Characters
Since this is a feminist retelling of a ancient myth it is worth talking about the various women characters in this book. The book generally portrays Kaikeyi and the various other women characters in this book in a complex manner. Women who find community and solidarity with each other while also being complex individuals with their own motivations and desires.
I mentioned earlier that I liked the interpersonal relationships in this book – more specifically I really liked the way Kaikeyi’s relationship with her fellow queens Kaushalya and Sumitra was depicted. The way the three women slowly built up their friendship and obtained power and agency was well done.
Kaikeyi herself is a somewhat morally grey character especially at the beginning. Her use of her magical power is ethically dubious; her ability to use the Binding Plane to see and manipulate people’s thoughts and actions gives her power and agency but Kaikeyi quickly realizes that it is in fact a terrible thing to be doing to other people. This particular ethical dilemma is woven throughout the narrative in a way that I found to be intriguing.
The book keeps its focus on Kaikeyi as the main character and the story is entirely from her perspective. I think this worked in the book’s favour. Kaikeyi is an interesting character and I really enjoyed the way she grows and changes as a person throughout the story while navigating the various challenges that come her way.
Conclusions
Generally speaking I liked reading this book. As far as historical fiction goes, this is pretty damn good. A compelling narrative with strong themes and complex characters with Hindu mythology as the backing. The one criticism I had of the book didn’t detract much from my enjoyment. I definitely enjoyed reading this more than I did The Legend of Meneka.
I recently heard that the author released a new historical fiction novel called Ten Incarnations of Rebellion this year which is what made me interested in actually reading this book. I put this new novel in my to-be-read for when I am next in the mood for historical fiction. Hopefully, it doesn’t sit in my to-be-read pile for years like this book did!
That’s all from me this time. See y’all in the next post.
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