Kaikeyi has been on my TBR for ages but I’ve always put it off because I’ve not read the Ramayana and I wanted to read that first. But since I had a trip to India planned, I decided now was the time to read both books – and I did!

For background, the Ramayana tells the story of Rama, one of the avatars of Vishnu and his life in exile and battle against the king Ravana, who is wrecking havoc on the world. In the epic, Kaikeyi is one of Rama’s stepmothers and the one who instigates the action by claiming two boons she earned by saving her husband in battle to send Rama into exile and put her son on the throne.

In Kaikeyi, Patel takes this minor character and imagines what her story could be. From the very first line:

“I was born on the full moon under an auspicious constellation, the holiest of positions—much good it did me.”

Kaikeyi comes across as a strong character. Seen as less because she is a woman, Kaikeyi discovers a gift soon after her mother leaves the family – she can see the bonds between her and others and manipulate them. Moving between reality and the binding plane, Kaikeyi raises her younger brothers and makes a life for herself until one day, she is informed that she is to be married of. Unhappy, Kaikeyi extracts a promise from her husband: that though she will be the third wife, any son of hers will be the one that sits of the throne (as Rama is not her son, we know that it will not come to pass).

And so, Kaikeyi forges another life for herself, one where she is able to play a more active role and all seems well until she realises that Rama is choosing a different path – one where he assumes entitlement over all things and where women like her would be forced back into the shadows.

Honestly, I really enjoyed this book! Kaikeyi was a good explanation for two things that confused me in the Ramayana:

1. Why Kaikeyi, who was initially portrayed as happy with Rama being king, suddenly changed her mind after one conversation and kickstarted all the conflict
2. Why Rama, though he is portrayed as generally a perfect character, suddenly doubts Sita’s virtue at the end of the epic (I always thought that was a bit out of character)

In this retelling of the Ramayana, Patel has chosen to put the blame not on the gods nor on Rama nor on Kaikeyi, but on the sages who insist that women occupy a low, narrow place in society. I’m not qualified to comment on how accurate that was, but I felt like Patel was generally respectful of the Hindu religion in her retelling (well I mean, of course, she is Hindu but I’ve read reviews by people who were not happy about this aspect). It’s true that Rama here isn’t quite like the Rama in the epic, but Kaikeyi has nothing but love for Rama throughout the story and her actions are taken out of a concern that he is not yet ready to rule rather than by jealousy. I felt that this also helped to make sense of the ending of the epic, where Kaikeyi is depicted as having reconciled with Rama. In the original epic, this is due to her repentance at her actions but here, it’s because everyone has matured.

I also enjoyed how self-aware Kaikeyi was in this novel. This is a narration where Kaikeyi already knows that she is portrayed as the villain and she references the stories told about her even as she refutes them in her own telling. It helped me position the tale as one form of the Ramayana rather than a tale that is in opposition with the other versions (which reminds me, Patel recommended a few books on the history and variations of the Ramyana that I would also like to read).

Overall, I really enjoyed this story. It’s a great retelling and I can see it appealing both to fantasy readers who want something that is not rooted in the usual myths and settings, and to readers who enjoy books like Circe by Madeline Miller.