Published in 2022
507 pages
Vaishnavi Patel is a lawyer focusing on constitutional law and civil rights. She likes to write at the intersection of Indian myth, feminism, and anti-colonialism. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling novel Kaikeyi and the forthcoming novel Goddess of the River. Vaishnavi grew up in and around Chicago and is a recent transplant to Texas.
What is this book about?
An instant New York Times bestseller and Tiktok sensation, Vaishnavi Patel’s stunning debut Kaikeyi reimagines the life of the infamous queen from Indian epic the Ramayana…
The only daughter of a king, Kaikeyi watches as her mother is banished and her own worth is reduced to what marriage alliance she can secure. Although she was raised on stories of the might and benevolence of the gods, her prayers for help go unanswered. She turns to her mother’s library and discovers a magic that is hers alone. With this power, Kaikeyi transforms herself from an overlooked princess into a warrior, diplomat and favoured queen, determined to carve a better world for herself and the women around her. But when evils from her childhood stories threaten her world, the path she has forged clashes with the destiny the gods have chosen for her family. Kaikeyi must decide if resistance is worth the destruction it will wreak – and what legacy she intends to leave behind.
A must for readers of historical and mythological retellings such as Madeline Miller’s Circe and Jennifer Saint’s Ariadne, this powerful debut weaves a tale of an extraordinary woman determined to leave her mark in a world where gods and men dictate the shape of things to come.
