Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


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Retelling of an Epic Hindu Poem

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel

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I found this retelling of the epic Hindu poem The Ramayana quite engaging. Vaishnavi Patel is trying to explore what led to the actions Kaikeyi took in that poem by adding nuance and a feminist flair, with varying degrees of success. While I haven’t read the original, I looked up enough to know that Kaikeyi plays an important role but not a large one in the original story. In this version, we witness her childhood as the neglected princess among several princes who are more […]

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

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel

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I think it was probably a little unfair of me to go into this one with super high expectations as I almost did, thanks to the Circe comparisons, so luckily I curbed those as best I could before I actually started the book. That turned out to be a very good idea. I think going in with no expectations is probably the best way to experience this one. I was also almost completely unfamiliar with the Ramayana before reading this book, and that held until about […]

I know I’m finicky about SA stories but still…

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel

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While I do think this book was major struggle city to get through for numerous plot-related issues, I’d like to give my standard disclaimer around books featuring South Asian protagonists or based on South Asian mythology: I am, unfortunately, a harder grader than I might be for stories based on other cultures. I don’t know what it is! I think it’s because I know these epic tales very well, and I can see the plot points that have always made me go ughhhmehhhhehhhhewww, and I […]



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