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ratings: ★★★★☆ (4/5)
Genre: Fiction / Mythological Fiction / Indian Literature

Book Review:
Kavita Kané has made a name for herself by giving voice to the silent women of Indian mythology, and Lanka's Princess might be her most ambitious and compelling work yet. This novel dares to ask us to see the Ramayana through the eyes of Surpanakha—Ravan's sister, the woman whose sliced nose, according to tradition, started a war that destroyed a dynasty. She has always been portrayed as ugly, lustful, and vicious, the monstrous villainess who got what she deserved. Kané shatters this caricature, revealing instead a complex, wounded woman: Meenakshi, born with beautiful fish-shaped eyes, who grew up in the shadow of her glorious brothers and carved a path of her own through misery and revenge. Was she a perpetrator or a victim? Lanka's princess or the agent of its destruction? The novel doesn't offer easy answers, but it forces you to question everything you thought you knew. Kané's prose is vivid and engaging, bringing the ancient world to life while making it feel urgently contemporary. A powerful, empathetic, and necessary reimagining that will stay with you long after you turn the final page.