thoughts on -The Last Queen by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

hey there! so i recently finished reading a book titled - The Last Queen by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and i wanted to share my thoughts on that.

SYNOPSIS_

"Daughter of the royal kennel keeper, the beautiful Jindan Kaur went on to become Maharaja Ranjit Singh's youngest and last queen; his favorite.

She became regent when her son Dalip, barely six years old, unexpectedly inherited the throne. Sharp-eyed, stubborn, passionate, and dedicated to protecting her son's heritage, Jindan distrusted the British and fought hard to keep them from annexing Punjab.

Her power and influence were so formidable that the British imprisoned and exiled the rebel queen. but that did not crush her indominatable will

An exquisite love story of a king and a commoner, a cautionary tale about loyalty and betrayal, and a powerful parable of the indestructible bond between mother and child, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's unforgettable novel brings alive one of the most fearless women of the nineteenth century, an inspiration for our times. "

 

 I've read one other book from this author- the forest of enchantments - so i already had a basic idea of what kind of prose and writing style to expect. I dove in expecting a story about a regal and fierce queen who protected her kingdom until her last breath- kind of like the story of the queen of Jhansi ,Rani Laxmi Bai -and i did get that, just in a way i did not expect

Since the book is a work of fiction, I cannot comment on the factual accuracy of the storyline but yes, the narration and flow of the work was quite skillful.

the novel is read in first person through the pov of the protagonist- Rani Jindan Kaur. The language was clean and simple, making it a fine read for when you want to get into a dense and fast paced tale with an adequate amount of twists and plots without it feeling tedious or boring.

the novel progresses in four parts- girl, bride, queen and rebel -and like a soap opera- with absurdly extravagant backdrops and settings, bold gambles, powerplays between the concubines and queens in the zenana, and the royal dramatics of the life of a queen.

however, there are also a few uncomfortable aspects to the story. the romance and lovemaking between a young girl and a man old enough to be her grandfather being depicted as salutary and novel was a disturbing element for me. moreover, i sometimes found Jindan to be too dependent on the Males around her, we rarely got to see her full political intellect and intelligence in action apart from a few instances. I loved how unafraid and stubborn she was as a girl, but as she grew up she became more reliant on the Maharaja- until he died, leaving behind a crumbling empire.

i appreciate how the author showed the flawed and humane side of a queen in this story. the rags to riches story, her resilience and adaptability, the foolish decisions she made under the influence of her emotions and the anguish of a mother who was teared apart from her child. 

The tale is a heavy rollercoaster, there is treachery and betrayals, torment and revenge, but also redemption and parables about the strength that lies within. the final goodbye to the queen by her son was a bit of a tearjerker for me and i loved how in the epilogue, the themes of cultural roots and identity still existed. thus, I personally liked this book very much, in all its entirety with all its deaths and awakenings, and the burning human will to live which helped the people live since time immemorial.

RATINGS_

writing and prose: 8/10

storyline: 10/10

character depth: 6/10 (there were only a few characters that i could genuinely connect with)

 

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