The Forest of Enchantments: Book Review
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
When I read Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni several years ago, experiencing the Mahabharata through Draupadi’s eyes was truly exciting. It was a five-star read, both for its novelty and captivating storytelling. However, the author’s 2019 title, The Forest of Enchantments, which presents Sita’s perspective of the Ramayan, offers very little in terms of new material or deeper exploration of the Queen’s personality and relationships. It almost feels as though any author with time, resources, and basic research could have written this version.
The first half of the novel felt like a drudgery to read. Sita comes across more like a teenager from the 1980s than a revered young royal born of the earth during the glorious age of Gods, Demi-Gods, Demons, and Monkey-men. Perhaps the author deliberately gave Sita a more modern voice to connect with younger readers. However, this choice robs her Sita of a truly unique identity. The royal aura, grace, and divine mystique that should define her character are notably absent.
There’s little magic in The Forest of Enchantments, which recounts Sita’s life journey – from growing up as a princess in Mithila to marrying Ram, winning over her in-laws, choosing to accompany her husband into a fourteen-year forest exile, and ultimately being abducted by the powerful King of Lanka, Raavana.
The author misses the opportunity to delve deeper into Sita’s relationships with those closest to her – her adoptive parents, King Janak and Queen Sunayana; her sister, Urmila; her husband, Ram; and her dear brother-in-law, Lakshman. Instead, readers are presented with lengthy, repetitive philosophical musings by Sita on the nature of love. Sita repeatedly observes that every action, whether driven by selflessness or selfishness, ultimately stems from love, highlighting how feelings often shape people’s decisions.
Even the forests, where Sita and Ram spend over a decade in exile, lack vivid descriptions. While I am not typically a reader who enjoys overly descriptive texts, I expected more from this retelling of such an epic tale. The story remains almost identical to the original, and the language and prose lack the timeless quality one would hope for in a reimagining of this scale.
For anyone looking for a light revision of the Ramayan, this is a decent one-time read.
Rating: 2.5 on 5 stars.
