October 2025 FBR - Main Buddy Read: The Forest of Enchantments by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

[Ashley, The Tipsy Challenger]

Welcome to the October "Main" Buddy Read!
starts 1-October-2025, ends 31-October-2025

This month we celebrate a vibrant exploration of light and resilience — where tradition intertwines with personal journeys, illuminating the path to self-discovery and hope.

In Sita’s retelling of the Ramayana, we find Diwali’s spirit of resilience and renewal. This story asks what it means to endure, to reclaim your voice, and to let light guide you through exile and shadow.

The Forest of Enchantments by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

The Ramayana, one of the world’s greatest epics, is also a tragic love story. In this brilliant retelling, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni places Sita at the centre of the novel: this is Sita’s version.

The Forest of Enchantments is also a very human story of some of the other women in the epic, often misunderstood and relegated to the margins: Kaikeyi, Surpanakha, Mandodari. A powerful comment on duty, betrayal, infidelity and honour, it is also about women’s struggle to retain autonomy in a world that privileges men, as Chitra transforms an ancient story into a gripping, contemporary battle of wills.

While the Ramayana resonates even today, she makes it more relevant than ever, in the underlying questions in the novel: How should women be treated by their loved ones? What are their rights in a relationship? When does a woman need to stand up and say, ‘Enough!’

When using this Buddy Read to get Bonus Points for a Challenge, please check with the mod running the Challenge for any posting requirements not listed below!

🚀 2025 (Impossible) Solar System Challenge: While there's no specific post count requirement, your participation should go beyond simple statements like "I liked the book." Quality of contribution matters more than quantity, so focus on crafting well-considered responses that add value to the discussion.

[Bernadette]

I'm not sure I'm going to get the book in time to read this before the end of the month. I put a hold request on it at the library on 10/1 and the ONLY copy my system has was due back on 10/17. It still has not been returned. There are no copies available on Libby or Hoopla. This has never happened to me before.

[Ashley, The Tipsy Challenger]

Bernadette wrote: "I'm not sure I'm going to get the book in time to read this before the end of the month. I put a hold request on it at the library on 10/1 and the ONLY copy my system has was due back on 10/17. It ..."

I trying to get it too! I'm considering using an audible credit, but I wasn't sure it was worth it. If no one else is reading it, I might just skip it.

[Bernadette]

I’m going to skip. The only copy still hasn’t been returned to the library and I like read these kind of books instead of listening to them.