4 out of 4 stars
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Queen of the Elements is the second installment of The Sita’s Fire trilogy by Vrinda Sheth. The book is an illustrated novelization of the Ramayana, an Indian epic poem. Queen of the Elements follows the exile of Rama, crown prince of Ayodhya, after his father’s third wife, Kaikeyi, calls in her boons. Kaikeyi wishes for her son to become king instead of Rama. As a result, Rama, his wife Sita, and his brother Lakshmana must endure fourteen years of exile before being allowed to return to their kingdom. The book alternates between the perspectives of Rama, Sita, and Lakshmana to demonstrate the struggles each character must overcome.
Before reading Queen of the Elements, I had no knowledge of the Ramayana. The book was an eye-opening experience for me as I was able to gain a better understanding of Indian mythology. The watercolor illustrations by Anna Johansson were breath-taking and allowed me to visualize the setting and characters. I found myself looking forward to flipping a page and being greeted by a stunning picture. Additionally, I loved how Sheth was able to craft multi-dimensional characters from an epic. I believe that her retelling will allow for the Ramayana to better reach audiences across cultures. The character development of the three protagonists was exemplary. I especially enjoyed how Sita was able to come into her own. By the end of the book, Sita gained a better understanding of the elemental powers that resided within herself and was able to exert her power as a woman.
My main complaint would be the slow pacing of the book. At times, there was little action and time seemed to be spent on events of little importance. However, I feel that this was mostly due to the constraints of the source material rather than a reflection of the author’s writing abilities. Additionally, the prologue described Ravana’s intent to kidnap Sita and make her one of his wives. The culmination of this plot point was not reached until the final pages of the book. I think that the inclusion of the prologue made me anticipate this event throughout the book, making me not as focused on the other events that affected the protagonists.
The book seemed like it was professionally edited, and I only noticed two errors while reading it. The errors consisted of a missing apostrophe in the word Kinnaras’ and the omission of the word season.
I rate Queen of the Elements 4 out of 4 stars. The book is a wonderful retelling of the Ramayana and brings the characters of the poem to life in a fresh and exciting way. The flaws of the book are minor enough that they did not detract from its quality. I would recommend Queen of the Elements to both audiences familiar and new to the Ramayana. Younger or more squeamish audiences may be disturbed by the frequent instances of graphic violence.
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Queen of the Elements
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