"KaiKa’s Songs by M.A. Modhayan"
Book Review by Dhiraj Sindhi
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| KaiKa's Songs by M.A. Modhayan |
Author: M.A. Modhayan
ISBN: 978-0143459125
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 160 Pages
Publication Date: 30th January 2023
Publisher: Penguin Random House India
Order your copy right now: https://amzn.to/3IMXZTU
About the author:
M.A. MODHAYAN is a devoted father and husband. A middle child, yet an elder brother. A debut writer with a deep interest in music history and theory. Mostly inspired by man-made gods, the concept of time, futurism, and humanism. KaiKa's Songs is his debut novel.
Instagram: @modhayan
Disclaimer: This review is only intended for initiating discussions. The opinions and views presented in this article are my own and do not reflect anything about the book's author.
REVIEW
KaiKa's Songs is a speculative mythopoeic fantasy that explores the origins of gods and their relationships with mortals through a fictional world. The novel is set during no particular time on an island, and rather it defines the time for the island through the songs the people of the island must sing to keep sandstorms at bay, the primary antagonist for the story. Sandstorms are seen as monsters that destroy the island and devour the inhabitants. The novel begins with a proem informing readers of the death of the last mother on the island, which leaves behind only five inhabitants on the island - two men (NooaKhi & LaKhi), two women (KaiKa, the chief & SeeKa), and a blind girl (AiYi).
The plot revolves around the survival of the islanders, the violence of the mad fathers, matriarchal leadership, and reproduction in a situation where everyone is a half-sibling to others. Songs are the only way to transfer knowledge about everything, from hunting to motherhood. The second part of the novel, called Green Island, acts as a catalyst; until then, the story progresses quite steadily. KaiKa's Songs is exposition-heavy and suffers from 'tell, don't show,' which takes away the fun of an immersive experience in a different world built by the author and distances readers from the characters, leading to a complete passive reading experience. Although the characters are well-defined with sharp edges, the plain storytelling makes it boring.
The last few chapters are dedicated to the depiction of the origin of sandstorms and the significance of songs/prayers. The last few pages reveal the potential of the novel that it didn't live up to and fell beneath its possibilities. The book, thus, becomes a tiny fraction of a possibility among the limitless narratives it may have explored with lyrical and creative prose dealing with each feeling of the islanders rather than naming the emotions separated only by commas and not by powerful imagery. The abstract portrayal of the essence of the story through these 150 pages may be futile since it can be conveyed in a short story. My disappointment may be attributed to the fact that I expected it to be an epic fantasy. Overall, I'm glad I got the gist and could understand the essence of impermanence and the transience of existence, where gods rise and fall, planets cease to be,and the construct of time holds the potential to diminish memories in this vastness of history.
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