Rani Selvarajah

*OUTLIER OPINION ALERT*

In 1757 Calcutta (Kolkata), Meena, the seventeen-year-old daughter of the Nawab of Bengal, meets and falls in love and James Chilcott, the nephew of one of the most powerful officers of the East India Company with which the whole of India is at war. James claims to not share the ideology of the EIC and offers information to help the Nawab, which is not well received. Meena falls in love with James and hopes to lead a life different from the restrictions and abuse that are a part of her present life. But escaping won’t be easy and Meena, in a moment of desperation, elopes with James after a horrific showdown with her brother that ends in tragedy. We follow James and Meena over the next eight years, as they travel from Calcutta to Ceylon, then to South Africa and finally to England, and as Meena begins to comprehend the reality of her husband, his motives and how the world truly judges outsiders, it is only a matter of time before she is compelled to resort to drastic measures to save herself and her son from those wish to harm them.

I’m a fan of Greek mythology and when I heard of Rani Selvarajah’s Savage Beasts, a retelling of Medea’s story revolving around the theme of colonization and in particular, British occupation of India, I was intrigued. Unfortunately, the execution of this story leaves a lot to be desired.

1757 is a crucial year in the history of India and Bengal, with the East India Company gaining territory and finally defeating the ruling Nawab at the Battle of Plassey, thereby cementing its foothold in Bengal and India as a whole. No matter how young or gullible the seventeen-year-old princess of a royal family might be, it is difficult to believe that Meena would succumb to the charms of an Englishman who is the nephew of one of the most high-ranking officers of the East India Company even though he claims to have disavowed the values (or lack thereof) of the East India Company. Even if I choose to ignore that fact (I know this story is supposed to be fiction!), their initial interaction reads more like a Bridgerton novel than two people from completely different cultural backgrounds interacting for the first time and Meena’s reactions throughout this novel read more like contemporary fiction than a story set in the eighteenth century. Was it absolutely necessary to portray Indian rulers as barbaric to justify Meena eloping with a man she only recently met, betraying her country and her family, fully aware of the ongoing war with the British? The author portrays the Nawab and his son as despicable men who don’t hesitate to torture Meena, even having her beaten by their guards in court. Again, I'm aware this is fiction, but in conservative society and culture dating 1757 India, I believe there would be a difference between how a royal family would conduct itself and a scene that sounds like something from Game of Thrones. (I’m a fan of GoT, no offense intended!) The handling of the characters and the setting is inauthentic in many ways, but I’m stopping myself here. As the story progresses, we can draw parallels to Medea’s story and we know that things will not end well for Meena.

The narrative suffers from minor repetition and the pacing is uneven, but not so much that it would impact the overall reading experience. I’m all for retellings of the myths and creative license and I don’t look for factual accuracy in said reimaginings or retellings. But overall, I felt that the characterizations lacked depth and I wasn’t quite invested in Meena’s story. Medea is a fierce and compelling character in Greek mythology but sadly, Meena is not portrayed with the same intensity.

Please note that there are some disturbingly violent scenes in this novel and much bigotry and abusive language directed toward Indians (as would be expected, given the era and the settings, so no surprises there!)

Many thanks to One More Chapter, HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for the digital review copy of Savage Beasts. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.… (mehr)