The immortal king rao by Vauhini Vara
Name of Book: The Immortal King RaoAuthor: Vauhini Vara
ISBN: 9780393541755
Publisher: W. Norton
Type of book: 1951-2070s? Dalit background, family, ambition, gender issues, racism, casteism, India, North America, life, experiences, running business, breaking down, South Asian male/ American female relationship, manipulation
Year it was published: 2022
Summary:
In an Indian village in the 1950s, a precocious child is born into a family of Dalit coconut farmers. King Rao will grow up to be the most accomplished tech CEO in the world and, eventually, the leader of a global, corporate-led government.
In a future in which the world is run by the Board of Corporations, King’s daughter, Athena, reckons with his legacy—literally, for he has given her access to his memories, among other questionable gifts.
With climate change raging, Athena has come to believe that saving the planet and its Shareholders will require a radical act of communion—and so she sets out to tell the truth to the world’s Shareholders, in entrancing sensory detail, about King’s childhood on a South Indian coconut plantation; his migration to the U.S. to study engineering in a world transformed by globalization; his marriage to the ambitious artist with whom he changed the world; and, ultimately, his invention, under self-exile, of the most ambitious creation of his life—Athena herself.
The Immortal King Rao, written by a former Wall Street Journal technology reporter, is a resonant debut novel obliterating the boundaries between literary and speculative fiction, the historic and the dystopian, confronting how we arrived at the age of technological capitalism and where our actions might take us next.
Two main characters would be King Rao and Athena. King Rao is the only child of an ambitious young woman who died in childbirth as well as later on a deeply religious man. He desires experience, and seems to be a compassionate soul as well as a genius and intelligent. He is also aware and often goes along with plans. From my perspective, he is happy to be controlled by women and although ambitious, he doesn't openly seek it but only does it if circumstances call for it, if it makes sense. Athena is King Raos daughter, half Caucasian half Hindu. She is highly intelligent but also very naive and quite often impulsive, for she doesn't really consider consequences to her actions. There are plenty of secondary characters like Athenas mother Margie who is ambitious and was often the puppettmaster behind King Raos rise to fame and glory.
Theme:
We may think we know complete story, but it could be a lie
Plot:
The tale is both first and third person narrative from Athenas point of view as she tells the story of her South Asian forebearers, namely her father and her grandparents, which come from Dalit ( untouchable) background and there are roughly three timelines: one is the origins of King Rao as well as what his childhood and teenagehood was like: mixed in are King Raos early years in America, and the last timeline was of Athena and her experiences. The backgrounds are spliced, with some chapters covering King Rao Indian childhood with others early years and others covering Athena. Definitely deserves a reread.
Author Information:
(From goodreads)
N/A
Opinion:
There is definitely a lot to unpack from reading the novel because the tale covers quite a bit of heavy themes which includes caste, technology and it's complex role and a father and daughter relationship as well as role of history and the world. Scarily enough, the world in the novel sounds very plausible and who knows, it definitely might come true sooner or later, which is the frightening part. This is also a novel where I have had many realizations, and instead of me spoiling it, I would ask the future Shareholders...err readers I mean, to partake in this story and think deeply of the future it portrays. Is this the future that we want future generations to know, or can there be another way?
This was given for review
5 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
Opinion:
There is definitely a lot to unpack from reading the novel because the tale covers quite a bit of heavy themes which includes caste, technology and it's complex role and a father and daughter relationship as well as role of history and the world. Scarily enough, the world in the novel sounds very plausible and who knows, it definitely might come true sooner or later, which is the frightening part. This is also a novel where I have had many realizations, and instead of me spoiling it, I would ask the future Shareholders...err readers I mean, to partake in this story and think deeply of the future it portrays. Is this the future that we want future generations to know, or can there be another way?
This was given for review
5 out of 5
(0: Stay away unless a masochist 1: Good for insomnia 2: Horrible but readable; 3: Readable and quickly forgettable, 4: Good, enjoyable 5: Buy it, keep it and never let it go.)
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