The Forest of Enchantments cover art

The Forest of Enchantments

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Forest of Enchantments

By: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Narrated by: Suchitra Pillai
Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

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!'

©2019 Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (P)2019 Audible, Inc. Classics Fiction Historical Fiction World Literature

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Independence cover art
Sister of My Heart cover art
The Vine of Desire cover art
Piranesi cover art
Well-Behaved Indian Women cover art
The Complete Jaipur Trilogy cover art
Indigo cover art
The Kingless Crown cover art
The Invincible Miss Cust cover art
Becoming Queen Bathsheba cover art
The Color Purple cover art
Jane Eyre cover art
The Prince and the Prodigal cover art
The Secret Life of Sunflowers cover art
The Women of Chateau Lafayette cover art
The Indigo Girl cover art
All stars
Most relevant  
It's beautifully written. Fascinating to hear queen Sita's thoughts. So real, so human. How she talks of various aspects of love is simply marvellous. Endure , doesn't mean to give up - but to move on and triumph despite everything that hits you !!! Mesmerised . Love the audio voice and pace .

Life lessons

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Very beautiful narration. Made the story easier to listen to as the writing itself could be repetitive at times. However, I grew very attached to the character of Sita and by the end I was genuinely sorry that the story had to end. Even though it was Sita’s story, I still felt like her entire arc revolves around Ram Ram Ram constantly. What about her interests outside of Ram? The writer spends a lot of time in the beginning emphasising Sita’s talent for herbal treatments and that never plays a significant part in the story in any way. I’m a bit disappointed at the angle this story went for. It promises a feminist re-telling but seems to justify a lot of patriarchal customs and choices made by the male characters. It was a good story in many ways but was still missing that streak of female resistance and empowerment that I was looking for.

Beautifully narrated

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I felt transported into a magical world...the characters are brought to life, their emotions human and relatable.

Epic retelling of Ramayana

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I would recommend this for reads of all walks of life as it has great teachings for struggles and stuffing that one endures for the greater good.

I’ve added this tittle to my favourites🥰🤗

The Forest of Enchantment

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved hearing Sita’s point of view, which was always missing. This is a beautifully written story by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni… and wonderfully performed by Suchitra Pillai. Mesmerizing and deeply moving. Thank you!

Magnificent retelling of Ramayana

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.