Blue Skinned Gods is a story of deception and manipulation with a religious backdrop. I really wanted to enjoy this one and had been anxiously waiting to read it since earlier this year. It sounded like a diverse read that selves into the potential scans that can come out of religion. Unfortunately, what I read felt uneven to me and I had a hard time understanding the characters motives.
Blue Skinned Gods follows Kalki, a young boy from India, who has been convinced that he is the tenth avatar of the God, Vishu. He is groomed at a young ages to be the healer of the ashram and to lead the community in prayer and celebration. As Kalki begins to come to the age of adulthood, he starts questioning when he is doing and what has been told. Only he doesn’t even know how deep and far the deception runs.
Kalki really begins questioning the things he has been told when a tragedy strikes within the ashram. Prior to this, he has only done what he is told trying to make his parents and community happy. There are also other emotions swirling around with him as he is coming of age. His best friend is a girl and now he starts seeing her in a different light. This creates issues because in the hierarchy of the ashram she is of a lover class and not acceptable as a mate. Related, Kalki is no longer able to play and hang out with his friends as much as he would like. This is a very confusing time for him and he feels like he being pulled in so many different directions.
The world that was built within the ashram was really interesting like I said, there are different class systems and dynamics and expectations. Alot of this was based around the Hindu religion. Admittedly, I’m not as a familiar with the intricacies of the religion so it was interesting for me to read about. The one thing that I did struggle with was the fact that I did not fully feel or understand the motivation of Kalik’s father or the deception of his son and the people of his community. Was it for prestige? Was it for power? What motivated him to do such a thing that ultimately would cause so much pain for so many people?
Blue Skinned Gods is beautifully written but felt like it was missing some important details. It also felt like other details such as partying were too focused on during the second half of the book. I understand that Kalik was trying to find his way but, it overtook the book for me in a manner that I don’t think was expected. I think I just anticipated a different story than what I was given.
Rating: 3 Stars
**I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.**
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