Kalki has grown up being told he is a god and his actions are defined by what the texts tell him is appropriate behaviour. As a blue-skinned boy who is the reincarnation of Vishnu, he does not associate much with other kids, his interactions being limited to his cousin, Lakshman, and a devotee who comes to heal and live with them, Roopa. Homeschooled by his father and immersed in Indian sacred texts, Kalki is a wealth of knowledge on old teachings. Hinduism and the worship of Vishu and his incarnations are an integral part of Kalki’s story. The last part of the book is about Kalki’s personal growth and decisions for the rest of his life.

The first three focus on the most important people in Kalki’s life, i.e., his cousin, his mother and his father. In an ashram in Tamil Nadu, his parents and aunt and uncle host devotees from around the world who have some to see him and get his help in healing themselves. His skin is blue in color and that seems like a definite sign of his divinity. There are old texts that have prophesied his birth and now that he is here, he must pass some tests to prove he is truly who everyone thinks he is. Traveling from India to the underground rock scene of New York City, Blue-Skinned Gods explores ethnic, gender, and sexual identities, and spans continents and faiths, in an expansive and heartfelt look at the need for belief in our globally interconnected world.Ĭontent Notes: Depiction of suicide, domestic violence and abuse, transphobia, extra marital affair.īlue Skinned Gods introduces us to Kalki, a ten year old boy who is believed to be the tenth and final reincarnation of the Hindu god, Vishu.

Over the next decade, his family unravels, and every relationship he relied on-father, mother, aunt, uncle, cousin-starts falling apart. While he seems to pass them, Kalki begins to question his divinity. In Kalki’s tenth year, he is confronted with three trials that will test his power and prove his divine status and, his father tells him, spread his fame worldwide. His father sets up an ashram, and the family makes a living off of the pilgrims who seek the child’s blessings and miracles, believing young Kalki to be the tenth human incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu. In Tamil Nadu, India, a boy is born with blue skin. From the award-winning author of Marriage of a Thousand Lies comes a brilliantly written, globe-spanning novel about identity, faith, family, and sexuality.

Blue-Skinned Gods by S.J. Sindu