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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
i don’t even have the words to describe what i felt when i read this, only that it is worth every praise and accolade it has been given
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
As a South Asian reader, 'The God of Small Things' feels familiar - every character, dining room conversation or strange mix of politics and intimate family. And when tragedy loomed over everything, a pall of unaddressed trauma and buried family secrets, those also felt unfortunately familiar. I guess, if I want to impress one thing upon non-South Asian readers, if I cared to do so at all, it would be that the events in this novel are not meant to be dramatic or sensational. I honestly wish they are. And certainly, what happens to the main characters don't always happen. But there are people to whom this happens, and they are realities of life. Police brutality, the caste system, and the perverse selfishness of politics that promises to be 'for the people' (F*** you, Pillai) are all realities that do result in untold trauma and violence. I think it's important to face this reality - because we are so shocked when violence happens, but seldom stop to notice the web of biases and hatred that allow it. And what happens when we arm people with authority, power and weapons to go with the prejudice? To add to this, in all parts of the world, children are exploited and manipulated in ways that shock adults for some reason. When it happens, it happens like this - with cruelty that's hard to fathom.
The non-linear timeline of the book was a challenge for me - it made for slow going. I also had to take breaks because I was too emotionally affected by the characters. I needed to take time out to simply sit with those feelings and muster the courage to take up the book again. It's definitely a challenging read, but it's worth it. It allows us to acknowledge things as they are, and it's easy to get swept up in the darkness of the story, but Roy also wants to put both dark and light under the magnifying glass for us. The light so happens to come, I think, from the small things. There's a constant contrast in the novel between kindness and cruelty, hypocrisy and sincerity, and that is (again) too familiar for comfort. And I think it's intentional that the book holds them up in tandem and ends in a moment that is meant to highlight beauty among pain, that shows us the price of certain actions deemed criminal by the world, and then shows us the beauty of that moment as the ending, as the last thing that we are left with. And we are left to ask ourselves - was it worth it? And how much does it matter if it was not technically worth it? Why do we make decisions that fill our souls, even when most of society would punish you mercilessly for it? And why are some people allowed their mistakes, while others are never forgiven? The world is inherently unfair, and it harms us to look away from it.
These questions are true for everyone, of course, but they are prominent in the South Asian experience. This is an important and painful book to me.
The non-linear timeline of the book was a challenge for me - it made for slow going. I also had to take breaks because I was too emotionally affected by the characters. I needed to take time out to simply sit with those feelings and muster the courage to take up the book again. It's definitely a challenging read, but it's worth it. It allows us to acknowledge things as they are, and it's easy to get swept up in the darkness of the story, but Roy also wants to put both dark and light under the magnifying glass for us. The light so happens to come, I think, from the small things. There's a constant contrast in the novel between kindness and cruelty, hypocrisy and sincerity, and that is (again) too familiar for comfort. And I think it's intentional that the book holds them up in tandem and ends in a moment that is meant to highlight beauty among pain, that shows us the price of certain actions deemed criminal by the world, and then shows us the beauty of that moment as the ending, as the last thing that we are left with. And we are left to ask ourselves - was it worth it? And how much does it matter if it was not technically worth it? Why do we make decisions that fill our souls, even when most of society would punish you mercilessly for it? And why are some people allowed their mistakes, while others are never forgiven? The world is inherently unfair, and it harms us to look away from it.
These questions are true for everyone, of course, but they are prominent in the South Asian experience. This is an important and painful book to me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Excrement, Police brutality, Religious bigotry
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
slow-paced
challenging
funny
sad
medium-paced
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The first thing I noticed when I started reading, was that this book has a beautiful writing style. It is full of metaphors and manages to convey the atmosphere of some scenes very well. I did grow bored of the plot unfortunately. It had its engaging moments, but in general, I did not really like the slice of life style and the many times jumps did not really work for me. I found them quite confusing. On a reread, this story would make a lot more sense I think, since you continuously get more background information on things that happened before and after, but I don't really want to reread this book. I'm actually a bit relieved that I've finished it.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
All of the little details, scattered seemingly at random, wait for the reader to pick them up and arrange them in a story that fits together perfectly. If you don't connect the dots carefully, the novel might show itself as overly pretentious and confusing, but it rewards willful diligence.
The God of Small Things doesn't ask for, but demands attention, and you will be glad to have given it. It's a novel that stands up to History, political and religious affiliations, generational and gender roles, to love, and hate, and sex, even. It spares no victim and no perpetrator. Every archetype is exhausted equally and molded into what it means to be Human.
Human, with a big H, with all our selfishness, dishonesty, bigotry, callousness. And yet, in the cracks between cruelty and indifference, we are led to believe there might be space to squeeze in tenderness, defiant and unforgettable. The cost of breaking the rules of Love Laws might be a lifetime of sadness, but what's the cost of a life spent in denial of yourself?
The God of Small Things doesn't ask for, but demands attention, and you will be glad to have given it. It's a novel that stands up to History, political and religious affiliations, generational and gender roles, to love, and hate, and sex, even. It spares no victim and no perpetrator. Every archetype is exhausted equally and molded into what it means to be Human.
Human, with a big H, with all our selfishness, dishonesty, bigotry, callousness. And yet, in the cracks between cruelty and indifference, we are led to believe there might be space to squeeze in tenderness, defiant and unforgettable. The cost of breaking the rules of Love Laws might be a lifetime of sadness, but what's the cost of a life spent in denial of yourself?