Reviews

Roy uses some great prose and the plot is good.

A key moment that stood out for me was when the twins lied to the police to save their mother. This moment showed the manipulative ways of Baby Kochamma as well as the vast social gulf between the haves and have-nots:

In the years to come they would replay this scene in their heads. As children. As teenagers. As adults. Had they been deceived into doing what they did? Had they been tricked into condemnation?

In a way, yes. But it wasn't as simple as that. They both knew that they had been given a choice.

kahaaniwali_09's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective relaxing sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

A very unique novel about age-old concepts of casteism, inter-caste love, patriarchy, chauvinism and social boundaries. The book is very craftly written indirectly attacking these social evils being practised yet till now in our society being unnoticed. The book represents the stories of its each character so that we are well acquainted with their personalities and can be the judge to classify each consequence as fair or unfair on our part. The three main characters of the novel **Estha, Rahel** ( single egg- unidentical twins) and **Ammu** ( mother of the twins) have a balance of an ecstatic and a traumatic life leading to a melancholic end. Rahel and Estha has the strongest relation among all as they consider themselves as one unit and knows about each others feeling without even directly confessing them, hence they know how to comfort each other. Unfortunately they two goes through many ups and downs as Estha is molested as a child and is traumatized by it since. On the other hand Rahel lives being a total fool and is tormented during high school.

Their worse nightmare comes true when the fraternal twins are separated from each other and their only source of comfort is snatched away. Ammu being the lady who crosses every patriarchal boundary to outgrow from the trauma of abusive marriage and devotes her life to grow her beloved children into a more respectful, intelligent and caring beings — a complete opposite of their father. The mature Ammu too one day gets swayed away by her feelings and commits an unthinkable thing which is considered a heinous crime by our society- getting involved with a man of a lower caste. Her this steps makes her and her children’s life fall into abyss of forever despair.

We can see the time switching between past and present in a very rhythmic and poetic manner that it wants to tell us how pain of past has inflicted and changed the humans of present . Some light hearted puns are used to make the story more exciting.

"The God of Small Things" is possibly one of the most remarkable works of Arundhati Roy. I completely adore this book and I love Arundhati Roy's writing beyond all aspects of Literature. This is profoundly amazing and the most exceptional books of all time and I would like to praise Arundhati Roy for her masterful skills in creating this book and bringing it to life.

That's what careless words do. They make people love you a little less.

... the secret of the Great Stories is that they have no secrets. The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to hear again. The ones you can enter anywhere and inhabit comfortably. They don’t deceive you with thrills and trick endings. They don’t surprise you with the unforeseen. They are as familiar as the house you live in. Or the smell of your lover’s skin. You know how they end, yet you listen as though you don’t. In the way that although you know that one day you will die, you live as though you won’t. In the Great Stories you know who lives, who dies, who finds love, who doesn’t. And yet you want to know again.

That is their mystery and their magic.

Change is one thing. Acceptance is another.

Perhaps it’s true that things can change in a day. That a few dozen hours can affect the outcome of whole lifetimes. And that when they do, those few dozen hours, like the salvaged remains of a burned house—the charred clock, the singed photograph, the scorched furniture—must be resurrected from the ruins and examined. Preserved. Accounted for. Little events, ordinary things, smashed and reconstituted. Imbued with new meaning. Suddenly they become the bleached bones of a story.

People always loved best what they identified most with.

linde_lit's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

rachrib's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

_meganwatts's review against another edition

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dark funny 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? It's complicated

4.25

candlereader's review against another edition

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5.0

It seems that people either love or hate this book, and based on reviews, I expected to be underwhelmed. I was wrong. The vivid imagery, the lyrical prose, the carefully woven web of plot, the tenderness and the beauty--it all coalesced for me into an unforgettable and deeply moving story. As with many books, it took me a few chapters to really get invested, but once I was in, I was way in.

cnnr876's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

truly one of the most heartbreaking and challenging books i've read in recent memory. roy weaves an intimate and enigmatic portrayal of life in kerala, amidst caste and class struggle, with all of the biases and bigotry that come along with it. the structure is manic and fragmented and mysterious, which is hugely effective in telling the story she needs to tell. i felt unstable as the book came to a close. so much anguish and loss.

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