Reviews with content warning for Colonisation - The God of Small Things

Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

22 reviews

mirandaleighhhh's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

This was very heavy and the events were difficult to read. I have found myself thinking of this almost daily since finishing. So much of it was through the lens of children which made it both devastating and incredibly interesting. Reading afterward that there was a lawsuit against the author in her home state (now dropped) with charges of obscenity is not entirely surprising - more, it solidifies the whole point of the story that needed to be told, and the stories in real life that have been silenced.

It's hard to rate this for enjoyment...it was profoundly depressing. But it is solid in its execution and deserves a 4 at least.

The imagery was 10/10...I annotated so much but these are some of my favorites.

"So small god laughed a hollow laugh and skipped away cheerfully. Like a rich boy in shorts. He whistled, kicked stones. The source of his brittle elation was the relative smallness of his misfortune. He climbed into people's eyes and became an exasperating expression."

"Liquid ache spread under her skin, and she walked out of the world like a witch, to a better, happier place."

"Pointed in the wrong direction, trapped outside their own history and unable to retrace their steps because their footprints had been swept away."

"War has made us adore our conquerors and despise ourselves."

"Ammu flew through her dream on heavy, shuddering wings, and stopped to rest just under the skin of it."

"If you're happy in a dream Ammu, does it count?

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hellodebbies's review against another edition

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3.5

I have a love-hate relationship with this book... Tho I loved the 6-7 chapter and the ending

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annatan's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-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

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danidamico's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

Lectura para Narrativa Universal II

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nhewitt99's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Following the perspectives of a large family through many points in time, the style of this book is dizzying at first. Give it time, and the same qualities make it completely immersive. The prevailing story is a tragedy, yanked along by nonlinear storytelling that foreshadows every detail before it happens. It's gripping, and moving, and so difficult to put down.

I was amazed by how many themes Roy could probe through the lens of one family, including love, modernity, history, classism, sexism, colonialism, trauma, and self determinism. Each topic is given respect and nuance via the myriad perspectives offered by the large cast of characters.

The rhetoric is beautiful and makes great use of extended metaphor and symbolism. It's also ripe with the phrase-as-adjective speech that I'm a sucker for, like deep-seaweed-feeling.

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