Reviews

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

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dreamerbydesign's review

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense 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

4.5

venn22's review

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emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.0

heather_c_w's review

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dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.75

Beautifully written. Hard to read at times with the subject matter. I found it tricky to follow and get the gist at points, as the narrative switches perspectives and time frames a lot. But things generally became a bit clearer towards the end as the timelines merged - and this actually reflects that clarity that comes to the characters in adulthood in comparison to their childhood understanding.

Content Warnings

enoyes's review

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challenging emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.25

Heartbreaking, beautiful and incredibly written. I wasn’t quite sure where it was going when I first started it, but so happy that I stuck with it.

stierwood's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

4.5

reenagupta_'s review

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5.0

A story that starts at the end and ends in the middle, weaving together snippets of the past and present to tell one family's chilling demise. Roy's imagery reveals harsh truths while also highlighting and challenging the tensions between how we process toxicity, hardship, and political controversy both outwardly and internally. No matter how challenging Roy's prose may be; however, The God of Small Things ultimately emphasizes the small details and the power of time when it comes to healing to inspire hope.