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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
Only twice in my adult life have I finished a novel, then almost immediately began to read it again. Both times the author happened to be Arundhati Roy.
Each was for a different reason. I have long been an admirer and read all of her nonfiction that I can get my hands on. Yet it wasn’t until 26 years after its publication that I finally got around to reading The God Of Small Things.
I was mesmerized by it, I finished it in two sessions. It was a book that deserved to be savoured so I read it a second time, slowly and more carefully.
The Ministry Of Utmost Happiness didn’t have the emotional impact on me that Small Things did, few books have. As with her first novel I read it quickly, only this time the reading suffered slightly for it. Not that I didn’t enjoy it, but I might have conceded the criticism that it wandered occasionally.
There were a couple of sections where I would be well into a chapter before getting my bearings as to what was going on, who was talking even, and what their relationship to the story was. It always came eventually - in hindsight I reject the argument that the novel lacks cohesion. But I found my second reading benefited from knowing exactly what was going on as it unfolded. Others may enjoy the surprise. I also found an occasional digression into Wikipedia for historical context rewarding, though it is not necessary for the enjoyment of this book.
Arundhati Roy has an extraordinary gift for blending the sublime and the grotesque. And something I don’t think is mentioned often enough is how funny she is. It’s been a while since a book made me laugh as often.
Not so much a review but certainly a recommendation. Read this book and make up your own mind about it. And if you’re like me and have a little trouble following along the first time, I’d even recommend that you read it twice.
Each was for a different reason. I have long been an admirer and read all of her nonfiction that I can get my hands on. Yet it wasn’t until 26 years after its publication that I finally got around to reading The God Of Small Things.
I was mesmerized by it, I finished it in two sessions. It was a book that deserved to be savoured so I read it a second time, slowly and more carefully.
The Ministry Of Utmost Happiness didn’t have the emotional impact on me that Small Things did, few books have. As with her first novel I read it quickly, only this time the reading suffered slightly for it. Not that I didn’t enjoy it, but I might have conceded the criticism that it wandered occasionally.
There were a couple of sections where I would be well into a chapter before getting my bearings as to what was going on, who was talking even, and what their relationship to the story was. It always came eventually - in hindsight I reject the argument that the novel lacks cohesion. But I found my second reading benefited from knowing exactly what was going on as it unfolded. Others may enjoy the surprise. I also found an occasional digression into Wikipedia for historical context rewarding, though it is not necessary for the enjoyment of this book.
Arundhati Roy has an extraordinary gift for blending the sublime and the grotesque. And something I don’t think is mentioned often enough is how funny she is. It’s been a while since a book made me laugh as often.
Not so much a review but certainly a recommendation. Read this book and make up your own mind about it. And if you’re like me and have a little trouble following along the first time, I’d even recommend that you read it twice.
This is not the book for this moment. It’s too poetic for what I currently need.
Oof, this was a slog - I realized that I was enjoying the last chapter quite a bit more than all the previous ones, and then I was like, wait - is that just cuz I know we're close to the end?
Which is a shame! Cuz I'm all about modern/recent Indian political history etc, and this book has that in spades. It follows two main threads (or, like, two dozen) but all the character-lives wrap up together in a Love Actually/two degrees of separation deal. First main thread is about Anjum, an intersex woman living as a hijra in Old Delhi. Much MUCH is made of the glories of Old Delhi, and this was maybe my favorite part of the book: oh SNAP, I almost forgot, here's some mood music for ya.
Anyway, indeed, Anjum lives in a raucous hijra community somewhere near the Jama Masjid, and we have a rich, loving portrayal of Old Delhi's heritage in a modern, fast-changing India. There are such wonderful hits as how great Mirza Ghalib is (so great!), how great Mughal-e-Azam is (I personally prefer Umrao Jaan), and generally these scenes feel like a 1980s Naseeruddin Shah movie. I say that with much affection. This is about ~30% of the book.
The second thread centers around a group of university students, a love quadrangle with a moody lady named Tilo at the center. The quadrangle folks end up getting wrapped up in the bloody fighting in 1990s Kashmir, and much horrors are observed. This takes up ~70% of the book.
Sooo. Yeah. I found this a mighty, mighty slog. I found the writing really self-indulgent and a little too self-aware/self-enamored. Never did I forget the presence of ARUNDHATI ROY, or her views or the Important Points she was making. This was similar to the feeling I got when reading Kim Stanley Robinson's New York 2140 - another accomplished, much-lauded author whose latest book is full of indulgent, gimmicky schticks like alphabetical lists of words (FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, ARUNDHATI, I GOT THE POINT AT C, WHY MUST YOU CONTINUE). Main difference here is (1) Arundhati Roy is clearly on a mission to tell an important story about What's Up With India, and (2) I love KSR, he so great (I never read Roy before).
Another weird gimmick - one that really bothered me - was that Roy refers to several important Indian politicians and public figures: namely, Narendra Modi (the current PM), Anna Hazare (who led a wave of Bernie-style "political revolution"/anti-corruption movements in 2012), Manmohan Singh (former PM), and so on. Yet she doesn't name any of them - Narendra Modi is "Gujarat ka Lalla" (Gujarat's beloved? I forget), Hazare is the "baby" (cuz of his looks, not behavior), etc etc. And I was like, wait, why? Who is the audience of this book? It's written in English (and, notably, it's mentioned how most of the characters DON'T speak it), so it's pitched more towards upper class Indian readers - and, of course, international readers. But how many international readers know Anna Hazare? And can recognize him by roundabout descriptions of his movement?
And this annoyed me. Like, clearly Arundhati Roy is waving the flag of social justice and left-wing outrage at the ascendency of far-right Hindu nationalism since the last election, and I think it would be nice and educational and important to, for example, publicize the Gujarat riots of 2002 (and Narendra Modi's role in them) to an American audience. But... she doesn't? She's weirdly coy about it, weirdly smirking/wink wink about it. And I'm just like: WHY? Just tell the story! Or better yet (since, damn, she does do a lot of telling), SHOW us the story!
And now, my beloved Shashi Kapoor, playing a Kashmiri goatherd type, noting how foreigners are nothing but trouble and one must stay away from them.
Which is a shame! Cuz I'm all about modern/recent Indian political history etc, and this book has that in spades. It follows two main threads (or, like, two dozen) but all the character-lives wrap up together in a Love Actually/two degrees of separation deal. First main thread is about Anjum, an intersex woman living as a hijra in Old Delhi. Much MUCH is made of the glories of Old Delhi, and this was maybe my favorite part of the book: oh SNAP, I almost forgot, here's some mood music for ya.
Anyway, indeed, Anjum lives in a raucous hijra community somewhere near the Jama Masjid, and we have a rich, loving portrayal of Old Delhi's heritage in a modern, fast-changing India. There are such wonderful hits as how great Mirza Ghalib is (so great!), how great Mughal-e-Azam is (I personally prefer Umrao Jaan), and generally these scenes feel like a 1980s Naseeruddin Shah movie. I say that with much affection. This is about ~30% of the book.
The second thread centers around a group of university students, a love quadrangle with a moody lady named Tilo at the center. The quadrangle folks end up getting wrapped up in the bloody fighting in 1990s Kashmir, and much horrors are observed. This takes up ~70% of the book.
Sooo. Yeah. I found this a mighty, mighty slog. I found the writing really self-indulgent and a little too self-aware/self-enamored. Never did I forget the presence of ARUNDHATI ROY, or her views or the Important Points she was making. This was similar to the feeling I got when reading Kim Stanley Robinson's New York 2140 - another accomplished, much-lauded author whose latest book is full of indulgent, gimmicky schticks like alphabetical lists of words (FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, ARUNDHATI, I GOT THE POINT AT C, WHY MUST YOU CONTINUE). Main difference here is (1) Arundhati Roy is clearly on a mission to tell an important story about What's Up With India, and (2) I love KSR, he so great (I never read Roy before).
Another weird gimmick - one that really bothered me - was that Roy refers to several important Indian politicians and public figures: namely, Narendra Modi (the current PM), Anna Hazare (who led a wave of Bernie-style "political revolution"/anti-corruption movements in 2012), Manmohan Singh (former PM), and so on. Yet she doesn't name any of them - Narendra Modi is "Gujarat ka Lalla" (Gujarat's beloved? I forget), Hazare is the "baby" (cuz of his looks, not behavior), etc etc. And I was like, wait, why? Who is the audience of this book? It's written in English (and, notably, it's mentioned how most of the characters DON'T speak it), so it's pitched more towards upper class Indian readers - and, of course, international readers. But how many international readers know Anna Hazare? And can recognize him by roundabout descriptions of his movement?
And this annoyed me. Like, clearly Arundhati Roy is waving the flag of social justice and left-wing outrage at the ascendency of far-right Hindu nationalism since the last election, and I think it would be nice and educational and important to, for example, publicize the Gujarat riots of 2002 (and Narendra Modi's role in them) to an American audience. But... she doesn't? She's weirdly coy about it, weirdly smirking/wink wink about it. And I'm just like: WHY? Just tell the story! Or better yet (since, damn, she does do a lot of telling), SHOW us the story!
And now, my beloved Shashi Kapoor, playing a Kashmiri goatherd type, noting how foreigners are nothing but trouble and one must stay away from them.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
A bit difficult to follow... but so insightful nonetheless. A searing history India over these last 30ish years, and the idiotic reasons humans continue to find to hate and kill one another.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
I just never got interested in the characters and couldn’t keep myself focused.
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
dark
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I struggled with this one and was not expecting to give 3 stars. It took me weeks (months) to finish. Difficult to follow and I wasn’t bought in until about the last 100-200 pages. That being said, those last pages were great and did tie everything together. I wondered why so much ground work was set so early on for characters that didn’t seem to be pivotal to the story… all for this to be made clear (why so much detail and foundation was laid) in the final chapters. I would recommend with the caveat that this is not an easy read (subject matter and difficulty of the plot) but the last pages do make it worth it.