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fasola4mi 's review for:
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
by Arundhati Roy
Thought-provoking and disturbing, this novel demands a lot of its reader. I often found myself distracted and distanced from the story because the historical, political, and literary references were beyond my ken. That's not a fault of the writing, but rampant shifts in time and perspective (hello, first person narrator in the 2nd third of the book! Who are you?!) were also distracting and seemed unnecessary on a first read through. By the end, I was willing to concede they might have been necessary after all, but did not have the heart for a second read to prove that theory.
In contrast to some reviewers, I found the main characters Anjum and Tilo to be quite well-developed, though perhaps some of the minor characters are less so. I also disagree with the idea that there is no plot, though it's true that it doesn't follow a typical beginning-middle-end structure.
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is a brilliant work that I didn't completely understand and didn't entirely enjoy.
In contrast to some reviewers, I found the main characters Anjum and Tilo to be quite well-developed, though perhaps some of the minor characters are less so. I also disagree with the idea that there is no plot, though it's true that it doesn't follow a typical beginning-middle-end structure.
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is a brilliant work that I didn't completely understand and didn't entirely enjoy.