God of Small Things

I wasn't sure what to think about this book when I finished. While it was beautifully written, the plot was sometimes hard to understand. Yet, weeks later as I think about it, I appreciate more the intricate story of the twins Rahel and Estha, and what happened when their cousin Sophie Mol visited one summer.

The prose was so mannered and pleased with itself I found this book impossible to pick up. Magical realism lite.

Mannered and pleased with itself? I can't relate to that at all. And I must have missed the magic realism. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree but for my money this is a billion times less pretentious than 'Crustaceans'.

I don't usually rate 'moving'ness as an adequate system for judging books. That is to say, good books don't usually make me all quivery and emotional, and if they do, it's an experience I get over quickly and forget about. When I hear a book described as 'emotionally powerful' or some such, I think 'mawkish'.

That said, I remember a particular part of 'The God of Small Things' very well, and even the recollection gets to me. It's when she tries to hide her brand new gumboots from her raging, drunk father. He finds her, realises what she's doing (he probably wouldn't have paid any attention to the boots otherwise) and scissors them into ribbons before her eyes. I don't know why it affects me so much, but it does.

And on the whole, aside from that, a really good book. I don't have any particular interest in India, but I found it compelling and extremely well written.

I was thinking about reading this in work. I tend to restrict myself to slimmer volumes at lunchtimes - but would you say you read it quite quickly?

I read it all in one sitting on the plane home from Africa!

This was one of the few books i have ever started and then not actually finished. Perhaps i was not in the mood for it, but i just found that i completely lost interest in all the characters after about 100 pages.

BOOK REVIEW - "THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS" BY ARUNDHATI ROY

"The God of Small Things" is the first novel by Arundhati Roy which won her the Booker Prize in 1997. This novel is a work of fiction by this Indian writer.

This novel relates a story, written in the backdrop of Kerala, a place situated in the southern most part of the Indian peninsula. She has described the natural beauty with her words in such a way, that, while reading the whole scene can be visulised in the mind's eye.

The story centers round a family of the twin's ___ Estha and Rahel __ a very big family indeed, with members of different age groups, from children to old ones. They differ in their thoughts but cope up and adjust in living together.

Many happenings are written about. She mentions of certain happenings in a child's life, which is unforgettable. Childhood pranks, love and affection, emotions, attachment, all drawn in a canvas.

Marriages and break-ups, and what it can lead to, is a part of the family story. She also shows how the Hindu and Christian backgrounds make no difference in one's life, especially for people living in this vast country. The importance of the head of the family can be seen clearly. How importance is attached to going abroad, a fact found in
her writing.

She has written about small things like going for drives, the pickles and jam, visiting places, children taken care of by their elders and made to remain disciplined and even things that happened while traveling. In the long stretch of her writing she has also mentioned politics and how it plays a role in this story.

So many small things are put together in this novel which has made it so very interesting. For those who love reading, this book should be included in their collection.

I think that you have to love India to love this book - it seems to reflect so much of day to day Indian life in such beautiful detail - and from the small things, you learn about the big ones. Stick with it - it's well worth the read!