The God of Small Things: A BBC 2 Between the Covers Book Club Pick

Arundhati Roy's debut novel won the Booker Prize in 1997 and became a best-seller in more than two dozen countries, yet it remains her only foray into fiction.While Roy has evolved the public life that came with its success into becoming a tireless and outspoken campaigner for civil rights, both in her home state of Kerala and abroad, her book endures as one of the finest examples of modern Indian fiction: clever, thought-provoking and undeniably unique.It is May in Ayemenem: the days are long and humid, the nights clear 'but suffused with sloth and sullen expectation'. Two decades on from the tragic events that abruptly ended their childhood and tore apart their laid-back family life, a pair of twins are reunited in a world unrecognisable from their youth: their mother dead, their pickle factory ruined, the once swollen river - a conniver in their tragic fate - now reduced to a polluted trickle, as if in penance for the truths it once contrived to hide.In Roy's multi-layered, many-levelled novel, past and present blend seamlessly to present a darkly comic and ultimately desperately bleak picture of a community teetering on the brink of a Maoist insurgency; bedevilled by political hypocrisy, and still shackled, for all its increasing international opportunities, by the remnants of its obscene caste discrimination.There is a pervading unease about this book: about both its characters and its broader subjects. Roy's writing style is thrillingly unorthodox, defiantly unfettered by convention, almost wilfully clumsy: the grass looks 'wetgreen'. The old trains rattle along making 'fallingoff noises'. As the pickles slowly cool, 'the dying froth [makes] dying frothly shapes'.The twins, Estha and Rahel, are suffused with a wide-eyed childhood innocence, yet a delicate halo of otherworldliness, crafted by Roy's restrained use of language, is allowed to hover above them, barely discernable but for the context of the strange, unsettling world the author has conjured.This is a challenging novel, flitting back and forth through time, slowly slotting together the complicated life stories of a disparate group of characters who hum like fat bluebottles in its fruity air, each awaiting its turn to flit into focus.There is, it soon becomes abundantly clear, going to be no happy ending; no joyous reunion; no throwing out of old prejudices along with the vats of long-rotted fruit; no answer to the myriad social ills gripping both this village and, by inference, wider Keralan society, and India itself.But for all that the ending is bleak and terrible and terribly, terribly vivid, it is also rendered strangely beautiful and curiously life-affirming by its confirmation that true love casts no such judgements: that it endures no matter the amount of blood that is spilled or the number of years that have passed.If 'The God of Small Things' is to remain Arundhati Roy's first and last novel, then perhaps it is fitting, serving to enhance the legacy of a book that remains unapologetically one of a kind: by turn bewitching, baffling, tragic and triumphant: nothing less than brilliant.

It took me quite a while to read this book, but I couldn't leave it unfinished, because it was haunting and gripping, describing taboos in the Indian culture (and other cultures too!). The writing kept me going because it was so poetic, describing places and situations so beautifully, like a stream of consciousness, sometimes from the viewpoint of a child too, which can be really heartfelt. We are made to wait about exactly what happened even though we have a gist of it as we're reading more. The god of little things is about being OK talking about what is acceptable, the "little things" in life, while the bigger things are not talked about and stay a big taboo, and how this affects families, and especially unsuspecting children being made to feel guilty for the taboos which rule their society. Beautifully written and very "personal" in many ways. Not for those who want a quick read though. It requires attention and dedication to finish the book.

Honestly, I really can't recall where I first came across reading this book, if it was either down at my local library/or else, through having gone and checked out an Amazon online preview. All I know is that as soon as I'd started reading the very 1st page, I was totally impressed; her writing is just absolutely incredible; as well as, being uniquely one of a kind. It's the kind of writing where you find yourself re-reading through every single paragraph, again and again; simply, in order to more fully savour how beautifully it's been written; and, then, asking yourself how is it possible that anybody is able to write so well?! It was, then, that I immediately decided that without any doubt I 'must' purchase this book; to lose it would be to lose finding a real 'gem' in amongst what usually amounts to be a load of pure dirt.At some later date, I went and brought myself an Amazon Kindle Keyboard equipped with both Wi Fi & 3G. The book I actually went and brought was the Kindle version of this book. As much as I'm delighted with having a portable version to go read; I still can't help thinking and feeling that having a paper based version of the book is, quite truly, 'the best'. Somehow owning an electronic version of the book seems to me to be a little too plain; as if all electronic books are basically the same; yes, you can change font/text size/screen orientation; but, nothing really beats owning a book in it's 'original' format; and, also, being able to physically turn over each page; as opposed to touching a button to electronically flip through pages. I'm not saying that having these electronic gadgets don't help; as you can store multiple books very compactly, indeed; but, there's an awful lot to be said for old fashioned technology production methods, too.At the end of the day, what I'm saying is, I wish to own 2 versions of this book; both the paper based version/as well as, the electronic version. That means I have to go and pay for the book twice; which tells you exactly how much I do fully respect and admire this author's 'masterpiece' work.

Subject matter includes: Paedophilia, caste-based discrimination, police-sanctioned murder, domestic violence, gender-based discrimination, death of children.There can be no doubt that Arundhati Roy is a writer of great ability, but there can equally be no doubt that she isn't setting out to make anyone's life easier with this book. Does it make valid points about the state of India, both today and when it was written? Probably, but the experience of reading it certainly didn't make my life any better.Recommended only if you have a strong tolerance for suffering, and relish the chance to prove it.

El caos en palabras. Conocer más sobre la vida en la India, su sistema de castas, su caos y su belleza. Todo aquel que se jacte de ser un gran lector, que ame los retos y la belleza de la narrativa debe conocer esta historia. Todo gira al rededor de la muerte de una niña. Por medio de saltos en el tiempo, de descripciones poéticas y complejas como la vida misma, conocemos la historia de una familia que se salta todas las normas de la cultura al amar. Sígueme en instagram para más recomendaciones literarias. @Nora_d_tinta_y_papel

Roy trabalha tópicos importantíssimos de forma muito sensível e delicada. Apesar de a intercalação dos episódios poder causar alguma confusão, a escrita é muito fluida. Recomendo muito!

I wasn’t expecting such an extraordinary piece of writing. A novel that invents its world through a unique use of language that echoes and sings through the whole book, creating a flow of imagery, atmosphere and characters unlike anything I have ever read. What’s more the narrative voice is at once entertaining, irreverent, moving, vulgar, vivid and utterly involving. As with many great novels the crescendo of events and emotions comes through traveling through a book that builds in layers rather than chronological events, so that by the end you not only know what happened but have experienced it in the complexity of destiny lived out in the context of culture, family, society and the individual choices of human beings. Absolutely recommended.

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How should I start describing this masterpiece in order to give it the praise and love it deserves?„The God of Small Things“ was out of my normal choice and I struggled to get past the first pages. The world described in the book was not well known to me and the vocabulary was also very unusual. But I‘m very glad that I stayed with the book till the end.The story of the twin Rahel, Estha and their family is tender, touching and troubling, all at the same time. The life in a country with so many rules and boundaries which affect do many people in their thinking and behavior is portrayed in a very personal manner. Even though there are many issues, they still try to find their own way through life in their very own happiness.The storytelling in this one was splendid and outstanding. The tone is neutral but still on point. And this style adds to the delicate and tender nature of the story. There is actually no right or wrong with any person. There is just this storyteller objectively reporting about the incidents and trying to explain motives and outcomes of certain actions.At some point I was just immersed into the setting and the love inside the book was so big that it was crushing everyone. The love between a mother and her children, between a man and a woman, or even between an individual and its society.All of this happening inside the fences of „love laws“ which is telling you „who should be loved. And how. And how much.“ In the end I realized that the story took already an important place in my heart and I‘m sure that I will not forget about this book so soon.