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Continuum Contemporaries
Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things: A Reader's Guide
This is part of a new series of guides to contemporary novels. The aim of the series is to give readers accessible and informative introductions to some of the most popular, most acclaimed and most influential novels of recent years - from ‘The Remains of the Day' to ‘White Teeth'. A team of contemporary fiction scholars from both sides of the Atlantic has been assembled to provide a thorough and readable analysis of each of the novels in question.
96 pages, Paperback
First published May 4, 2002
31 people are currently reading
435 people want to read
About the author
Julie Mullaney
4 books1 followerJulie Mullaney is Senior Lecturer in English at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
July 28, 2011
one of the most hauntingly beautiful books I've ever read... evocative, laden with imagery that causes sensory overload, made me laugh and made me cry. It mostly made me cry. I love it!
May 23, 2011
This is an interesting work of fiction. It's a combination of history, reality and fiction. Roy was able to blend well the three elements in this book. The order of presentation was not chronological, but that added to my hunger to continually read the book. The setting was in India, and it was a refreshing take on reading an Asian culture since I was bombarded in the past with reading Western sci-fi/fantasy literature.
I teach sociology and one topic dealt in my course would be the caste system of India. The caste system was very well depicted also in the book especially in the condemned relationship between an Untouchable Marxist and a Touchable Feminist. Despite their "liberal" statuses, their relationship was still labeled as unacceptable most especially by the family of the Touchable one.An angle about caste struggle was also introduced here, and breaking of traditions.
In addition, Roy was able to make me feel I'm part of the flow of the story for I was able to more or less "feel" the emotions being described about each character, from the so-called egg twins to the nun "baby aunt" who was in love even to a dead ex-Catholic priest.
All in all I can say that what I learned from reading this book is that amidst the chaotic world that we have, we must learn to find happiness in little things.
I teach sociology and one topic dealt in my course would be the caste system of India. The caste system was very well depicted also in the book especially in the condemned relationship between an Untouchable Marxist and a Touchable Feminist. Despite their "liberal" statuses, their relationship was still labeled as unacceptable most especially by the family of the Touchable one.An angle about caste struggle was also introduced here, and breaking of traditions.
In addition, Roy was able to make me feel I'm part of the flow of the story for I was able to more or less "feel" the emotions being described about each character, from the so-called egg twins to the nun "baby aunt" who was in love even to a dead ex-Catholic priest.
All in all I can say that what I learned from reading this book is that amidst the chaotic world that we have, we must learn to find happiness in little things.
March 4, 2018
Had there been more star ratings I would have given all of them to this novel as it is really worth it and many more.
In the start there doesn't seem to be any impressive story but then slowly it captures the reader forcefully and till the end you are not what you once were.....
but nothing changes actually , untouchables remain untouchables and sin remains sin .
Rahel and Astha are twins sharing a mysterious relationship together and they witness and live those realities , they detest but remain unable to change.
valutha is the most loveable and struggling hero of our times. he is not a traditional hero like he isn't a man of rank and he is not an over reacher but a struggler a doer who wants to be into the list of touchable so that he could be loved by his beloved ammu. but he fails as every hero does but only outwardly from inside he becomes a god of his own life he does what he likes , most of the time he is seen constructing broken things i.e. chairs , stools , ammu's life, kids' image of father etc. doing all things these touchable wont do for themselves, he was setting those things right. but he was untouchable and these people let him be away from them and he is killed in their love.....
“...the secret of the Great Stories is that they have no secrets. The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to hear again. The ones you can enter anywhere and inhabit comfortably. They don’t deceive you with thrills and trick endings. They don’t surprise you with the unforeseen. They are as familiar as the house you live in. Or the smell of your lover’s skin. You know how they end, yet you listen as though you don’t. In the way that although you know that one day you will die, you live as though you won’t. In the Great Stories you know who lives, who dies, who finds love, who doesn’t. And yet you want to know again.
That is their mystery and their magic.”
― Arundhati Roy said all in this quote , whatever there is in her novel. in short its about their secrets and punishments.
In the start there doesn't seem to be any impressive story but then slowly it captures the reader forcefully and till the end you are not what you once were.....
but nothing changes actually , untouchables remain untouchables and sin remains sin .
Rahel and Astha are twins sharing a mysterious relationship together and they witness and live those realities , they detest but remain unable to change.
valutha is the most loveable and struggling hero of our times. he is not a traditional hero like he isn't a man of rank and he is not an over reacher but a struggler a doer who wants to be into the list of touchable so that he could be loved by his beloved ammu. but he fails as every hero does but only outwardly from inside he becomes a god of his own life he does what he likes , most of the time he is seen constructing broken things i.e. chairs , stools , ammu's life, kids' image of father etc. doing all things these touchable wont do for themselves, he was setting those things right. but he was untouchable and these people let him be away from them and he is killed in their love.....
“...the secret of the Great Stories is that they have no secrets. The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to hear again. The ones you can enter anywhere and inhabit comfortably. They don’t deceive you with thrills and trick endings. They don’t surprise you with the unforeseen. They are as familiar as the house you live in. Or the smell of your lover’s skin. You know how they end, yet you listen as though you don’t. In the way that although you know that one day you will die, you live as though you won’t. In the Great Stories you know who lives, who dies, who finds love, who doesn’t. And yet you want to know again.
That is their mystery and their magic.”
― Arundhati Roy said all in this quote , whatever there is in her novel. in short its about their secrets and punishments.
January 18, 2010
Half way through - for the secind time - and i'm loving it more - i found it quite tough going the first time round.
The way it drifts from one thought to the next (whilst filling in the gaps of the current tale - but its definitely worth reading - i love how she repeats the phrases each time she re-visits or repats a certain phrase, the most sophisticated form of cuteness i've encountered in a book in a while...
The way it drifts from one thought to the next (whilst filling in the gaps of the current tale - but its definitely worth reading - i love how she repeats the phrases each time she re-visits or repats a certain phrase, the most sophisticated form of cuteness i've encountered in a book in a while...
December 6, 2009
beutifully written and a great story=one of my favorite all time books
August 31, 2014
read it for the second time....great read
March 1, 2019
2.5
although it's only a reader's guide, almost all of the users who commented on this book here mistook it for the novel itself.
the book is alright as an introduction which touches upon some prominent themes in and criticisms of the novel. since i had no special interest in the novel's reception and performance (which chapters three and four present us with), i wished the commentary on the novel was longer and more in-depth.
although it's only a reader's guide, almost all of the users who commented on this book here mistook it for the novel itself.
the book is alright as an introduction which touches upon some prominent themes in and criticisms of the novel. since i had no special interest in the novel's reception and performance (which chapters three and four present us with), i wished the commentary on the novel was longer and more in-depth.
April 19, 2007
Beautiful writing...highly emotional...I admit I do cry often when reading books and watching movies but I sobbed when reading this...very moving
January 9, 2024
It took me a while to get into this and after reading about 30 pages I put it down for a week. The narrative goes back and forth in time plus there are a lot of names in their extended family, which I found a bit confusing.
However, it had been chosen for my book club and I thought I really should finish it. So I picked it up, determined to forge on and then got hooked.
The story centres on a set of twins and their family and upbringing in India in 1969. It then jumps to 1993, and that story is interspersed with the 1969 saga.
We find out early in the book that one character in the family dies young but we don't know what happened. Therefore, as the book progresses, we read about their lives, loves, plots, interactions and history. It isn't until the last chapter that we actually find out the truth behind the character's death and the tangled web that surrounds it.
I ended up really enjoying it. The writing is beautiful, and I could feel myself in each of the settings she describes, in spite of my never having been to India. The author conveys the horror and destructive nature of the caste system, infecting all aspects of Indian society and psyche.
It's a provocative book - and I look forward to my book club discussion.
However, it had been chosen for my book club and I thought I really should finish it. So I picked it up, determined to forge on and then got hooked.
The story centres on a set of twins and their family and upbringing in India in 1969. It then jumps to 1993, and that story is interspersed with the 1969 saga.
We find out early in the book that one character in the family dies young but we don't know what happened. Therefore, as the book progresses, we read about their lives, loves, plots, interactions and history. It isn't until the last chapter that we actually find out the truth behind the character's death and the tangled web that surrounds it.
I ended up really enjoying it. The writing is beautiful, and I could feel myself in each of the settings she describes, in spite of my never having been to India. The author conveys the horror and destructive nature of the caste system, infecting all aspects of Indian society and psyche.
It's a provocative book - and I look forward to my book club discussion.
February 23, 2020
Delicious and sensory tale of an Indian family and culture including full range of trials and tribulations
April 23, 2020
A beautiful story of love, tradition and tragedy
August 22, 2024
I loved this book. So refreshing, original, and moving. Seeing adult things from a child´s perspective. So well written.
June 11, 2015
The book where I first came upon a passionate love-making scene as well as a description of child abuse, not quite getting one and recoiling from the other; the book where I learnt the trick of using Capitalization for effect; and in which rain-soaked, pickle-flavoured, left-leaning Kerala came alive forever. On the other hand, there is something pretentious about the writing, something laboured, perhaps the travails of a first fiction book. Read of you like but there is better stuff on Kerala and India.
January 20, 2008
I loved this book.
I think it's about how history creates politics that ruin peoples lives in tragic and disturbing ways. She also has a way with words. I remember the end of the book made me squeamish.
I think it's about how history creates politics that ruin peoples lives in tragic and disturbing ways. She also has a way with words. I remember the end of the book made me squeamish.
January 10, 2016
Loved the book. Being of the same ethnic background as the author i loved seeing my language peppering the pages. The family and relationships are utterly recognisable. What may be troublesome for non malayalees is the familial terms used to denote relatives (not by name).
September 17, 2007
very amazing....!!!love it so bad but i lose this book , anyone want to give me this book as a present for me??
March 12, 2008
I did not find this book incredibly memorable.
March 18, 2008
I will read this when I have nothing better to do or I'm at soccer practice. It's ok so far.
Want to read
May 31, 2009hiiiiiiiii
May 24, 2015
What a waste of time.
May 26, 2015
Beautiful prose
June 18, 2015
Very informative. Really aided with my understanding and studying of The God Of Small Things.
Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews