Read Women discussion

This is the thread for our author discussion of Indian author, political activist and essayist, Arundhati Roy). We plan to start actively discussing her books starting September 10th. As we close out August (!! where did the last 4 months go?), it's a good time to gather copies of our planned first reads by her and delve into everything she's done and accomplished. I am even more wowed by reading her Wiki bio than I remember being in the past.

Highlights

Roy won the Booker Prize for her debut novel, The God of Small Things (1997), and it is also the biggest selling book by a non-expat Indian author.

She is an activist focused on globalization, environmental issues, and human rights. As a vocal critic of India state policies, she has faced legal challenges for her activism, including prosecution under India’s Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Last September, her memoir, Mother Mary Comes to Me was released. Earlier this year, it was longlisted for the 2026 Women's Prize for Nonfiction and named one of the NYT Book Review's Top 10 Books of the Year.

Her publisher's promo page is worth quoting: One of the best-reviewed books of the year, a raw and deeply moving memoir that “pulses with compassion and moral outrage” (The Wall Street Journal) from the legendary author of The God of Small Things and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness that traces her complex relationship with her mother, Mary Roy, a fierce and formidable force who shaped Arundhati’s life both as a woman and a writer.

“Heart-smashed” by the death of the mother she ran from at age eighteen and shaken by the intensity of her response, Arundhati Roy began this remarkable memoir—a soaring account, both intimate and inspiring, of how the author became the person and the writer she is: shaped by circumstance but above all by her relationship to her extraordinary, singular mother Mary, who she describes as “my shelter and my storm.”

With the scale, sweep, and depth of her novels, and the passion, political clarity, and warmth of her essays, Mother Mary Comes to Me is an ode to freedom, a tribute to thorny love and savage grace—a memoir like no other.

Some links here that you can choose to explore as you like.

Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arundha...

An interview of Roy by Talk Easy's Sam Fragoso focused on Mother Mary and Roy's experiences growing up with her mom. It's an hour and 11 minutes and I recommend it highly as a way of getting to know Roy, even if you don't ultimately read this book. https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview...

A transcript of an interview of Roy focused on her political engagement and how that relates to her writing. https://dialog.puchd.ac.in/wp-content...

Books, in order of pub date

Novels
1997 The God of Small Things
2017 The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

Non-fiction and Essay Collections
1999 The Cost of Living – Essays critiquing development projects in India, including the Narmada Dam

2000 Power Politics – Essays on globalization, multinational corporations, and their impact on developing countries

2001 War Is Peace– Essays analyzing the U.S.-led war on terror and global justice

2002 The Algebra of Infinite Justice
– Essays on nuclear power, Afghanistan, and Indian democracy

2003 The Checkbook and the Cruise Missile: Conversations With Arundhati Roy – Interviews with Roy discussing political issues

2003 War Talk – Essays on post-9/11 geopolitics, religious nationalism, and U.S. foreign policy

2004 Ordinary Person's Guide To Empire - a series of speeches on George W's administration but also the then-New American Empire, generally

2008 The Shape of the Beast: Conversations with Arundhati Roy

2009 Field Notes on Democracy: Listening to Grasshoppers – Essays on India’s democratic backsliding, Hindu nationalism, and Kashmir

2009 The Algebra of Infinite Justice

2011 Walking With The Comrades - "Deep in the forests, under the pretense of battling Maoist guerillas, the Indian government is waging a vicious total war against its own citizens-a war undocumented by a weak domestic press and fostered by corporations eager to exploit the rare minerals buried in tribal lands."

2011 Broken Republic: Three Essays - Essays examining the nature of progress and development in the emerging global superpower, and asks fundamental questions about modern civilization itself

2014 Capitalism: A Ghost Story – Essays critiquing economic inequality and corporate power in India

2016 The End of Imagination - collection of 5 books of essays ( Power Politics, War Talk, Public Power in the Age of Empire, and An Ordinary Person's Guide to Empire)

2017 The Doctor and the Saint: The Ambedkar - Gandhi Debate

2019 My Seditious Heart: Collected Nonfiction – A collection of essays and speeches on social justice, human rights, and activism

2020 Azadi: Freedom. Fascism. Fiction. – Essays on Kashmir, democracy, and resistance

2021 Things that Can and Cannot Be Said: Essays and Conversations (with John Cusack) – Essays on political and social issues, including global conflicts

2025 Mother Mary Comes to Me

[If I've missed any NF works, feel free to flag the gaps. I'm honestly stopping after digging for 90 minutes or so.]

I want to read Mother Mary and The God of Small Things, and I'm also intrigued to see what I can find of an essay or 6.

What books by Roy have you read, or plan to read during this author focus?

I've read The God of Small Things before! I can't remember anything except that I really loved it.

Ninnisha|Roberta wrote: "I've read The God of Small Things before! I can't remember anything except that I really loved it."

That's the important thing - fantastic to hear.

I came back to say, watch out viewing her videos. She is a compelling speaker and has so much passion, intelligence and humor, you run the risk that on a Monday when you should be working, you're instead down the rabbit hole of watching Roy videos. Bringing much joy to go with the work-related anxiety.

Oh gosh this has crept up on me. There's long waits for her books via my library and I meant to get ahead. Luckily I can get Mother Mary on audio for 18th Sept but it's end Oct/Nov for the novels. Which is pretty impressive considering how long ago they were published.

I haven't read Roy before, she's one of those authors I keep putting off without having an actual reason. Glad to hear Ninnisha loved one and Carol has been swept down a rabbit hole!

Hannah wrote: "Oh gosh this has crept up on me. There's long waits for her books via my library and I meant to get ahead. Luckily I can get Mother Mary on audio for 18th Sept but it's end Oct/Nov for the novels. ..."

I'm really impressed that your holds will take so long - as you said, her novels have been out for some time. I think I will get used copies of both, just to not be pressed on returning, and because there are millions of paperbacks on the market, so hopefully pricing is low.

On the "putting off" - me, too! The ebook version of Things that Can and Cannot Be Said was maybe a dollar, so I nabbed it.

I'm also interested in tracking down her writings on Kashmir, because I'd like to know alot more about the Kashmiri independence movement and facts than I do (very 100,000 foot level). I support it, but couldn't engage in a debate with anyone opposed with any real knowledge.

Good call! Got on the waitlist for the memoir. Should become available next month.

I am happily surprised that there's a wait at my library for both of the novels as well as (a shorter waitlist for) the memoir! We've got a substantial Indian population locally, but - still - a 25-person wait for The God of Small Things, a novel released in 1997? That's delightful.

My wait shouldn’t be long for the memoir cuz they apparently have !12! ebooks, so yea, demand is high right now 👍

I will be doing Mother Mary Comes to Me on audio! This will be my first for this author.

GailW wrote: "I will be doing Mother Mary Comes to Me on audio! This will be my first for this author."

her mother was a piece of work, as they say. we all have much to look forward to discussing. I’ll open a thread for discussion of Mother Mary.

Carol wrote: "GailW wrote: "I will be doing Mother Mary Comes to Me on audio! This will be my first for this author."

her mother was a piece of work, as they say. we all have much to look forwa..."

I've heard nothing but excellent things about this. Often the audiobook specifically too.

I might end up buying god of small things too if my loan doesn't move forward. It's not expensive

I have My Seditious Heart: Collected Nonfiction which I plan on reading soon. I honestly didn't know much about her until very recently. I'm excited to read some of her work. Thanks for all that info Carol.

Now that I know how much I didn't know, I didn't know squat about her until this week, Misty !! You're welcome. I'm joining you on reading My Seditious Heart, too, since I noticed this:

Everyone: FYI - The ebook of My Seditious Heart: Collected Nonfiction is on sale for $2.99 for 10 more hours. (probably US only).

Carol wrote: "Everyone: FYI - The ebook of My Seditious Heart: Collected Nonfiction is on sale for $2.99 for 10 more hours. (probably US only)."

Well you prompted me to see what I might find cheap on Kindle. I got Roy's The Doctor and the Saint: The Ambedkar - Gandhi Debate.
I also got Annihilation of Caste by B.R. Ambedkar. This title is on the cover of Roy's book which, in full, reads: The Doctor and the Saint - Caste, Race, and The Annihilation of Caste - The Debate Between B.R. Ambedkar and M.K. Gandhi.

Also I'm almost an hour (4 chapters) into the memoir. I got offered a skip-the-line loan for one week borrow only. It's so good so far. I'm still on waitlist for the ebook and back in line to re-borrow the audio. And I'm considering just buying the book cuz I've been really liking it so far... haha

Jen wrote: "Carol wrote: "Everyone: FYI - The ebook of My Seditious Heart: Collected Nonfiction is on sale for $2.99 for 10 more hours. (probably US only)."

Well you prompted me to see what I might find cheap..."

The Annihilation of Caste looked so interesting. And wow! the universe smiled on you ! good job jumping on that opportunity.

I started Things that Can and Cannot Be Said: Essays and Conversations on Kindle and it’s a super fast and compelling read. Cusack is interviewing Roy. It’s not for Americans too sensitive for a straight fact-based conversation. Her humor - even in the face of serious topics - is always present and I think part of her charm. She doesn’t use it to pull punches; it’s there to give grace to the hapless listener with zero credible counterpoint. I’m in awe of her command of, at minimum, twentieth century events. (She may well know much more; this is the category of knowledge on evidence in this one work.)

Carol wrote: "I’m in awe of her command of, at minimum, twentieth century events."

That's very cool.

I think I am going to start My Seditious Heart: Collected Nonfiction very soon. It is nearly 1000 pages though. Since it is nonfiction essays, I think I am going to read them a few at a time.

Misty wrote: "Carol wrote: "I’m in awe of her command of, at minimum, twentieth century events."

That's very cool.

I think I am going to start My Seditious Heart: Collected Nonfiction very soo..."

I had no idea it's that long - but - yeah that seems like the way to go. The beauty of an essay collection is, tackle them as we like without any pressure. Let's share the ones that impress us if we think of it along the way. I wouldn't mind skipping around in it if we flag some gems.

Wow she's written a lot of essays! Her brain must be a fascinating place to be!

IKR?

I'm dipping in and out of Things That Can and Cannot Be Said and very much enjoying that it's a work that can be dipped in and out of with ease. If I only have time to give it ten minutes, I can read several pages without going back and figuring out what the topic was. It is instantly accessible. Even when I disagree with her, her points are so well made. She's a master at grounding a debate in the foundation she wants to argue from.

I learned from Things that Can and Cannot Be Said: Essays and Conversations that Roy grew up in Kerala and, moreover, that Kerala was a Communist state. Which showed me how little I knew about the Indian government and its many states post-Partition and differences between one state's politics and another's. Today, I learned that Kerala was one of the earliest communist governments to be democratically elected to power, second only to San Marino.

If interested, the very helpful Wiki summary on the History of Kerala

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History...

and on Communism in Kerala. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communi...

Excerpt re today: The Communist Party in Kerala has functioned under the conditions of a liberal democracy, relying on success in multi-party elections to remain in power. CPI's 1957 constitution stated it would allow the existence of opposing parties after it had a parliamentary majority. Party leaders, like Namboodiripad, did not like the idea of using military force to remain in power because it would reflect poorly on the CPI as a whole on a global stage. This reliance on the people's opinions created a tolerant communist government, but it also made it more difficult to enact radical reforms. Therefore, the reforms of the CPI in Kerala were mainly moderately socialist.

Hence, Roy grew up in an environment where Communist goals were valued and broadly accepted. From that starting point, she's honed her thoughtful world view.

I started My Seditious Heart: Collected Nonfiction last night. I'm enjoying her writing so far. I don't know that much about the political climate in India, so I am learning a lot. I don't plan on reading the book straight through though because it's so long.

Misty wrote: "I started My Seditious Heart: Collected Nonfiction last night. I'm enjoying her writing so far. I don't know that much about the political climate in India, so I am learning a lot. ..."

There's just something about her that I like. This isn't the typical nonfiction I gravitate toward, and yet I find her writing so compelling. I'll probably hold off on My Seditious Heart until I read Mother Mary, but it would be easy for me to read an essay here and there along the way and not wait, too, so...

I'm a little over 40% into the audio of her memoir. It took me a little bit to get into the "syncopation" of her voice, but once I found my stride it has in it what you hear in her fiction - passion, wry humor, irony. She's into her 20's at this point and I have to say her life would have caved me had it been mine. I highly recommend this so far.

GailW wrote: "I'm a little over 40% into the audio of her memoir. It took me a little bit to get into the "syncopation" of her voice, but once I found my stride it has in it what you hear in her fiction - passio..."

After reading some of her essays, I am intrigued. Her writing has not made her many fans in her government!

Carol - I am also finding her writing compelling. She has mentioned Ghandi a few times which really rubs me the wrong way, but I keep reminding myself that I didn't know he was a sexual predator and racist until ten years ago. These essays are in chronological order, and the ones I am reading are much more than ten years old!

Misty wrote: "GailW wrote: "I'm a little over 40% into the audio of her memoir. It took me a little bit to get into the "syncopation" of her voice, but once I found my stride it has in it what you hear in her fi..."

That's noteworthy, but yes. It's also interesting because I thought I had encountered in one of these readings (not in the collection you're reading) an eye-roll or two about nonviolence as a strategy and so I hadn't expected her to be particularly a Gandhi fan. When someone has written so much over such a long period of time, I try also to check the date and give grace depending on exactly what is said. Thanks for sharing this heads-up.

The book I mentioned in message 15 makes quite the case against the myth of Ghandi. She's definitely not a Ghandian which she outright says in her memoir at some point.

Jen wrote: "The book I mentioned in message 15 makes quite the case against the myth of Ghandi. She's definitely not a Ghandian which she outright says in her memoir at some point."

Whew. Good to know. I'm interested in reading The Doctor and the Saint at some point in this journey. I anticipate being surprised and enlightened about where it takes me.

Jen wrote: "The book I mentioned in message 15 makes quite the case against the myth of Ghandi. She's definitely not a Ghandian which she outright says in her memoir at some point."

That's good to know. These essays are in chronological order, so I think I'm still in the 1990s!

My library loan for the memoir has become available but now that I've started Small Things, I'm not sure if I should read them both together? One is audio so I could, but does anyone know if I'm likely to get confused? Is there anything seni-autobiogeaphical in the novel?

Hannah wrote: "My library loan for the memoir has become available but now that I've started Small Things, I'm not sure if I should read them both together? One is audio so I could, but does anyone know if I'm li..."

I don't remember the novel well but I would think it doesn't matter. Have you decided to start it? I think it's great as audio read by her.

Yes, I think I'll start it soon. I really like memoirs read by the author themselves :)

I finished My Seditious Heart: Collected Nonfiction today. That is a heavy, heavy book, but I am glad I read it. I learned a lot about Indian history and politics.

Misty wrote: "I finished My Seditious Heart: Collected Nonfiction today. That is a heavy, heavy book, but I am glad I read it. I learned a lot about Indian history and politics."

You finished it! That's a good sign that it's compulsive reading -

I loved Mother Mary Comes to Me and I want to read some more of Roy's nonfiction before I pick God of Small Things back up. I'm thinking, My Seditious Heart is next. If I can find Algebra of Infinite Justice, it might cut in front. Her discussion of it in Mother Mary made it stick in my head as one to read.

Looks like Roy will be on BBC World Service radio show The Interview today https://www.bbc.com/audio/play/w3ct8klx

Jen wrote: "Looks like Roy will be on BBC World Service radio show The Interview today https://www.bbc.com/audio/play/w3ct8klx"

Ooo thanks for sharing Jen, what excellent timing!

I'm looking forward to getting back into the God of Small Things very soon, which for me was working better than the memoir

Jen wrote: "Looks like Roy will be on BBC World Service radio show The Interview today https://www.bbc.com/audio/play/w3ct8klx"

I'll have to see if I can find this today. I'm missing her voice : )

Hannah wrote: "Jen wrote: "Looks like Roy will be on BBC World Service radio show The Interview today https://www.bbc.com/audio/play/w3ct8klx"

Ooo thanks for sharing Jen, what excellent timing!

I'm looking forw..."

Maybe having some of the autobiographical info will enhance it (even more) - let us know. I want to get back to it, too, but am thinking it will take me some weeks.

Carol wrote: "Maybe having some of the autobiographical info will enhance it (even more) - let us know. I want to get back to it, too, but am thinking it will take me some weeks..."

I started reading again yesterday and at first I found it a little confusing. There are some very strongly autobiographical elements to TGOST but only in certain areas/characters. Like her mother having inheritance issues, the pickle factory, the gran aunt with the same name and hostilities, having half a childhood with her brother, absent alcoholic father. But then Ammu is very different to Mother Mary. Rachel and Estha themselves seem quite different too. I wonder if this was the way she wanted to write it or if she was still under the spell or afraid to portray her mother as she actually was at this point. I also thought that it was interesting that she made the brother the one who stopped speaking rather than herself.

Hannah wrote: "Carol wrote: "Maybe having some of the autobiographical info will enhance it (even more) - let us know. I want to get back to it, too, but am thinking it will take me some weeks..."

I started read..."

interesting. interesting. It's funny what we take away as her motives and views of her mom. I (today, who knows about tomorrow) think she was operating from a place of kindness in her portrayals. She was factual, but while her mom was alive I think she avoided discussing motives. OTOH, I don't know that her mom would have disagreed with anything in Mother Mary, e.g., any retelling of events. I don't recall a single scene where Mary sought a better "edit" so to speak. She didn't care if she was portrayed without varnish. That's what I took from it.

But back to TGOST... lol

I remember her saying in MM that her family were worried when TGOST was published and that her mum read it quickly and was relieved to see that it was nothing to worry about. That's what made me think she had intentionally made Ammu very different. It's also interesting that she didn't care/notice about any of the similarities in anybody else!

Hannah wrote: "I remember her saying in MM that her family were worried when TGOST was published and that her mum read it quickly and was relieved to see that it was nothing to worry about. That's what made me th..."

That's right - and a great catch on your part, too.