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The God of Small Things - A Review



‘The God of Small Things’ by Arundhati Roy

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I knew about this one since long. It was lurking in my Kindle TBR since long. But when an illuminated English Professor who my husband interacted with at an event could not stop gushing over it, I had to pick it up.

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But the review starts with a trigger warning - it is darker than what you are ready for. Period. With an evil foreboding building up since the start, reading this novel was like beginning to watch a horror movie, where more than the scares, the anticipation of scares keeps you scared.

Violence, casteist abuse, (Spoiler Alert) sex, pedophilia and incest - in a degree more raw and thorough than you are ready for. Fun Fact! In the political times that it was released, it was not only accused of being anti-communist but the central love affair was alleged to be obscene for which Ms Roy had to face a long and arduous litigation, which might have gone on for an eternity had her Booker win not convinced the judge otherwise. Talk of free speech! I personally found the writing quite poetic and lyrical though. Chetan Bhagat and Sidney Sheldon (no offence) I find more ribald than this.

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Anyway, moving off the scandal handle, let me tell you about the plot. The story is situated in a small Kottayam village Aymenem and revolves around two non-identical twins Esthappan and Rahel and their mother Ammu and the whole extended family. I might be biased but Estha and Rahel, with their guileless beliefs and fallacies but strong morals, remind of Scout Finch of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ many times. This one won’t end as happily though.

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The various characters like Ammu, Baby Kochamma, Chacko, Margaret Kochamma, Sophie, Mammachi, Velutha and Vellya Papen are both funny and dark at times. Ammu may impress you with her strength and audacity whereas Chacko shows extreme unpredictability - both in physique and behavior. Baby Kochamma starts out as a harmless baby aunt till more layers of her character are revealed. 

The two unique aspects of writing of this book are - intentionally muddled chronology and poetic symbolism. The latter will make you do a double take on many lines but with the kind of depth and intricacy that the book carries, it is very much demanded. The sequencing of the book too makes for a difficult read. The narration oscillates between events old and new contrasting the stories of ageing characters and building upon the climax with a cruelly slow speed. But I promise - nowhere would this complexity mar the impact and message of the novel. In fact, I found it an extremely ingenious way of writing. As many believe, Ms Roy’s education in Architecture may have added to this prowess.

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 As it turns out, that English Professor was not wrong after all. TGOST is a book every literature enthusiast should read at least once. For the hard hitting and powerful depiction of casteism and lyrically beautiful carnal narration, I will give this 5/5. We need more books like these. Do share if you know any.

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#anamsreview #anamslibrary #nerdfest #thegodofsmallthings #rahel #estha #aymenem #literature

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