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Dec 17, 2009

Mandy rated it:

I picked this book up at a book fair with my friend. I had heard wonderful things about it, but the lesson I have learned is to do your research if the book you choose to read is without a synopsis on the back.

I'm not giving this book a one-star rating because of the quality of Roy's writing - on the contrary, her work is incredibly moving and beautifully poetic - but my rating is the result of disappointed expectations. As an optimist, I had picked up this book hoping that it would More...

17 comments like (43 people liked it)

Apr 08, 2008

Adrianne rated it:

Lush, gorgeous prose: reading The God of Small Things is like having your arms and legs tied to a slowly moving, possibly dying horse, and being dragged face-down through the jungle. I mean, like that, only nice. You can't stop seeing and smelling everything, and it's all so foreign and rich. Potentially ripe with e coli.

The similes and metaphors Roy employs are simultaneously tactile and surreal, like an overly vivid dream, and her storytelling style is somewhere between Joseph Con More...

15 comments like (54 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2007

Tim rated it:

Okay, it won the Booker prize and everyone has said it before - but god damn is this one melancholy piece of work, and that's actually why I like it.

It's melancholy, not depressing, and it answers more questions about the characters than it first seemed to, although, I have to say, the characters on the whole are quite two-dimensional. Then again, so are a lot of real people: this is an indictment of human life if ever I saw it.

The language is brilliant, the running toget More...

2 comments like (21 people liked it)

Feb 13, 2010

Choupette rated it:

I still love this book unreservedly, but would like to note (for posterity, and fun, and procrastination) some strange, or possibly not so strange, inconsistencies.

- All the bad guys are ugly and/or fat, while all the good guys are beautiful.
- Velutha has no personality. He is a screen on which other characters' desires are projected.
- This novel won the Booker in 1997. Coincidence much? (this was exactly fifty years after Indian independence). Not having read the other More...

11 comments like (16 people liked it)

Jun 19, 2009

Siria rated it:

Please excuse me while I go sit in this corner and be dreadfully underwhelmed.

The God of Small Things won the Booker Prize in 1997, and I'd heard very good things about it. And yet I really didn't like it. It's not a bad book - far from it. The characters she has created are really wonderful, and she has succeeded in evoking all the noises and sights and smells of Kerala, even for someone like me who's never been further east than Poland. The narrative structure is disjointed, wander More...

1 comment like (26 people liked it)

Feb 20, 2008

Maggie rated it:

"Nothing mattered much. Nothing much mattered. And the less it mattered, the less it mattered. It was never important enough. Because Worse Things had happened. In the country that she came from, poised forever between the terror of war and the horror of peace, Worse Things kept happening."

"Perhaps it's true that things can happen in a day. That a few dozen hours can affect the outcomes of whole lifetimes. And that when they do, those few dozen hours, like the sa More...

0 comments like (18 people liked it)

Dec 17, 2009

Don rated it:

It's interesting that Roy said in an interview that she'd never read Rushdie when compared to him. In retrospect that makes sense. I'd been struggling with "The Moors Last Sigh" when a friend from India gave me this book. I didn't pick it up for a few months and then fell into it, doing little else for days while I read it. At first I found that hard to believe, because she plays with language in ways that I thought Rushdie did, but later I could see that the way he works language i More...

1 comment like (10 people liked it)

May 23, 2011

Barbara rated it:

My biggest problem with this book is how to rank it. I did not enjoy a good part of it. It is bleak, dispiriting and evokes a sense of impending disaster through much of the story. The reason I am in a quandary about my sense of this novel is that I was, simply stated, delighted by Roy's unique and wonderfully creative style of writing.

A brief synopsis of the plot will provide many examples of my ambivalence. This is the tale of a pair of near-genius, two-egg twin children and their More...

38 comments like (8 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Alec rated it:

Rhythm and repetition are as powerful in prose as they are in poetry and music. Arudhati Roi's writing in The God of Small Things is hyper-aware of that. Rhythmic structures dominate the novel at all levels, from the riffs and variations of "If he touched her he couldn't talk to her, if he loved her he couldn't leave, if he spoke he couldn't listen, if he fought he couldn't win," to the larger rhythm of foreshadowing backed by detailed reminiscence that drives the narrative while not More...

1 comment like (10 people liked it)

Apr 24, 2011

K.D. rated it:

This is about the sad, poignant breakdown of an illustrious family in the 60’s in a place called Kerala, a state in India. It revolves around a woman called Ammu who has twins called Estha and Rahel and a lover called Velutha. She and her twins reside in an old house with her mother, Mamachi and her cunning aunt, Kochama. Her twins are not Velutha’s but of Baba’s. However, Ammu has left Baba because he is an alcoholic and tries to prostitute Ammu to his employer. Her mother and aunt are not in More...

21 comments like (15 people liked it)

Aug 18, 2011

Lamski Kikita rated it:

A story from real life (even though it's fiction)about the struggles of the diffeent classes and castes in a polarized, politicized, and mysticised Kerala of South India.

The story told about two-egg twins and their family caught up in a whirlwind of coincidences that all conspired to create the biggest event: the death of two people at the very opposite extremes of the social continueum (the little white girl who was loved by everyone even before arriving, and an untouchable communis More...

8 comments like (6 people liked it)

May 19, 2009

Choupette rated it:

This poor book has it tough. It is pretty famous, but it is so, so underrated. Firstly, it has this odd reputation for being one of those 'literature-for-the-masses'-type books, one of those that is literary, in a way (the critics will admit it only grudgingly), but is nonetheless designed for mass consumption by the type of people who buy the complete works of Shakespeare to sit on a shelf in the living room and who are only a couple of steps up from the Picoult fans.

Secondly, no on More...

12 comments like (16 people liked it)

Oct 29, 2007

Amytyr rated it:

This is, without a doubt, the single worst book ever written.
It makes virtually no sense, jumping from past to present tense so often and without warning that you have no idea whats going on. Out of nowhere the writer mentions filthy disturbing sexual things for no reason. I could not even find a story in there, just meaningless jibberish.
The thing that amazes me most though, is that while i am yet to meet a single person that LIKES this book, it makes it onto all the top 100 lists More...

8 comments like (19 people liked it)

Feb 05, 2012

Layaal rated it:

Until now, I find The God of Small things very interesting! I really like how every word in the book has a specific metaphorical meaning, and how they each contribute to the overall theme. I also really appreciate all the imageries, metaphors, and the use of literary devices. Despite the fact that the chronological order is very confusing, I think it is quite original, and that it allows the author's message to be portrayed in a more effective way. To its advantage, the chronological order makes More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

May 20, 2011

Teresa rated it:

4 and 1/2 stars

I admire this book: its structure, descriptive prose and portrayal of the children. One of the 'Two Things' (that's an allusion to the book) I heard about the novel before reading it was how sad and depressing it is. It is, especially in that the adults fail the children so spectacularly and, for the most part, intentionally (plus it's always hard to read of children as victims) but perhaps I've read so much sad, depressing fiction in my life that this one didn't sta More...

19 comments like (10 people liked it)

Sep 25, 2010

Nojood rated it:

أحد تلك الكتب التي تبقيك خارج الصورة بلا تعاطف مع أي من الشخصيات حتى تجد نفسك فجأة، وبدون سابق إنذار، تعلقت بصوفي مول وطعنك موتها، الذي عرفت عنه منذ البداية، حتى أنك لتتمنى لو تمد يدك من بين الصفحات لتنقذها. لتجد نفسك وبكل قواك أحد الشخصيات الواقفة في قلب الصورة، قد تكون ذلك الصديق الخفي لتشاكو! هل من الممكن أن يسبب حب طفلين وامرأة ناضجة للشخص الخطأ لمدة قصيرة أن يقلب كل موازين الحياة بهذه الطريقة.
تمنيت لو ألغت الكاتبة الفصل الذي يجتمع فيه التوأم. قررت أنه جزء ليس له علاقة بالشخصيات الت More...

10 comments like (4 people liked it)

Jan 02, 2008

Molly rated it:

I first read this book several years ago, but I've since revisited it many times. I think I keep coming back to it because it solicits such strong emotion from the reader. This is due both to the socially relevant and duly complicated story, and the intuitively realized characters. Narrated in retrospect, the novel spins the tale of the the manner in which Estha and Rahel, child twins living on the very edge of a still-socially respectable and economically-stable family in Ayemenem (in the Ke More...

0 comments like (4 people liked it)

Nov 09, 2007

César rated it:

i know i'm alone on this one. i've never heard a single negative comment about the good of small things. plus, i love arundhati roy. i've read several of her books of essays, heard her speeches, read her occasional newspaper colums, never without utter amazement at the beautiful arrangements she composes with words.

when i finally got around to reading the god of small things i had high hopes. that might be part of the reason why i was so disappointed with this novel. maybe i'd pla More...

0 comments like (8 people liked it)

Aug 14, 2007

Lysia rated it:

The author talks about the God of Big Things and the God of Small Things, but it seems to me that the more important of the two is Small Things. The little things that are said in passing, a look, a perception - all of these things are usually the trigger for the Big Things... the culmination of the events leading up to it. That is what this book is all about.
As with most books that I love, I finished it with a feeling that I wanted just a bit more. I wanted to know whether Rahel and Es More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jun 22, 2007

Heather rated it:

This book blew my mind. The story itself is a little bit ... um ... dingy, I guess. It's very raw and paints a picture most people probably wouldn't sympathize with that much. The writing, however, is absolutely superb. The story is told in a ver poetic prose that shifts dramatically in tone to highlight character and scene differences. It does this so effectively in some places that transitional phrases and punctuation aren't even particularly necessary. For example, when the story flashbacks t More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Dec 16, 2009

Maya rated it:

I literally long for Arundhati Roy to write another fiction book, even if it will only be half as beautiful as "The God of Small Things." This is one of those books that has left an indelible mark on me. I never thought one could realistically portray childhood innocence while also depicting haunting tragedy, that a book filled with so many "grown-up" issues could be narrated by a child. This isn't a book that you barrel through to find out what happens next, this is a book More...

0 comments like (11 people liked it)

Apr 15, 2011

umberto rated it:

I bought this viably readable novel last week and wondered why this one seemed familiar to me. Later I found out from the internet it was the 1997 winner of the Booker Prize, that is, its cover has kept haunting me since more than ten years ago and I wasn't aware of its formidable literary acclaim and honour. One of the reasons is that I've never read Arundhati Roy before since this is her debut worth reading critically and enjoyably.

I kept on reading, liked it and agreed with the re More...

12 comments like (5 people liked it)

Nov 16, 2008

Bonnie rated it:

If this book hadn't been recommended to me to read, I doubt I would have finished reading it. But I did finish, and in the end, was glad I had read it; found it praise-worthy. (It has been a while now, though, so can't recall any more than that to offer!)

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jun 12, 2008

Andrea rated it:

Okay so I just finished The God of Small Things. It is a truly excellent story written in the most beautiful language. The words dance, melt, and imbibe such sad memories lingering in bright colors. The story is tragic, but hopeful in a way. The hopefulness rests in the possibility of new beginnings. It brought up questions about love and how I prescribe it and it what doses. The God of Small Things serves as a mirror reflecting my fears concerning motherhood, the poignancy of my words to my c More...

5 comments like (6 people liked it)

Mar 30, 2008

Carmen rated it:

This book has sat on my shelf for close to ten years. Well, it has sat on various shelves of various bookcases in seven different homes of four different cites in three different states. Ten years ago (yes, really!) when I was an undergrad and worked at a bookstore I brought home book after book after book (weekly, at least) and slowly over the years I have read through what seemed like an endless supply of unread books. Often distracted by new releases, library loans, and must-purchases-from-in More...

0 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jan 28, 2008

K rated it:

Arundhati Roy
The God of Small Things
1997, Flamingo
340 pages

Seldom while reading have I found my heart aching and my eyes watering when only at page 5.

The God of Small Things, set in India, is a story of a family torn apart by the wish to love, but more so, the desire to be loved.

Seen through the eyes of Estha and Rahel (twins, one soul), the story, which starts off with the funeral of the twins’ cousin Sophie Mol, unravels through memories and the p More...

0 comments like (9 people liked it)

Mar 09, 2010

Myra rated it:

This book is absolutely moving. This was Arundhati Roy's first novel, and she set the bar quite high for herself with it.

The God of Small Things is set in India and is a story about a pair of fraternal twins and their experiences being victims of circumstance. The setting/time shifts back and forth between 1969 and 1993. Rahel and Estha are seven in 1969, and they are thirty-one in 1993. Their lives were changed so drastically by one event, and they must figure out how to deal wit More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Apr 02, 2008

HappyHippo rated it:

Basically this book doesn't offer anything but emphasized misery and tragedy. Nothing more and nothing less. If you considered yourself as an optimist there's a big possibility you'll be disappointed at the moment you turn the last page. But if you wanted to put yourself to the test. I mean, how far can you handle misery and tragedy.. Well, this book may suit you just fine or even maybe you'll adore this book.
Well, i'm just trying to put myself in between:D
I gave 3.5 stars but i dec More...

8 comments like (3 people liked it)

Oct 17, 2011

Femmy rated it:

3.5 stars - I rarely read "literary" novels, especially in the past, and this book was one of the first that I got my hands on. It was the Indonesian version, and it received rave reviews from my friends at work, so I decided to take a peek. It was filled with long, convoluted sentences that I thought, no wonder people don't like to read literature!

But then I got curious with the English version, so I looked it up on Amazon to read the first few pages, and what a difference More...

5 comments like (5 people liked it)

Jun 12, 2007

neil rated it:

From the beginning, set at a funeral, the reader knows the book will end in tragedy. The only question is - how? Arundhati Roy does a pretty good job of telling an ever-so-slightly magical story about a family in India struggling with many things (the caste system, the intrusion of Western culture, class conflict, etc.) but mostly with themselves.

That's kind of the funny thing about this novel - underneath its hip, post-colonial mode of storytelling, it's really just a novel about h More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)