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Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things
On publication Arundhati Roy's first novel The God of Small Things (1997) rapidly became an international bestseller, winning the Booker Prize and creating a new space for Indian literature and culture within the arts, even as it courted controversy and divided critical opinion. This guide to Roy’s ground-breaking novel offers: Part of the Routledge Guides to Literature series, this volume is essential reading for all those beginning detailed study of The God of Small Things and seeking not only a guide to the novel, but a way through the wealth of contextual and critical material that surrounds Roy's text.
200 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2006
About the author
Alex Tickell
10 books2 followersAlex Tickell is Senior Lecturer in English, Director of the Postcolonial and Global Literatures Research group and Chair of the new MA in English Literature A893 (part 1 of the MA degree).
Alex is a critic and literary historian of global literatures in English and is especially interested in South Asian and Southeast Asian fiction in English - in 2005 he rediscovered the lost 1835 text of the very first fiction written in English by a South Asian author.
Alex has written about contemporary South Asian writers for OU modules (A233, A335) and authored material on Anita Desai for A893; he is also the author of books on Arundhati Roy and contemporary Indian fiction and is editor of the Oxford History of the Novel in English Vol. 10 (OUP, 2019).
Alex is interested in literary representations of Indian megacities and holds a Leverhulme Research Fellowship for his current project, ‘City Fictions of the New India’.
Alex is a critic and literary historian of global literatures in English and is especially interested in South Asian and Southeast Asian fiction in English - in 2005 he rediscovered the lost 1835 text of the very first fiction written in English by a South Asian author.
Alex has written about contemporary South Asian writers for OU modules (A233, A335) and authored material on Anita Desai for A893; he is also the author of books on Arundhati Roy and contemporary Indian fiction and is editor of the Oxford History of the Novel in English Vol. 10 (OUP, 2019).
Alex is interested in literary representations of Indian megacities and holds a Leverhulme Research Fellowship for his current project, ‘City Fictions of the New India’.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 13, 2012
for me this book seemed good in Vocabulary. plot is ok. but i don't know why i didn't feel any nativity with the story. Kerala is just a state away to me and still it didn't give me any Indian feel, except "the untouchable(paravan)" concept which is a very very Indian concept.it all started with kids and she didn't conclude well with the twins. Her last word in the book "Tomorrow" brought a smile on my lips. happy its done."All the best" if someone want to start it.
February 9, 2023
what is the point of this
September 16, 2008
I read this book long time ago, maybe 5 years ago. I read the Indonesian version.
This book left a hole in my heart because of love, passion, and discrimination as well as the tragic of human life.
Roy wrote according to some of her child memories. Such as she uses Kerala, her home town as the place setting of this story and religion she believes (Syria Christian). She also used Communism as the one of the idea of the story. According to time setting (1969), Communism was the biggest political party in India, and that's true. Communist won the local election and became the ruling party in Kerala. Also, in the prologue, Roy describes, how in Kerala people build new houses since many people go to Gulf cities, becoming foreign worker to collect dinar. Yes, and it's also true, since Kerala lies near the Gulf of Arabia, many Kerala's people go there. Arundati also criticized the caste system. It has been diminished by Sonia Gandhi but in fact, the Indian still live with "caste system" Thus, this novel can be called a semi autobiographical.
Well, this book told a story of the life of Indian family for 3 generation: Pappachi and Mammachi, Ammu and Chacko, and Rahel and Esta. Pappachi and Mammachi are the parents of Ammu and Chacko, Ammu is the mother of fraternal twins (Rahel and Esta), and Chacko is the only son, married with English woman while he was studying in Oxford and had a daughter, Sophie Mol.
It's barely hard to understand the main ideas of the novel. I mean, it took a few years for me to understand the meaning of "God of Small Things" itself. What is God, and what is small things??? Small things could be anything that build up life: that affects behavior and live. In this novel, VELUTHA represented the SMALL THINGS. He and his family were the member of the lowest caste in India (the paravan). Even, it's lower than pariah. They were called UNTOUCHABLE. Velutha and his family worked for years in Pappachi's. They created small things such as wood furniture. In their hands, small and invaluable things became valuable things.
They were closed, but still could not be touched.....They had to clean themselves after touched them. But, Ammu, their mother, fell in love with Velutha, that led the dead of Velutha. It became the beginning of chaos in their family: Ammu left the house until her death, Estha lived with their father, but Rahel still lived in Kerala, with Mammachi.
This book left a hole in my heart because of love, passion, and discrimination as well as the tragic of human life.
Roy wrote according to some of her child memories. Such as she uses Kerala, her home town as the place setting of this story and religion she believes (Syria Christian). She also used Communism as the one of the idea of the story. According to time setting (1969), Communism was the biggest political party in India, and that's true. Communist won the local election and became the ruling party in Kerala. Also, in the prologue, Roy describes, how in Kerala people build new houses since many people go to Gulf cities, becoming foreign worker to collect dinar. Yes, and it's also true, since Kerala lies near the Gulf of Arabia, many Kerala's people go there. Arundati also criticized the caste system. It has been diminished by Sonia Gandhi but in fact, the Indian still live with "caste system" Thus, this novel can be called a semi autobiographical.
Well, this book told a story of the life of Indian family for 3 generation: Pappachi and Mammachi, Ammu and Chacko, and Rahel and Esta. Pappachi and Mammachi are the parents of Ammu and Chacko, Ammu is the mother of fraternal twins (Rahel and Esta), and Chacko is the only son, married with English woman while he was studying in Oxford and had a daughter, Sophie Mol.
It's barely hard to understand the main ideas of the novel. I mean, it took a few years for me to understand the meaning of "God of Small Things" itself. What is God, and what is small things??? Small things could be anything that build up life: that affects behavior and live. In this novel, VELUTHA represented the SMALL THINGS. He and his family were the member of the lowest caste in India (the paravan). Even, it's lower than pariah. They were called UNTOUCHABLE. Velutha and his family worked for years in Pappachi's. They created small things such as wood furniture. In their hands, small and invaluable things became valuable things.
They were closed, but still could not be touched.....They had to clean themselves after touched them. But, Ammu, their mother, fell in love with Velutha, that led the dead of Velutha. It became the beginning of chaos in their family: Ammu left the house until her death, Estha lived with their father, but Rahel still lived in Kerala, with Mammachi.
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October 5, 2010Excellent book! I read it many, many years ago and did not remember until I began to read it this time. Oh what an experience. Please get ready for a life ride!
December 25, 2014
very useful guide to understand TGST.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews