Book Review: TGOST

September 15, 2019

Book Review: TGOST

THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS, ARUNDHATI ROY

“And the air was full of Thoughts and Things to Say. But at times like these, only the Small Things are ever said. Big Things lurk unsaid inside.”

- Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things

Title: The God Of Small things

Author: Arundhati Roy

Publisher: Penguin Books

Genre: Literary Fiction, Family Drama

Format: Paperback

Language: English

Pages: 340

"In the Great Stories you know who lives, who dies, who finds love, who doesn't. And yet you want to know again."

- Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things

The God Of Small Things was a ‘Great Story’ for me. The above quote summarizes my experience with the book. I actually read The God Of Small Things because it was assigned to us in Popular Fiction class. By the time I started reading the book we had already discussed the major events happening in the book in class and yet I enjoyed reading it even though I knew everything that will happen in the book. My teachers didn't shy away from giving major spoilers.

Synopsis:

The story mainly revolves around the childhood of two-egg (dizygotic) twins, Rahel and Estha, their tragic experience and “Love Laws” that destroyed their lives. We also follow other characters, mainly the Ippe family these twins belong to. The story shows us the significance of small things that make up our lives and how they affect us.

The God Of Small Things became an international hit and won the Booker Prize in the year 1997.

Themes:

Love.

"Who should be loved, and how. And how much." I think this phrase gives the essence of the whole book. The "Love Laws” play a major role in the whole book. I think it wouldn’t be wrong to say that love is the driving force of the entire story. Love for family, children, reputation in the society can be seen several times throughout the book. The unconventional love stories of many characters are also highlighted many times in the book and these love stories lead to tragedies.

Untouchability.

A page from The God Of Small Things

We see heavy influences of such societal statuses, religion etc. in the book. Untouchability can be seen in the forefront as one of the major character, Velutha is portrayed as a man from the untouchable caste. We see how he is treated differently by the Ipe family and the society at large too.

Identity.

The word ‘banana jam’ used in the book can be perceived as a metaphor for identities. Explaining why so can serve as a spoiler, so I’m gonna refrain from it. One thing I can tell you is, the identities of most of the characters, especially the women, are un-classifiable. You cannot categorize into just one thing.

Family.

The story revolves around the lives of the Ipe family. We follow three generations, and how the morals and mentality of the family affect the individuals of the family and how heavily the lives and decisions are influenced by family.

My Thoughts:

The writing is subtle with repetitive phrases like viable die-able age, die-vorce, the God of Loss, the God of Small Things. The writing at times felt very poetic and words just seem to flow effortlessly. I know, the most controversial thing in the book is the brother-sister's relationship. But it's so subtle, if you don't pay attention you'll miss it.

The God Of Small Things also talks about patriarchy, misogyny and feminism, they can be seen as sub-themes but these are very between the lines. Honestly, if we go into discussions and start analysing this book in-depth there will be so many themes that would come up which this book could be showing us, and that’s the beauty of this book, it could be interpreted in any way you want and it’ll still be relevant. For me, this book was a representation of the society through the lives of the Ipe family. The book has good, bad and morally grey characters that represent things happening in the world.

The God Of Small Things talks about so many things that it's hard to summarize it. The book doesn't follow the sequential narrative style in which events unfold in chronological order, instead, it goes back & forth in time. The book doesn't have a fixed event that it follows, the whole story is made up of the collection of events happening in every character’s life. The chapter would start on one note and end somewhere else. For example, the book starts with a death and makes you think it’s a mystery or crime novel(which it isn’t by the way)

I couldn't consume a big chunk of the book at once, I had to take it slow, appreciate the writing and let it sink in. This story will move you, haunt you, it's so subtle and powerful at the same time. It’s beautiful, hilarious at times and yet poignant. I don't know how Arundhati Roy did it, but she did and you should read this book.