The God of Small Things: Winner of the Booker Prize

Name: The God of Small Things: Winner of the Booker Prize
Rating: 4.25 (72 reviews)

Arundhati Roy

May 2011 · HarperCollins UK

4.2

72 reviews

Ebook

368

Pages

Eligible

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About this ebook

‘They all broke the rules. They all crossed into forbidden territory. They all tampered with the laws that lay down who should be loved, and how. And how much.’

This is the story of Rahel and Estha, twins growing up among the banana jam vats and peppercorns of their blind grandmother’s factory, and amid scenes of political turbulence in Kerala. Armed only with the innocence of youth, they fashion a childhood in the shade of the wreck that is their family: their lonely, lovely mother, their beloved Uncle Chacko (pickle baron, radical Marxist, bottom-pincher) and their sworn enemy, Baby Kochamma (ex-nun, incumbent grand-aunt).

Arundhati Roy’s Booker Prize-winning novel was the literary sensation of the 1990s: a story anchored to anguish but fuelled by wit and magic.

Ratings and reviews

4.2

72 reviews

A Google user

June 29, 2012

Beautiful storytelling that slowly builds up deceivingly minor details and fractured events into a climax that ties them all together. There is a innocent, childish wonder that is gradually shattered and the material Roy canvasses is controversial. The novel is grim for the most part but interspersed are those scattered moments of happiness (the small things), and an ending that does not really conclude but leaves the reader to piece back the shattered pieces (or cut themselves on them).

Shweta

July 24, 2020

I avoided this book for years. And I am glad I did. I lacked the emotional maturity to understand what this book contained within it. The powerfully told tale of a family torn apart by love is seemingly misunderstood by many, as soon by the poor review given on here. For international readers, the book should come with a forewarning; the book delves deep into the thick dense land of southern India. Once the reader is acclimatised to the setting of the book and learn to accept the foreign prose and language, there is a real treasure in here.

3 people found this review helpful

Ash P

January 13, 2015

I had to read this for my A - Levels and I just couldn't get through it. It changes setting/time period without even notifying you making it almost impossible to read. Sorry.

3 people found this review helpful

About the author

Arundhati Roy is the author of the novels The God of Small Things, which won the Booker Prize in 1997, and The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, which was longlisted for the Booker Prize in 2017. She is the author of various works of nonfiction including My Seditious Heart, Azadi and The Architecture of Modern Empire, as well as an upcoming memoir, Mother Mary Come to Me.

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