The God of Small Things

Format:	Paperback 368 pages

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Synopsis

The Asian literary phenomenon of the 90s. More magical than Mistry, more of a rollicking good read than Rushdie, more nerve-tinglingly imagined than Naipaul, here, perhaps, is the greatest Indian novel by a woman. Arundhati Roy has written an astonishingly rich, fertile novel, teeming with life, colour, heart-stopping language, wry comedy and a hint of magical realism. Set against a background of political turbulence in Kerala, Southern India, The God of Small Things tells the story of twins Esthappen and Rahel. Amongst the vats of banana jam and heaps of peppercorns in their grandmother's factory, they try to craft a childhood for themselves amidst what constitutes their family -- their lonely, lovely mother, their beloved Uncle Chacko (pickle baron, radical Marxist and bottom-pincher) and their avowed enemy Baby Kochamma (ex-nun and incumbent grand-aunt).

Book details

Published
05/05/1998

Publisher
Flamingo

ISBN
9780006550686

Publisher and industry reviews

Jacket review

'Richly deserving the rapturous praise it has received on both sides of the Atlantic! The God of Small Things achieves a genuine tragic resonance. It is, indeed, a masterpiece.' Observer 'The God of Small Things genuinely is a masterpiece, utterly exceptional in every way, and there can be little doubt that posterity will place it very near the top of any shortlist of Indian novels published this century.' William Dalyrmple, Harpers and Queen. 'The quality of Ms. Roy's narration is so extraordinary -- at once so morally strenuous and so imaginatively supple -- that the reader remains enthralled all the way through to its agonizing finish! it evokes in the reader a feeling of gratitude and wonderment.' New York Times

UK Kirkus review

Booker Prize Winner 1997. The story of Esta and Rahel, male and female dizygotic twins, who recall how their feared aunt forced the English language upon them; how, when the twins were seven they, were visited by nine-year-old Sophie Mol for a Christmas vacation; and how these events lead to taboo sex and appalling violence. Roy's love story owes something to Joyce, something to Faulkner and a great deal to Rushdie. Her prose is rich and effervescent, bursting with imagery and ideas. (Kirkus UK)