God of Small Things

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Summary: Another book for women
Review: While some argue that The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy, is a beautifully told story of a family torn apart by their struggles in life, I, however, strongly disagree. It is correct to say that the language is quite elegant, but this hardly makes up for the absence of a much- needed story line. Not to mention an over abundance of monotonous speech based on childhood experiences, which transform this novel into an incoherent piece of literature. Along with the beginning chapters come numerous characters that are hard to keep track of unless you have a guide. Her use of stream of consciousness takes away from the understanding of the novel because once you begin to comprehend what she is saying, she drifts of into another pointless idea or flashback. In addition to her use of stream of consciousness, is her inability to express her point in a clear, comprehensible manner. On numerous occasions throughout the novel, Roy "beats around the bush" only to give the reader one more miniscule idea which will soon leave the mind of the reader. I vehemently discourage anyone from reading this novel for pleasure, except for readers who enjoy a confusing novel, which requires a great deal of back tracking as well as a strong memory. The God of Small Things is an overwhelming novel, which is to be steered clear of those in search of a novel with a plot, suspense, and a point. In all fairness to Mrs. Roy, however, I felt that her eloquent language was quite intelligent, and despite the fact that she constantly over states minute details, it makes her work of literature unique and certainly appalling, I mean appealing to others who have never read material such as this. Due to the fact that I am not accustomed to her style, explains why I feel the way that I do.

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Summary: And now for the main event...
Review: Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things is an exciting book that can have a lot of meaning or no meaning at all to the reader. I felt that the book was worth reading and was not half as bad as I thought it would be. At the beginning I was a bit confused and even annoyed at the writing style. As the book progressed, however, I got used to the writing style and began to enjoy it. By the end of the novel I realized that I had liked the book after all. Roy's writing style is very unique and original, this is probably why it received the Booker Prize. Although there was no real plot or point to the story, I enjoyed the book. The odd descriptions of the people in the book was very interesting and at times humorous. The way she portrayed people by describing them, such as "Sleepy eyes and a surprised puff looked back at Ammu"(Roy 142). Roy's spelling and italicizing of words seems completely random to the amateur reader, but when analyzed has great meaning to the story of the novel. The family in the novel seems very out of the ordinary, but the issues make for a great story. The way that the events are placed in the novel are confusing at first and then become easier to understand towards the end. All of the characters in the novel had their own unique personality, which also enhanced the novel and made it more interesting to read. The relationships in the novel were very odd and not expected in society of that time, even in today's society; it probably would be out of the norm. In my own opinion I felt that The God of Small Things was a good novel and is definitely worth reading if you are in the mood for something different.

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Summary: Confusing, but Good!
Review: The God of Small Things is the tale of Estha, his two-egg twin sister, Rahel, and their divorced mother, Ammu, who live in south India in Christian, westernized and Communist Kerala. They and their family of Anglophiles struggle through the heartaches and heartbreaks of India's longstanding and unavoidable traditions, the Big Things. The story centers on the death of their English cousin and is overlapped by several events that lead to the deterioration of the family. Their misfortunes stem from their neglect to acknowledge the Love Laws. Which lay down who should be loved. And how. And how much. Told from the child's point of view, the novel is playful and eloquent at the same time. Dum Dum. Childhood is captured and every perspective- imagination, lack of understanding, fear, independence, vulnerability, friendship, jealousy and wonderment- is preserved with the mangoes at Paradise and Pickles Preserves. The tale is skillfully concocted to pull the reader's own experiences into the children's. Roy's style is poetic, vivid and whimsical. The large overall story contains many smaller ones that can stand alone and attract a variety of readers. The novel is not told in sequence but starts at the end, jumps back and forth, gives insight into the future, drops hints and goes back to the beginning. This made it very frustrating to read along with the fact that by the time I realized the beauty in the story I only had twenty pages to go and 300 behind that I had loathed. Yet, I recommend it because it is inspirational and I believe that if I read it a second time I would probably love it.

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Summary: From a 10th Graders Perspective
Review: When my tenth grade English class was assigned to read The God of Small Things one thing came to mind: another tedious novel about a poverty stricken Indian woman living in an unindustrialized community with undomesticated animals. Basically, another "woman's book". To my surprise, I was proven wrong and was embraced with an eloquent and powerful story of the god of small things. The first three to five chapters, however, were confusing and the theme of the novel was unclear and unorganized. When I actually took the time to sit down and truly concentrate on what Arundhati Roy was saying, however, I came to comprehend her story and feel compassion toward the characters. Roy portrays many interesting relationships with the characters throughout the novel. One such relationship is with the twins, Estha and Rahel. These two unique souls share a special bond that separates and makes them different from everyone and everything. Only they know what one another is thinking, without even saying a word. They share a secret backwards language that only they can decode along with their ceaseless imagination that never stops. Their relationship grows even stronger when they are reunited after twenty-three years later. Estha and Rahel break the barrier of brother and sister, twin to twin by disobeying the love laws. Ms. Roy has a way of writing about India's problems by including them into the personality of her characters. The inequality and cruelty of India's government and caste system is evident in Velutha, a skillful untouchable carpenter. Velutha suffers all the injustices of India's society and his suffering links to the problems of Estha, Rahel, and Ammu. Techniques are also evident throughout the novel. Roy's inside jokes and lively humor brings a smile to the reader's face in times of agony and sorrow. I admit, The God of Small Things did not intrigue me in the beginning; quite frankly, it frustrated me. However, Roy's idioms and her repetition of clever word phrases made the book even more interesting. There was even a point where I was so curious about what was to happen next that it forced me to keep on reading. All in all, I am fortunate that I was given a chance to read and enjoy this piece of original literature. Above all, I recommend it for everyone to read and enjoy... Dum dum.

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Summary: a "Great Story"
Review: Last year, as a part of my summer reading, I was made to choosebetween The Count of Monte Christo and The God of Small Things.Knowing nothing about it, I chose Arundhati Roy's first novel. I was completely unaware of the whirlwind of words, full of beauty and sorrow, I was about to be swept into. Roy's eloquint language drips with emotion and passion. Roy weaves such intricate patterns of words, using techniques like stream of consciousness, repetition, and vivid imagery, that the telling of the story almost becomes more important than the story itself . . .almost. Roy taunts and teases the reader, from the first chapter on, with hints about the sequence of events to come. She does this to such an extent that by the time we are actually told what happens we feel like we already know. This approach gives the book the feel of The Great Stories which Roy describes in her novel as, " . . .the ones you have heard and want to hear again. The ones you can enter anywhere and inhabit comfortably. They don't deceive you with thrills and trick endings. They don't surprise you with the unforeseen. They are as familiar as the house you live in. Or the smell of your lover's skin. You know how they end, yet you listen as though you don't . . . In the Great Stories you know who lives, who dies, who finds love, who doesn't" (218). Despite this active use of foreshadowing Roy somehow manages to create a sense of magic and mystery that completely enthralled me throughout. The story is told through a series of flashbacks from the perspective of Rahel, a dizygotic twin whose "single siamese soul" leads her to return to the home she grew up in to be reunited with her twin brother, Estha, along with memories of "bottled fear" and "tender mango-shaped" secrets. Beneath the thick layers of plot and vivid language, the delicate yet powerful tales of human condition, are the underlying problems of India, the "Big Things." These are the things that seem to affect, so directly, the "small things" and at the same time make them seem so insignificant. (20). Themes such as love laws, and time as a destroyer run through the entire novel and act as both the small things and the large things. Arundhati Roy's first novel is truly an exquisite work. Definatly, "Loved from the beginning." END

Rating:
Summary: "Just Wait"
Review: The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy's award winning novel, combines a complex structure, a series of paradoxes, and stream of consciousness to tell her story. The impression given after the first few chapters are not an indication of what follows in the remainder of the book. In fact, the opening chapters serve as a basis for what is to come and in missing them, the reader would miss critical connections that later refer to previous chapters. These connections foreshadow, hint, and allude to the tragic inevitable fate that befalls the family. Roy waits until the last chapters to pull everything together to create the Terror of a family in India. The novel is clever in its selection of literary techniques. Repeated phrases such as "...the moth spread its wings..." and "dum dum" all mean something and are not inserted to be viewed as annoying intrusions. In addition to her repeated phrases, Roy coins words, and uses vivid description and detail. "...Baby Kochamma balanced like a big bird over a public pot. Blue veins like lumpy knitting running up her translucent shins. Fat knees dimpled. Hair on them. Poor little tiny feet to carry such a load!)... (91). Some of this technique is unnecessary, slowing the plot's progression and distracting the reader. On the other hand, the creative language adds to the power of the novel. The book can be read on many levels. At its most basic level, it is a mystery about "small things" of a family. The question is what is the Terror, what occurred, and why did it destroy the family. These "small things," however, are a cover for a deeper and more ambitious story having to do with the "big things" that trouble India such as racial discrimination, class conflict and hatred, and tradition and sexuality. Each character is destroyed by these societal problems which are familiar to Western readers even if the Indian culture is foreign. Despite the richness of the language and the importance of the book's themes, many readers become discouraged by the rambling and out of sequence narrative which often appears to lack purpose. The author's lack of focus causes some readers to lose interest and their own focus. The attention to details and repetitiveness weakens the story line and diminishes the excitement. There is never a true climax, and little action. The style may leave readers confused and impatient. I experienced both the frustration and the satisfaction as I read the book. In the early going, things seemed dull and confusing with the introduction of too many characters all at once. The book seemed long and pointless. The action picks up in the last few chapters. The novel finished strongly, revealing truth and the misfortune of each character. The final revelation changed my original opinion of the novel. I realized that in a sense the story was told backwards. Reading the ending, clarified the meaning of the entire book for me. The ending saved the novel.

Rating:
Summary: Devastatingly Beautiful
Review: This book is written in lush prose, and weaves an intricate and complicated tale of childhood. The puzzle pieces are fit together one by one, but not in order, which kept me engaged. At the end, I wanted to go back to the beginning and read it all over again, but ultimately I couldn't bring myself to do it because the book was too depressing to read twice.

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Summary: A Brilliantly Lyrical Debut
Review: I just purchased THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS and was fascinated by the prose that reads like poetry. A must for poetry and prose lovers, alike. Remarkably descriptive and originally told. This story of two twins and their family in India is a shockingly vibrant rainbow of emotions. The various hues of color will shade your mind for a long time after the book is read.

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Summary: Utterly Amazing; Seductive,/a new voice for India.
Review: I have read this book twice, savouring every word and nuance. This book is seductive, exilerating and tragic. Coming from an Indian/Parsi family I am familiar with how twisted family life can be, especially for a women. I praise Ms Roy for her creative genius and her boldness, in narrating this enormous saga of family life and all the secrets that take place in a 'hush-hush' manner. Well done, Girl! This is slow reading. Every word has to be savoured and digested. I look forward to her other works.

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Summary: Critique and Praise
Review: After reading Arundhati Roy's novel The God of Small Things, I feel that it deserves both criticism and praise. I criticize The God of Small Things on several points. First of all, the first half of the novel lacks action, but the second half makes up for it. The first half elaborates on each character's past and builds up for the second half, in which most of the action occurs. The first chapter especially confused me because it was too long and it changed scenes, places, and time too quickly. In the novel as a whole, I feel that there were too few happy and joyful moments to contrast the permanent, underlying sadness. These happy moments would have highlighted the sad moments even more. I also criticize Ms. Roy for randomly placing Indian dialogues and rhymes in the novel because they irritated me. What makes this worse is that she chose not to translate them, which irritated me even more. These Indian dialogues and rhymes were unnecessary and served no purpose. Additionally, there were many redundant phrases that were not necessary to be repeated. For instance, phrases such as "A viable die-able age", and "Little man. He lived in a cara-van. Dum dum" appeared in almost every chapter of the novel. I further criticize Ms. Roy for making some scenes overly detailed. For example, the scene at Cochin Airport was much too long and therefore overly detailed. On the other hand, Sophie Mol's long-awaited drowning scene was way too short, simple, and plain, even though this scene should have been the most climactic and exciting scene. These two mistakes on Ms. Roy's part ruined these scenes and lessened their significance. She also deserves criticism for not making it obvious that Estha and Rahel broke the "Love Laws" during their final scene. My last critique of Ms. Roy's first novel concerns the role of Velutha. Velutha was a very important character in the novel, but unfortunately he played a very small role in it. His role and participation in the novel should have been increased and extended throughout the whole novel. This novel should not only receive criticism, but it should also receive praise. I also praise the God of Small Things on several points. First of all, the title of the novel perfectly sums up the novel to people that have read it, yet it intrigues people who have not. I praise her for not placing the scenes in chronological order because this created excellent foreshadowing, dramatic irony, and it made the novel a bit more exciting. Her italicization and capitalization also proved to be effective because this technique emphasized the tone, the mood, and significance of things, such as "Estha Alone" and "Infinnate Joy." Her extensive vocabulary also contributed to the novel. I especially praise Ms. Roy for being able to briefly summarize, sometimes metaphorically, complex emotions and situations. Examples of this technique are "Oxford Moods", "the Play", "the Terror", and "Estha occupied very little space in the world". Her portrayal of the children's innocence was also great. She did this by giving them childish ambassador names and by referring to Rahel as "Love-in-Tokyo" and Estha as "Spoiled Puff". I also applaud Ms. Roy for her great portrayal of the major evil character of the novel, Baby Kochamma, because she was the character that I loved to hate. Towards the end of the novel Baby Kochamma became even more evil. Furthermore, by presenting each character's history different sides of each character's personality emerged. Finally, I commend Ms. Roy for her bravery regarding the portrayal of India. Although I criticize The God of Small Things just as much as I praise it, I feel that for her first novel Ms. Roy has done an excellent job in creating a novel with a great amount of originality.