Rating: 
Summary: beautifully written literature - nearly perfect
Review: As noted by many other reviewers, the most praiseworthy part of this book is its sensitivity to language. Each word is carefully chosen and manipulated to maximum effect, giving the entire story a lush and delicate tone. The main character is a young girl for most of the story, and although the narrator is 3rd person, Roy writes with the curious imagination of youth, fixing on details others would consider insignificant but giving them great meaning in their context. The narrative is not linear; one gets the feeling of being in a slow spiral, passing by the same moments in the plot multiple times as the story closes in on its final climax. In this way the story is told very much like a memory, as the mind recalls events not as they happened, but as they are connected in their significance. Sometimes this gives the effect of overbearing foreshadowing, but for the most part it's done subtly and beautifully. Roy is a brilliant wordsmith and creates a deeply involving emotional world for her characters. I give 4 stars instead of 5 because I felt that the symbolism and foreshadowing were often overstated, but I'd give it 4 and a half if that were an option. With her talent, I fully expect her second novel (if she writes another) to be 5 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Guh.
Review: The literary equivalent of being soundly thrashed with an olive branch after Sunday services and told to shut up and study your Catechism for the next three hours. I found it impossible to empathise with any of the characters, and all it comes off as is some kind of a ham-fisted, hare-brained attempt at...what? Nobody seems to know, and nothing is resolved. An agonizing, pretentious mess. Do yourself a favour and give this one a miss.
Rating:
Summary: A beautiful use of language...
Review: The book's greatest asset is the beautiful use of language. The various emotions in the story are nicely sketched with the best use of words. The character-sketch is strong. I also find the author's comic style and sense of humor interesting. The one aspect that I can think which made me rate it 4 instead of 5 was its pace. Apparently, I felt that the plot was patchy. There were occasions when I found it to be absolutely perfect while at other times I found it losing its grip and becoming a drag.
Rating: 
Summary: This is the most beautiful book I have ever read.
Review: Everyone should read this book. Arundati Roy's language is incomparable. The book is full of the most beautiful figurative language and symbolism that I found myself reading the sentences over and over. The story line is incredibly realistic and remarkably clever. I have read the book several times and I have recommended it to everybody I know. It is so beautifully written, and so artistically developed, I don't know how everyone doesn't have a copy.
Rating:
Summary: Word Candy
Review: The storyline becomes secondary to the delicious, descriptive writing style utilized in this book.
Rating:
Summary: reading it because of a bet
Review: i read the book three years ago. in the newspaper review, it was written: this book is not for any reader, only for the best of readers. and i wanted to think of myself as one of the best of readers.
fortunately, it was excellent, great, beautiful, and the twist and turns is what you would expect from Roy. i later found out she is a great political writer, very strong, and she seems to be a never ending fountain of information. She uses the English language even better than mother-tonge speakers do.
Rating:
Summary: Great but.... in comparison with Rushdie?
Review: I read this book prior to it being nominated for and then winning the prestigious Booker prize.It is without doubt an excellent book, the language being particularly beautiful and flowing. In fact it is a near miraculous achievement for a first time author. However, though you should definitely read this book because otherwise you will wonder what you missed, I would strongly advise you also read Salman Rushdie and other Indian subcontinental authors and make your own comparisons. For me Roy's book follows closely in it's style (using disjointed stories that find a common theme and direction), it's settings and even it's characters to Rushdie's writing. In all these categories I find Rushdie's work to be more accomplished with more depth. This is not a complaint, merely an observation. If there is one dissapointment it is that in Roy's book, twists designed to shock, or atleast stir emotions, seem obvious so early on that you do not get surprised when the moment comes - and simply find yourself enjoying the eloquent use of words instead. Roy's book is far less intricate than Rushdie's work and so also easier to follow. You certainly needn't be put off by comments that it is too complex - it is just interestingly written. This is definitely a book that is well worth reading, I even feel a little guilty giving only 4 stars (sorry Arundati), but there are other authors of Indian subcontinental origin who are perhaps worth picking up first.
Rating:
Summary: The Goddess of Language
Review: I have read The God of Small Things twice. The first time, I was merely trying to grasp what the impending doom might be, made explicit from the very beginning of the novel. My second visit allowed me to take the time to submerge myself into a world that I have missed - Asia - the vividness, the sensuality, and the memory of a child's linguistic universe. Roy's deconstructed plot revolves around Rahel and Estha, two precocious children born into a world where social hierarchies control the destinies of all lives. Along for the ride is Baby Kochamma, their conniving aunt whose tragic romantic past (or so she sees it) has transformed her into a bitter spinster. She will play an important role in their downfall. Their uncle Chacko whose failed intermarriage has exiled him from his beloved daughter, the young Sophie Mol. Then there is Ammu, the twins' single mother, beautiful, enigmatic, and dangerously defiant of the social customs imposed by Indian society. Their most beloved friend is Velutha, a servant of the household whose various intellectual and handiwork talent is limited by virtue of his status in the caste system. The plot primarily encompasses the days leading up to the drowning of Sophie Mol and the discovery of an scandalous secret that destroys various lives. To tell you anything more would reduce the impact of this novel because this novel isn't really about plot. It is based on character studies and theme. Throughout Roy's narrative, you will notice the recurring mention of hierarchies that determine who should be best loved, the values that we impose on a single being's lives by virtue of their birth rights, and the all-encompassing power of love. From the beginning, the twins, at the age of seven (eight?) are aware that because Sophie Mol is half-white, she is more loved. It speaks to more than just the caste system in India, or even the post-colonial consequences to native populations. It explodes the myth that we do not place restrictions on love because we impose it in every society: by class, by economic status, by race, by lineage, when it should not and cannot be pliable to any regulations. Roy's novel is a slow-burning and poetic journey into brutality and passion, and a treaty on the politics that control our personal choices. A note of Roy's language - she does an excellent job of entering a child's universe, their honesty, and their ability to see things as they are rather than what should be concealed and silenced. She uses Capital Letters (Love) to emphasise various themes that reminds me a little of Hobbes and his was a political treaty. Perhaps that was what Roy intended. This novel is not easy. The time period switches back and forth to the adult and child Rahel. It has a terrible end but you come away having gained an insight into post-colonial Indian culture, albeit upperclass, and the reward of having lived through the eyes of two marvellous children whose lives will touch and transform you.
Rating:
Summary: Lovely and Amazing
Review: This is a stellar piece of literature. I wish I could give more than 5 stars. I have read this book every year since the year it came out- and everytime I get a new experience out of it and love it even more. Faulknerian in many aspects, you have to read it more than once to get the true essence of it. The way she lapses through times and character viewpoints is exceptional and truly formulates the story. She develops characters in a way that you feel as if you knew them your whole life and understand them. She delves into the minds of two 7 year old twins with mastery and empathy. She brings out the torrent of conflicts, ironic disputes, and antics both shameless and endearing of an Indian family in Marxist Kerala as if she is painting true life with the brush of an artist. She illustrates a whole array of emotions with one word sometimes. Truly, this is an amazing book. For anyone who says that it is not coherent-they have not truly read this fine piece of art. Definitley one of the best novels I have ever read.
Rating:
Summary: Stick with it
Review: I came across this book accidentally and it was one of the most pleasant accidents to happen. Having spent the first few years of my life in a Bengali region but raised primarily in Texas, I was delighted to find that the vocabulary (or as some call it- "non-standard English")used so often in the book is the same that I used growing up. I understand that it could be hard for many to grasp meanings and for the first half of the book, I too was asking "where is she going with all this?". If it hadn't been for the vivid details and the childlike (but not childish) fashion that she used to uncurl the story, I would've dropped it a long time ago. It is the second half, closer to the end where the reader is slammed with the missing pieces and, at a loss for better words, this is when things got "juicy". When I completed the book, I was anxious to re-read it, to trace back the knowledge that I have now with the incoherence of the first few chapters. Roy has a way of molding a cultural story without force-feeding excessive culture down readers' throats. It should be a nice read for folks if they stick with it.
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