Rating: 
Summary: A very powerful book.
Review: "The God of Small Things", though confusing in parts, is a powerful story. In a culture in which relationships have well-defined boundaries, and those boundaries are taken seriously, Arundhati Roy has described with sensitivity and practicality, the causes and consequences of transgression. Though depressing, the story is very real, highlighting the unpredictability of life, the power of love, and the struggles that result from the clash of emotions with established social rules. The first three-fourths of the book is often times confusing. The story comes together mainly in the last few chapters. It is almost as though pieces of a puzzle came together to create an unexpected but very powerful picture. I will carry the image of that picture for a long time to come. My advice to anyone considering reading this book is to be patient with it and stick with it, even if it looks like it is not going anywhere......The end is worth it!!!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful. Ornate. Unique in style. Sensitive and thorough.
Review: Wow. I loved the gradual offering of circumstance surrounding the opening event, layer upon layer, finally arriving at the sad gem inside. I also loved the unexpected uses of simile throughout. The words elicit feeling and understanding in a thorough, non-judgemental way. Eloquent and honest, often elegant, here and there a little bit crude.
Rating: 
Summary: HUH?
Review: This book is not worth any amount of money. I can't believe it was a bestseller. The use of language confused me and annoyed me. I would not reccomend this book.
Rating:
Summary: the heart of this book sings!
Review: WOW! this is work of such soul-slicing, skin-tingling beauty is one you're not likely to forget. Anyone who comes away from this book less than deeply moved would have to possess an inpenatrable heart of lead! It invents its own language that envelops you into the book's own special world. This is a soul strengthening affirmation of life...hey, could i pack in any more superlatives? just read it.
Rating: 
Summary: Mango-lime pickle
Review: To me, this book was more like a vision than a story. A kaliedescope of imagery - a shifting, subtle, beautiful mix of colors, yet strangely devoid of emotion. One does not become attached to her characters, but rather - haunted by them. Her book is an insightful, disturbing view of human nature and its inevitable failings - spoken in a detached, yet critical voice - a voice that eventually becomes your own conscience. The author is obviously not indifferent to what is right and wrong, but simply hands over judgement to the reader.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Ordinary Award Winner
Review: I am currently reading TGOST and I can' help but wonder why this book won the Pulitzer Prize. It is a fine book but hardly deserving of the Pulitzer Prize. She comes up with some nice metaphors but they are often out of context - somehow they seemed forced. Read any of Cormac McCarthy's novels to experience subtle metaphors that stun you with their beauty and accuracey. And please don't compare her (not yet anyway) with Salmon Rushdie. They are both Indian. They both write. The similarities end there. Had this book not won the Pulitzer, I would be enjoying it more.
Rating: 
Summary: Over done, depressing, and yet readable and entertaining
Review: I finally succumbed to reading "God of Small Things". As an Indophile, I guess I eventually had to. I had recently read some other "best sellers," and finally asked myself, is it because the authors are so depressed that they have to give it back to the reader? I must say, however, the reading flowed, the story held my attention, and I was entertained during the holiday break. Of course, one can relate to the affair between the fix-it man and what's her name, the raw passion the upper crust of India will never know, at least not without grave consequences (we hope you all learn your lesson from reading this book). If there's a message here, I suppose it's "no one's happy in India and turn off your televison." Inspite of TV being the one thing that touchables and untouchables have in common in India today (as illustrated by Baby K and her servant watching incessantly together towards the end of the book) it's killing traditional culture. I liked the part about the Kathakali dancers ruined by the tourist industry, so what else is new? The description of the kids (Elvis and the Stick), keeping everything together in a simple storyline that stays, for the most part, within one family, makes this book readable and entertaining. Don't, however, expect to have great insights to reflect upon while reading it or after it's done. When it's done, it's done. It's not one of the great books where you savor the ending. I was getting antsy towards the end and anxious to finish it. I couldn't help comparing this work with Rushdie's. Depressing though he can be, there is still room for humor, which makes his stuff much more fun to read. There's not a laugh here.
Rating:
Summary: This is a prize-winning novel?!
Review: Could someone please explain to me why so many contemporary novels read by book groups have to be filled with gloom and doom. In this novel, it got to be almost laughable. Not only do we have the standard issues of alcoholism, child abuse, and indifferent mothers which seem to be in every novel these days, The God of Small Things throws in incest, murder, anti-Christian propaganda, and characters who have no single redeeming quality in their collective little, abused souls. After reading this novel, I wanted to take a shower to remove all the depression and filth it left behind.
Rating:
Summary: Okay
Review: If you have nothing else to read I'd read this. I was often confused by the writing style. This is NOT a beautifully written book, the exotic location and family disfunction it what holds your interest.
Rating:
Summary: Unique, beautiful and fresh.
Review: It's too bad that Lisa Mason had to use review space to offer a wordy and dull review of this wonderful novel, as a vehicle for plugging her own works. Perhaps someone should review the reviews and leave out those that are self-serving and pretentious. i will never read anything by such a smug, manipulative person as ms. mason.
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