Rating: 
Summary: I still can't decide...
Review: I just finished this book about five minutes ago. I don't know how I feel about it. I loved Roy's prose- I never felt bogged down in the language. Unlike the critics of the book, I felt that her writing style style and word choice/play/metaphor/simile/rhythm was refreshing, poetic, haunting, and captivating- and rarely tedious. However, what did leave a nagging doubt in my mind as to whether I "LOVED" the story (in all the gushiness that some people exuded over this work), was that I didn't feel a Rahel/Estha/Ammu/Velutha shaped hole in my universe at the end (to borrow from Roy). I crave that from books. Roy didn't allow me it with this one. She dangled it in front of my face, but never let me truly grow intimate with the characters. I felt it in flashes in some of their "childhoodness", but that tenderness I felt in those moments was never allowed to mature into something lasting after the book finished. I could never really "like" ! Ammu and I was never allowed to know Velutha, though I wanted to; yet these two held such crucial strings in a story that ended so tragically--and because of the author's manipulated emptiness surrounding them and their story lives, it remained even more tragic to me. The adult Rahel and Estha were detatched from the rest of the story--their adult characters were not fully developed (but I guess that was the point)and their catharsis was sadly missing. Their incestous last scene was an interesting and eyebrow-raising plot "resolution", but it left a sour taste in my mouth and put distance between themselves and me as the reader because I couldn't be made to relate-nor did I really want to. The story was full of tragic characters living out their tragic lives and acting within their tragic destinies. But in this tragedy where was the catharsis, where was the denoument?Was there redemption in the end? I guess I am still trying to figure that out for myself (181 o! ther reviews cannot tell me "yes" or "no&quo! t;). In a way, Roy's literary style was the redemption. Without that beauty, the story would have been another sleazy supermarket tale of abuse, sex, divorce, violence, incest, etc. But Roy's deft employment of non-conventional writing and her manipulation of the English language into something other-wordly and magical made this story captivating, haunting, and quite commendable. Despite my doubts as to whether I "LOVED" the book, I will definetely read Roy's next piece of art and I will hope, with what may be a child-like hope, that the tale she spins in it is redemptive and cleansing and that it leaves Character Shaped Holes in my Universe when it is over.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing; reread it to try and make sense. Poorly edite
Review: For >100 pages it made no sense, then began to fall into place. The middle should have been the beginning, the ending was the most coherent section. Given the cultural context more care should have been given to sequencing. Only in the last pages was the caste/ class/ color dealt with. That was VERY important. Can someone spell EDIT.
Rating:
Summary: try it on for size
Review: okay, okay, so the language might not be what we're all used to, what we know how to appreciate. The endless repetition, the capitalization, and the metaphors and similes. the truncated sentences. It all seems a bit taxing, overdone, effusive and needless. But is wouldn't be fair to stop there. The characters are human, idiosyncratic, comical and pathetic. The reader can't help but cluck and coo over the little twins, roll his eyes at Baby Kochamma, feel Ammu's terror and desperation. The family, so realistic, could be mine or yours. The plot begins simply, and gives only hints of the extraordinary, horrible events to come. In short, despite its awkward shortcomings, the novel will invoke one to empathy, sensitivity, outrage. It might allow the reader to appreciate love for what it is, for the various forms in which it comes. sorry for the comma splices, dangling preps,etc. Enjoy.
Rating: 
Summary: The best book I have read in a long time.
Review: Turn to the next page of customer comments and read the 6/21/98 review by "A Syrian Christian." She/he says it best. I loved this book. A rich and captivating story. Beautiful and clever use of language. Radical and poetic observations about class, love, history and childhood. Characters you want to know better. The author is very gutsy about allowing humor to coexist with tragedy. My only regret was that I wasn't satisfied with the ending of the story about Rahel and Esta as adults. I wanted to know more about them. Alas.
Rating: 
Summary: inaccurate
Review: The book is worth reading,but should not be taken as the truth.Roy manipulates a small part in mahabarata to suit the need for a best seller.The ending of the story is a bit frustrating...but her English and style of writing does keep the reader wondering what might happen next.
Rating:
Summary: The title is the best part of the book
Review: If you enjoy repeated phrases (e.g., "fountain in a Love-In-Tokyo"), overused metaphors, and capitalized words in the Middle Of Sentences For Effect, then this is the book for you. Otherwise, rest assured that the title really is the best part of the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Unputdownable!!
Review: Arundhati Roy's book is one of those rare stories that affects you completely for days after you've read it. Being a Keralite Christian studying in the US,it evoked cherished memories of familiar places, people, language and tragic reality. The frequent moving back and forth in time needs a little getting used to, but this very quality makes the overall coming together of the story all the more fantastic, especially in the end. The characters and their tragic lives paint the book with overwhelming sadness that never lifts. But , right through the book , the author delights us with humorous episodes, which are very accurate in their portrayal of Malayali life, like Baby Kochamma's encounter with the marxist processionists. I definitely recommend this book to all and will wait expectantly for the nect great story from Ms.Roy.
Rating:
Summary: Amazingly beautiful structure
Review: I found Roy's first novel to be extremely refreshing. I haven't been so completely taken up by the actual prose and words an author uses since I read Death in Venice years ago in high school. Roy's style is meant to be lyrical and it does not seem contrived as some reviewers suggested. While I was reading the book my senses came alive simply from her word choice which I found breathtaking. Only a few times did the story seem to lag and when it did I felt that the beauty of her writing was just too much to contemplate in one sitting. I felt exhausted when I finished the book, but it was well worth it. The fluctuations in time were challenging at first, but that is how an individual's memory works and by the end of the novel the circle of memories is complete. Roy's style reminded me of Latin American writing and what is often termed "magic realism." There is a mythical quality to her writing yet readers should remember to take that within its cultural c! ontext.
Rating:
Summary: Pretty interesting
Review: Very cleverly written. Some profound statements and this deep undercurrent of sadness made the book quite compelling. The innocence of childhood was captured quite well. The absolute lack of second chances that is so much a fact of life in India, particularly for women in small towns and villages, was the real issue that was presented superbly in this novel.
Rating:
Summary: Dreadful
Review: It is unfortunate that she would write a book that caters so totally to the western world. And forget that such things really do not happen in Kerala. The book is full of inconsistancies. The book is jauntily written and it was quite a shame that it was declared to be one of the best books of the year. It shows that there is painfully little good English literature being written these days.
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