Rating: 
Summary: Author is CONFUSED,falls in category I am not OK-You are OK
Review: This book is an excellent example of those people who have inferiority complex. They want to please some people or audience who they feel are superior to them.This confused book was written with an objective to please the west. Please, please, please don't do it again.
Rating: 
Summary: Lovely plot, but where is the denoument?
Review: I could put this book down..and take a deep breath, congratulate myself for having this magnificent book to read.. and read on. But why din't I get this feeling when I finally put it down? The end was pat with a how-neatly-it-fits-in-place development that does nothing to excite you. I think the reader was promised much much more. It is almost like after starting this brilliant novel, Arundhati Roy ran out of time or ideas and decided to just tie up the ends neatly and mail it off to the publisher. Otherwise, she is definitely brilliant at recreating atleast my childhood, replete with the games we played, the silly things we believed in, the sights, the smells and the sounds of life in the Indian countryside for children from an educated family. Her English I confess did not make me wince once- I was struck by her lyrical style. Frankly I do not think a non Indian readership can identify with the book much-oh God it is so beautiful, her observation of the minutest things that happen to us, around us, things that we just submerge in our consciousness as we try going about the business of living. I cannot stop giving instances that made me resonate- the conductor click, the smell of steel railings, the view of the dome of the church that only a child can notice, the cucumber cutting procedure, our white man complex, it is all so lovely and reminiscent of an age gone by. Attagirl Arundhati!
Rating: 
Summary: Exquisite. A privillege and joy to read.
Review: The God of Small Things is an exquisite gift! Language, form, content, style, characters, the personal and the political congregate in Ms.Roy's beautiful and sympathetic novel. At first, the reader gets the impression that Ms. Roy is exercising literary style to excess (her use of non-linear ordering, the capitalization of themes and ideas, etc.) However, as the story progresses, the reader is engaged by both the characters and events and appreciates the skill Ms. Roy has used to craft her novel. Most startling about the book is the precise tone that Ms.Roy captures in conveying the shock and jolt that accompanies the move from the perfection of childhood to wherever it is we find ourselves today. Perhaps, this is Ms. Roy's most stellar achievementt. In capturing a Voice so precise and perfect, she has written a novel that is accessible and wholly human. The God Of Small Things will linger and ache slowly in your mind and heart long after you have read the last word.
Rating:
Summary: Poetic description from the heart of a child
Review: The heat of India is palpable and like the sluggish but powerful river that runs through the narrative the emotional life of the twins is sometimes calm and sweet and at other times a typhoon of fear and longing. The reader gains insight into the castes and culture of India while experiencing the universal emotions of childhood.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice Try.
Review: The author tries too hard to be innovative - Artificial piece of fiction - Nothing new - Boring - At times I thought "things can only get better" but they did not - Still not bad for a first novel.
Rating:
Summary: Poignant, gripping, touching, moving. Enthralling.
Review: I did buy this book with high expectations. Unlike other times, this book went way beyond my expectations. It is sheer poetry camaflouaged as fictional prose. Sure the crux of the story itself, may not be much. The rich visual tapestry she has worn around rural Kerala and India, her endearing story-telling, her very real, and very lovable characters, are what the book is about. The simplicity and ordinariness of the story, only augments and adds to the lyricism of her writing. Arundhati Roy deserves all the attention and applause she has got, and more. I wonder though if some of the subtlety might be lost on the non-Indian readers. Despite that, I still highly recommend this rare, refreshing book, that is as subtle and welcoming as a drink of tender coconut water on a scorching hot day.
Rating:
Summary: Disappointing
Review: While I can appreciate Ms. Roy's use of language (her descriptions of the everyday small things we take for granted were extraordinary) I found the story confusing and dull. If you want to read mystical realism with language that sings and soars like an aria with compelling plot as well - try Garbriel Garcia Marquez' "100 years of Solitude" or "Love in the Time of Cholera."
Rating:
Summary: Extremely lyrical and entrancing
Review: A well done book, much like a melody that plays in your head long after the orchestra is done. For those below who found it too complex, I recommend getting the audio tape. The "strange" names no longer catch you; the rhythms can truly be heard. The style of writing is, indeed, part of the story. For those who compare it to a creative writing exercise, well, yes, what do you think 'creative writing' was trying to teach you, anyway?
Rating:
Summary: She makes English...
Review: I've never read a book so interesting before, she made English so interesting adding in Asian culture to her book. What I like is her planning, the entire book is filled with language you do not read everday, it's so intereting. She makes English, that's why it's so good. What I like is about different witty remarks or names she invented. For example: Orange Drink Lemon Drink Man, Ammukutty, Ambassodor E. Pelvis. All this aren't seen in any other book but her book of daily live, that's is what makes it so lively and interesting.
Rating:
Summary: Where's the story? Who are the characters?
Review: I got so bogged down trying to figure who was who and where was where and when was when that I never did get into this book. As soon as I thought the book was going somewhere, or I was relating to a character, the time or place or character changed. The description was over done, and the incomplete sentences and capital letters spread pell mell throughout were annoying. There were too many instances of violence, vulgarity, abuse, and I really don't think we need to know who goes to the bathroom where, when, how, why . . . so often. The only reason I finished it was because it was a gift. I am amazed at how many great reviews this book got.
|
