Rating: 
Summary: This Will Change You
Review: "They all crossed into forbidden territory. They all tampered with the laws that lay down who should be loved, and how. And how much."~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ ~*~ A Booker prize winning author, Arundhati Roy has no counterpart in the West. A female prolific writer and an incredibly active (and effective) social and political commentator. Her debut novel is an expressive, ambitious, richly detailed account of contemporary (subcontinental) Indian life. The story of GOD OF SMALL THINGS is not simple and narrow. It is three-dimensional and doesn't follow a dichotomous path. And this lack of simplicity will make it hard for some readers to enjoy Ms Roy's fiction. For this is about disturbing the current mores, demanding you to question the "normality" of everything, for you to look the other way. Her narration is exceptional, full of memorable images and lyrical prose. Sentimental at times, but always highly provocative. One can only recommend an intelligent, thought-provoking novel like this.
Rating: 
Summary: A Depressing Book
Review: But I have to say I do not understand how anyone can enjoy this book. The book is terribly depressing. I don't mind a book with sad moments and such, but The God of Small Things doesn't really make the reader sad (I never shed a tear) but just depressed at how horrible these people lives are. The book revolves around a series of terrible events. I actually rather like the non-linear aspect of this book, but Roy really does use it for the purpose of making everything more depressing. As other reviews have mentioned, you know what happens at page 100 (some others complained about it being confusing, which outside of maybe keeping some of the characters straight I don't see how this books could be). While you may know that Romeo and Juliet die from the very first, its not what the whole play is about, and some happy things did happen. This book just goes on and on, a definite "things can't get any worse" then they do type of situation. As pointed out the book ended rather nicely (in a depressing sort of way of course) but that doesn't excuse the other 315 pages.
And its not interesting either. I understand thats its somewhat of a steam-of-consciousness thing, jumping from one memory to another. But it doesn't give the author an excuse to go on about some unimportant detail. The first thing I noticed was the repeated violent metaphors and lack of plot, luckily her overuse of metaphors doesn't really carry throughout the book. There was never much plot, at least when compared to the amount of text. More about what people are thinking and, of course, the "small things." While I have a hard time understanding why people enjoy reading about grotesquely miserable and often evil people, I can understand that some people enjoy books more heavy on character without much plot or action (and by that I don't necessarily mean adventure, but simply things happening), I'm just not one of them.
I did finish the book in a day and a half, which I can partly credit to my wanting to get it over with, but also to Roy's relatively easy to read writing style (I'll take incomplete over run-on sentences any day) that allowed me to read at the same rate I read a fantasy, as opposed to a slower rate when I read a cryptic piece of literature. This could also partly be due to the high amount of unimportant details.
I should probably end this review by saying this book was assigned to me for a World Literature class, and its not the kind of book I would normally pick up, but I did finish it (and this review) before the semester started so I don't have any assignments or lectures to affect my opinion of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Childhood Trauma
Review: This is the story of a set of twins, Rahel & Estha who are separated when they are 9 years old after the tragic death of their cousin, Rahel remaining with her mother's family and Estha shipped off to his father. Twenty three years later they are reunited in the family home in Kerala, India and begin the slow process of reconnecting with each other and recovering the memories of what happened. While this novel is set in India and involves the reader in politics I would not recommend such a sad book to "get to know" India, rather this book is about a dysfunctional family, extreme childhood trauma and the terrible things ordinary human beings can do to each other. The caste system and untouchability is illegal, but is still a strong social influence in the time and place of this story. The author's imagery and style of writing is unusual, she has really captured the innocence of children, I felt I was seeing things through the eyes of a child, a world of colors & larger than life events. The writing slips fluidly between past and present. I rated this 4 stars because I didn't care for the ending, which seemed rushed to me and lacked a sense of closure. Like other reviewers here I felt the sexual scene between the twins to be incongruous with the rest of the story, also I was disappointed that Baby Kochamma seemed to get off too lightly.
Rating: 
Summary: Things Can Change in a Day
Review: THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS is the story of how things can change in a day. It's the story of how the decisions of one day leads to the separation of a family: Ammu and her fraternal twins, Rahel and Estapen. It's the story of forbidden love between a Touchable and and Untouchable in India. It's the story of how young cousin Sophie Mol from London with her go-go-bag and drinking-from-a-thimble habit died. The author, Arundhati Roy has created her own writing style. She creates words, creates grammar, creates poetry with her writing. The book is written like a memory of an event: events from childhood are remembered next to the ones from last year with equal value. Thus, her narrative jumps around in time, making the book, at times, difficult to follow. Her writing is genius, but her presentation doesn't necessarily keep the reader interested until the end. After page 100, I still wasn't sure what the book was about. Also, I didn't feel a connection with the characters. While they are well-developed, the author does not make a warm connection between the reader and the characters in the book. However, this book did win the Booker Prize. And it is memorable. After a rocky beginning, this first-time-author became a better writer as she went along and will probably dazzle us with her next book.
Rating: 
Summary: An Amazing Book!!!
Review: This is a great novel. Like most first novels, it is heavily autobiographical and the child character Rahel is so clearly Roy herself that she is a completely plausible character with whom the reader can empathise. In fact, the book's strength lies in its portrayal of the family, its weakness is the story.
The God of Small Things is often very amusing; there is a lovely passage where a child recites Lochinvar with a Malayali intonation and pronunciation. All in all I think this is one ofg the best books I've ever read...
Rating:
Summary: A refreshing literary voice
Review: The initial impression was that Ms. Roy was a mini-Rushdie, more under control, less intimidating in rhetoric sweep and parody. After some reflection, it seemed equally just to say that Roy is anti-Rushdie, that is, she presents roughly the same subject from a feminine point of view. In that light, I believe Ms. Roy is has rare talent. Ms. Roy shows remarkable control and dexterity in building the story to a climatic, though sad, ending. The plot and characters driving the story are mostly well done. And the ironic touch has the grace missing from, say, Rushdie's showmanship. It is a worthy read. Where the book is inferior to Rushdie's best is in the areas of abstraction and allegories to India or human existence in general. The "moral" of God of Small Things tends to be old and unimaginative. It fails to wow the reader. The story is moving and well-told, but that is thanks to the author's writing skill more than her philosophical insight. Some reviewers have complained about the gimmick of capitalization, etc. I share this criticism, even though the irony behind the words is generally refreshing.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible
Review: Just read this book. The novel that defies time and structure.
Rating:
Summary: It is the haunting mesmerising tale that never ends
Review: To me, the story has no end. Although you know the end, you keep reading and it is as if Arundhati is there guiding you along a path you know, yet she makes it more beautiful and opens up feelings inside you that you never knew existed. The scene that brings tears to your eyes is a scene that you would normally read with pleasure. And when the story is finally all told, she soothes your aching heart with one last page of beauty and sorrow. I have never read a book so haunting, and somehow I never think I will. To me, it is telling, how different people are, that some find this book disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: Well written, poorly told
Review: First off, I really enjoyed her prose. It bordered on the poetic, and many times was quite beautiful. HOWEVER, the way she told the story I could not stand. While I did not mind the way she jumped from one spot in time to the next (linear progressions in books can be somewhat boring), I really could not stand the staggering amount of foreshadowing that she used. Basically it works like this: by page 100 you know exactly how the book will end, and with the final 200 pages, she basically goes on to tell you everything you already know. It made for a rather frustrating read, as you hope that something, anything, will surprise you, or add some suspense. But how can there be any suspense when you already know the outcome. It really was a shame. I wanted to like the book. The reviews were fantastic, her way of writing is amazing. Her two main characters, Rahel and Estha, were haunting. But she has a lot to learn as a storyteller.
Rating:
Summary: Strange Language
Review: As Arundhati Roy has stated in an interview, after being asked about how her work compares to Salman Rushdie's, there is no monolithic India. There are many languages and cultures, not to mention a billion people and all their stories making up modern India. In The God of Small Things Roy, trained as an architect, invents her own language, carves out her own interpretation, her own story which, through an almost miraculous fillip of ambition, a paradox, becomes "the" story. Using made-up words like "Lay Ter," poetry, childlike logic, throwing in details such as "fresh cow dung with small flowers," behaviors such as twin Rahel's wonderfully exploratory and confused but unladylike breast-banging into senior girls, and erotically precocious or (from an adult point of view) anachronistic encounters such as what the "the Orangedrink Lemondrink Man did to Estha in Abhilash Talkies...And these are only the small things," Roy inventively plays like a charmed, verbally gifted child, detailing the story of two twins'a random story which her authorial gifts turn into our story. Medical science now tells us that most people have an intrauterine twin which dies prior to birth, being reabsorbed into the womb; linguists and "parapsychologists" tell us about the special language and mental affinities of twins. It is as if in The God of Small Things Roy features the details from which reality is made, details beyond language or details which are usually swamped by language, in creating her own twin language'one which it is her special grace to share with us.
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