Book Review: The God of Small Things

Hello readers!

How are you guys utilizing your quarantine? I have started reading books from my existing TBR pile, instead of adding new books for the time being! I have no idea wheather I should sob out of happiness or melancholy now!😂

Help me out there, please.

So continuing that line of thought, I collaborated with an amazing blogger Harsimar for a buddy read during this period. Can you guys guess as to work of which particular author we chose to read and review together? I’ll give you a hint, my first collab revolved around the same phenomenal writer. I don’t know how my starts are aligned, but I do have some connection with Arundhati Roy!😅

There would be a unique joint post about how much ‘fun’ we had while reading ‘The God of Small Things’ and our respective thoughts about, later. Tune back to our blogs for our future post. For the moment you have to be content with my review of the book.

Tour d’horizon

One story. Multiple characters.

One journey. One goal.

The novel depicts a raw story about a journey towards liberation. Liberation from the vicious circle of suppression, liberation from smothering family ties, liberation from the laws governing the moral-immoral, liberation from emotions, and finally liberation from the lingering, haunting past.

A tale of characters which is bound to stay with us forever.

A tale of fraternal twins, Estha and Rahel, separated by tragedy in childhood and brought together by shared pain in adulthood. A story of their frayed childhood because of tampering with the ‘Love Laws’ dictating who should be loved, how,and how much.

The novel runs parallel in both past and present narrating the story of the two protagonists, their families, their beliefs, and their decisions which led them to sink in the sea of misery and loneliness.

Review

Plot

Roy is undoubtedly the undisputed queen of channelizing bold themes and concepts through her writings. Be it her novels, essays or any other work, her strong political views shine unhindered.

The plot of this novel is gripping ,edgy and screams of bold rebellions at every point. As mentioned before, it runs through two life phases of the protagonists; childhood and adulthood, parallel yet connected. The dashes of humor here are there add sparks to the story. Every character arc has been intricately written in the streamlined storyline. Even the twists and turns seem realistic. So kudos to the author for such a realistic display of emotions. Although towards the end of the narrative, one might feel cheated as proper exposition and closure to certain characters have been omitted.

I would have loved to read about Estha’s journey of accepting the ugly truth, Rahel’s acceptance of their fates after the ending, and even the secondary characters in the last phases of their journey. Thereof this lack of a proper ending is somewhat a cause of concern for me.

Writing Style

The narrative has mainly has a third person perspective. However, in some parts Rahel’s perception of what goes on in the story can also be seen. Also the timeline of the narrative is somewhat haggard and broken, but it ultimately leads to a proper execution of the themes chosen.

What I particularly liked about Roy’s writing style is her use of metaphors and deep questions she raises. Some of my favorites are:

“If you are happy in a dream, does that count?’

” The memory of death lasts much longer than the memory of life.”

Themes and Characterization

Having lived in the Indian subcontinent and being familiar with the struggles and challenges the people face, I was pretty amazed at the bold themes of inter -caste relationships and inter- family relationships that culminate in romances. The execution of each theme is splendid in the book. Be it, the dominance with the power of education or money, or the bigotry of MCPs, molestation, and even the telepathy of the twins, the details and creative liberties are brilliant.

Characterization is pretty good. From the hen-pecked characters to the ones which fill us with disgust, the range is eloquently covered.

There are certain instances in the story, that will remain etched in my memory for their painful roots in the society. As you read the novel, you will find yourself praying for the character’s safety, but all your prayers go vain exactly as our pleas are left unheeded in the harsh society or the Big World.

Rating

I would rate the novel 3.2/5 stars overall.

The overall impact is a charismatic one, but the over exposition and lack of a substantial ending leave the readers gasping for more.

Would I recommend it?

To be honest, I have had enough of this author since the last year. Her writing comprises of rendezvous with dark themes, bold concepts, and heavy food for thought, which undoubtedly proves to be an amazing read. However, I would like to read something light after reading both of her novels.

So I would recommend the novel only if you are ready to commit yourself to a strenuous reading and are willing to digest her hard-hitting words. And of course if you are ready to immerse yourself in the simmering magic of her metaphors. It is no doubt a great read, sans the few flaws here and there, but only if you are ready to embark on it, willingly.

A Gentle Reminder

As I have already informed you guys, this was a buddy read and I have just posted my review of the book. I urge you all to tune back to my blog for the joint post that I have been working on!

If you liked my post, don’t forget the like and comment!Also don’t forget to follow my blog for similar content!

Until the next time,

Cheers!

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