Book: The God of Small Things
Author: Arundhati Roy
Publications: Penguin Books
Price: Rs. 450
Pages: 340
Plot: Set in Ayemenem, Kerala, in 1969, the book follows different generations of an Indian family. The God of small things is the story of Ammu, a young free-spirited girl who wanted to escape her ill-tempered parents. She did that successfully and went to Calcutta, to live with her distant aunt. She gets married there and gave birth to fraternal twins, Rahel, a girl and Estha a boy. But Ammu’s husband is an alcoholic and abuse her physically, so Ammu returns to Ayemenem with her children, where she fell in love with someone, which is against the ‘Love Laws’ of society.
This is also the story of Rahel and Estha, siblings who share a bond beyond words. They know each other so well, that words and expressions are of no use between them. They believe that they are part of each other’s heart. The siblings who love each other immensely were separated when they were 7 years old. But before separation, they had a fun-filled life. A life where their Ammu loved them, their uncle Chacko loved them, some people could not stand them, but then there was Velutha. A man who worked in their uncle’s factory, children shared a wonderful bond with him. What was the reason of their separation? An unexpected incident, when Sophie Mol, their uncle Chacko’s daughter comes to Kerala. Chacko is excited, and children instantly liked each other. But their happiness was short-lived as within a few days things changed drastically. And they were forced to separate their paths, only to meet after 23 years.
But this is not what The God of Small things is all about, this is also the story of our society, the society which has strict laws in every aspect of life. Even if it is love, there are laws, laws that lay down who should be loved, how, and how much.
My Views: For a long time, I didn’t want to review this book, not because it is not worth it, but because I didn’t know how much I can do justice to it. The author has created a language of her own, there are proses, flashbacks so dreamy that one would want to get lost in the green and lush world of Ayemenem. The line between the past and the present in the story is a little blur, and that confused me in the beginning. The plot moves around in time and space without any warning, but I got used to it slowly. The plot is not in a straight line, as one would expect, there are many ups and downs, many curves which one may find difficult to follow.
You might be thinking that what’s good in the book, so let me tell you. Despite this free movement of the plot between the past and the present, and despite not being so simple, the story is exceptionally exquisite. I liked how the author has made a simple story so crafty and alluring.
Every character is developed with intricate details, readers can feel their laughter, their pain, their trauma and their love.
This book made me uneasy too, I felt miserable for Ammu, our society always disowns a woman who dares to follow her heart. I felt deep sorrow for Velutha, who despite being an untouchable felt in love with a woman from a caste which was beyond his reach, and in return, he got a fate which is not so hard to think, but hard to live with. I felt dejected for the twins, who had traumatic experience for years because our Love Laws separated them. And I feel pathetic thinking that this book was first published in 1997, and our Love Laws are still the same. We as a society haven’t grown.
It still aches my heart to think that it’s our society that decides whom we can love, how and how much.
Overall, I would again say, I don’t know how to explain my feelings towards this book, all I can say is I find It painful, hilarious, traumatic and yet beautiful.
Recommendations: If you want to read a story of love which was torn by our caste system and laws of society, then go for this one. It is not an easy book to follow, but if you like writing style with some beautiful proses and dreamy sequences, then give this book a try. I am sure you will not regret it.
Ratings: 4.5/5
If you are looking forward to reading some books by Indian authors, then here is the review of another book written by one of my favourite authors: The Hungry Tide by Amitav Gosh, give it a read.
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What about ending ,
Brother and sister got entangled in sex..?.
Is it the real love, laws
Is it need of society
Is it way of expressing love , care between two people who suffer a lot?
Please point out your views .
Hey Abhimanyu, I believe when an author writes a book he/she creates a world of there own. As a reader, we have two choices, either to accept it or not. I chose to accept it without any judgement. I am not here to judge the author morally, but only to review the book. I liked the book and enjoyed it, so that’s what I wrote. As an author, she must have something in her mind, Estha and Rahel are her characters, it’s her choice to do whatever she wants to do with them. I have no right to say anything and judge her for that.
Thank you for taking out time to read my review and commenting here.