“And the air was full of Thoughts and Things to say. But at times like these, only the Small Things are ever said Big Things lurk unsaid inside.”

Genre: Fiction
Pages: 340
Published: April 22, 1997
Rate: 4.5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Goodreads Synopsis

Compared favorably to the works of Faulkner and Dickens, Arundhati Roy’s debut novel is a modern classic that has been read and loved worldwide. Equal parts powerful family saga, forbidden love story, and piercing political drama, it is the story of an affluent Indian family forever changed by one fateful day in 1969. The seven-year-old twins Estha and Rahel see their world shaken irrevokably by the arrival of their beautiful young cousin, Sophie. It is an event that will lead to an illicit liaison and tragedies accidental and intentional, exposing “big things [that] lurk unsaid” in a country drifting dangerously toward unrest. Lush, lyrical, and unnerving, The God of Small Things is an award-winning landmark that started for its author an esteemed career of fiction and political commentary that continues unabated.


My Take

Where do I even begin with this book. I LOVED IT!!! The God Of Small Things is Arundhati Roy’s first book which also was my introduction to her and her writing/work. The book begins with the end – a tragedy that explains the family dynamics – which sets the tone of the book. It’s told in the eyes/ perspective of a young woman, Rahel, who believes that she and her twin, Estha, are of the same person.

“This was the trouble with families. Like invidious doctors, they knew just where it hurt.”

What I liked: The book is written in such an engaging format, where Arundhati plays with language in such a way, I couldn’t stop turning the pages.
She also touches on the position of women, at the time, in society. That and the untouchables made it quite informative.
I love how the book explores the relationships between the twins, grandmother, the mother and the great aunt, which gives you a different perspective, way of seeing the world.

“That’s what careless words do. They make people love you a little less.”

What I didn’t like: The non-linear storytelling. This threw me off a bit and it took me a while to get into. This is the only reason I didn’t give the book 5 stars.

The God Of Small Things won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 1997 and I definitely get why. I definitely do recommend it if you haven’t read it yet.

Have you read The God Of Small Things? What are your thoughts?