The God of Small Things in bbc book list, the top 100

Apr 06, 2011 Smiley rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

I bought this viably readable novel last week and wondered why this one seemed familiar to me. Later I found out from the internet it was the 1997 winner of the Booker Prize, that is, its cover has kept haunting me since more than ten years ago and I wasn't aware of its formidable literary acclaim and honour. One of the reasons is that I've never read Arundhati Roy before since this is her debut worth reading critically and enjoyably.

I kept on reading, liked it and agreed with the review that it I bought this viably readable novel last week and wondered why this one seemed familiar to me. Later I found out from the internet it was the 1997 winner of the Booker Prize, that is, its cover has kept haunting me since more than ten years ago and I wasn't aware of its formidable literary acclaim and honour. One of the reasons is that I've never read Arundhati Roy before since this is her debut worth reading critically and enjoyably.

I kept on reading, liked it and agreed with the review that it's her "richly textured first book" since she's described in both tragic and comic narratives with the following styles I came across:

1) Her ways of repetitive texts, echo-like for each one, for instance,
Only that once again they broke the Love Laws. That lay down who should be loved. And how. And how much. (p. 328) vs.
That it really began in the days when the Love Laws were made. The laws that lay down who should be loved, and how.
And how much. (p. 33)
This implies one of the key themes - love sharing - of the novel.
2) Her shifted plot, that is, we'd find that the shameful episode at the end should've been placed somewhere before the episode of Ammu's death (p. 161), traditionally speaking.
3) Linguistically, she's revealed her knowledge and experience on language teaching/learning in Chapter 6 (Chochin Kangaroos) and other chapters [passim] of course. Therefore, reading them is amusing to me, for instance,
Margaret Kochamma told her to Stoppit.
So she Stoppited. (p. 141)
'Thang God,' Estha said.
'Thank God, Estha,' Baby Kochamma corrected him. (p. 154)

Technically, I prefer a page or more of "Glossary" of many unfamiliar Malayalam terms/words since they should help clarify general readers (I'm sorry they're Greek to me, I could guess some meanings vaguely) to better understand and more appreciate the texts related to their particular terms/words.

In brief, I think, the tragedy has been dictated by love presumably unfairly shared to the twins Estha and Rahel who have planned/executed their unthinkable adventure leading to Sophie Mol's drowning, such a ruthless, unimaginable fate to her.

I look forward to reading Arundhati Roy's new novels and other writings. ...more

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