906. The God of Small Things

The God of Small Things

Arundhati Roy
1997
Around 320 pages

Well, that was disturbing. This is a quality novel, but I still ultimately wish I hadn't read it so I could erase some images from my brain. And I always find disjointed multigenerational novels a bit hard to swallow anyway.

Our main players here are fraternal twins Estha and Rahel, their abused mother Ammu, and the man she has an affair with, Velutha. The story is told non chronologically. I get why you would tell this type of story in this way, as a sort of patchwork quilt of family memories. But personally, I don't like this style, or the childlike perspective she employed to represent the twins' point of view. 

This is one of those novels that is technically very well put together, but doesn't fit my tastes and isn't an enjoyable read. It's still interesting that she took on the caste system, just not my cup of tea.

RATING: **---

Interesting Facts:

Roy didn't release another novel until 2017.

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