The God of Small Things

By: Arundhati Roy

Narrated by: Sneha Mathan

Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Man Booker Prize Winner, 1997

Likened to the works of Faulkner and Dickens when it was first published 20 years ago, this extraordinarily accomplished debut novel is a brilliantly plotted story of forbidden love and piercing political drama, centered on the tragic decline of an Indian family in the state of Kerala, on the southernmost tip of India.

Armed only with the invincible innocence of children, the twins Rahel and Esthappen fashion a childhood for themselves in the shade of the wreck that is their family - their lonely, lovely mother Ammu (who loves by night the man her children love by day), their blind grandmother Mammachi (who plays Handel on her violin), their beloved uncle Chacko (Rhodes scholar, pickle baron, radical Marxist, bottom-pincher), their enemy Baby Kochamma (ex-nun and incumbent grandaunt), and the ghost of an imperial entomologist's moth (with unusually dense dorsal tufts).

When their English cousin and her mother arrive on a Christmas visit, the twins learn that things can change in a day. That lives can twist into new, ugly shapes, even cease forever. The brilliantly plotted story uncoils with an agonizing sense of foreboding and inevitability. Yet nothing prepares you for what lies at the heart of it.

©1997 Arundhati Roy (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Dark

Great writing but author tortured reader with dark take on life. If you are an empathetic person this book really plays with your emotions

Beautiful book!

What did you love best about The God of Small Things?

The point of view of the children was written exquisitely. Gorgeous, lush prose, and very sad story.

Powerful story delivered authentically

This book was masterfully written from the front page to the last and though it seemed to hold few surprises other than the obvious one set out at the beginning, how wrong I was. Told masterfully by the narrator, I can only imagine I would have struggled so much more if I had read it and not listened to it. Absolutely breathtaking!

Mesmerizing...

The depictions of both characters and places are as rich and vivid as a virtual reality tour. The author's gorgeous writing skillfully captures the social climate, with its undercurrent of unease that builds toward tragedy, and the narrator gives it a beautiful voice. Absolutely stunning!

Too rambling for me!

This is a very well written book but for me it failed to keep my attention. I found it rambling. The performance was excellent in all respects.

Really beautiful

This was a beautiful heartbreaking book that was narrated perfectly. I was entranced. Highly recommend!

Heartbreakingly beautiful

A very hard story but beautifully written. The Beauty is worth the pain, which I suppose is a big part of the book. If you’ve experienced childhood trauma, I recommend making sure you’re in a good headspace before embarking. It’ll break your heart but it’s worth it.

Great book, great read

I really enjoyed the book. It jumps around in time frames, but everything comes together. Exceptional reading too.

Excellent, but very difficult read

This is classic literature. art. it's beautifully written, but emotionally challenging and hard to follow. I'd recommend looking up a family tree to understand who's who. That would help a lot.

Best narration ever heard!

The writing is exquisite. The narration is perfection. The story devastating. I was at times confused with all of the different Indian names, terms, places as well as toggling between the past & present. I did refer to a synopsis of the novel on a couple of occasions to make sure I was keeping people and events straight. All in all, first rate experience. The book to me was reminiscent of atonement and style, and themes.