Customer Reviews

Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things (Continuum Contemporaries)

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This is the third of these guides that I have read, and they have all been very good so far. (The other two were about The Poisonwood Bible and The Shipping News.)This one follows the same basic idea. There is a chapter about the author, which is very interesting about Roy's upbringing and political background. And then there is a bigger chapter which looks at the book itself. It's intelligent without being difficult to read, and it's clear without being patronising or dumbed-down. This is a long way away from the Cliffs Notes I used to use back in school! But my favourite chapters in each of these books that I've read so far are the ones about the reviews that the novels got when they were published. It is just fascinating to see how the literary establishment reacted to this novel when it first appeared, and how some people picked up on the resonance of it immediately, and others seemed to miss the point. Anyway, I enjoyed this book very much, and I learned quite a lot about Indian literature in the process.

The novel resonated with me on so many levels that I simply needed to dig deeper, so I bought my first reader's guide ever. What I found was a scholarly work as fascinating as the novel itself. It not only illuminated the structure and symbolism of Roy's book, it provided a rich background of the story's setting in India, comparisons to other Indian authors' works, and the political climate that led Roy to concentrate on social activism after her first and only novel.

I was thrilled by the intellectual stimulation of reading Dr. Mullaney's guide and wanted more. In addition to the many references and recommended reading that she includes in this guide, you can find more of her own writing through the Manchester Metropolitan University's English Research Institute. This one guide has opened new vistas for an old engineer used to reading non-fiction, sci fi, survival stories, poitical thrillers, and the like. I've always appreciated excellent writing whatever the genre, but now am once again a student. Such thorough research, clear thinking, and precise exposition is refreshing and infectious.

This story is artistically crafted and exceptionally poetic with lots and lots of similes and repetition. The author clearly has her own unique style. The story moves backwards and forwards - it is often difficult to keep these shifting time periods in perspective - and in the telling we learn many historical facts: we note the complications of beurocracy, the legacy of colonization, the influence of American TV, sexual molestation, the unjust treatment of untouchables, etc... The greatness of this book lies in the way the writer has crafted her story. She is without doubt the God of Small Details.
Although I found this story rambling at times, I highly commend the tremendous artistry of this author in this tale of love and loss.

I chose to read this book from a list of books in my women's study class 2 years ago in college. I found the story somewhat difficult to follow at first, so I ordered it on tape. I listened to the reader execute the story and once I was familiar with the characters, I read the rest myself. It was a truly moving story, that I feel, captured the feelings of people in that culture and time. I encourage people to read the book, and be patient while the story and characters unfold.