The God of Small Things

The God of Small Things
Arundhati Roy

The Asian literary phenomenon of the 90s.More magical than Mistry, more of a rollicking good read than Rushdie, more nerve-tinglingly imagined than Naipaul, here, perhaps, is the greatest Indian novel by a woman. Arundhati Roy has written an astonishingly rich, fertile novel, teeming with life, colour, heart-stopping language, wry comedy and a hint of magical realism.Set against a background of political turbulence in Kerala, Southern India, The God of Small Things tells the story of twins Esthappen and Rahel. Amongst the vats of banana jam and heaps of peppercorns in their grandmother’s factory, they try to craft a childhood for themselves amidst what constitutes their family – their lonely, lovely mother, their beloved Uncle Chacko (pickle baron, radical Marxist and bottom-pincher) and their avowed enemy Baby Kochamma (ex-nun and incumbent grand-aunt).

ARUNDHATI ROY

The God of Small Things

Copyright (#)

Fourth Estate

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd. 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk/)

This edition published by Fourth Estate 2009

First published in Great Britain by Flamingo 1997

Copyright © Arundhati Roy 1997

Arundhati Roy asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

This is a work of fiction. The characters in it are all fictional. Liberties have been taken with the location of rivers, level crossings, churches and crematoria.

A catalogue record of this book is available from the British Library

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Source ISBN: 9780006550686

Ebook edition © May 2011 ISBN: 9780007383948 Version: 2018-08-13

Praise (#)

From the British reviews:

‘The God of Small Things vividly describes a landscape and society about which I knew nothing. Perceptive and imaginative, she is an authentic new voice.’

SHUSHA GUPPY, Independent on Saturday Books of Year

‘The great soaring masterpiece of 1997.’

WILLIAM DALRYMPLE, Sunday Times Books of the Year

‘Rich and compelling. Roy has a refreshing originality and desire to tell a good yarn that I found really appealing.’

WILL HUTTON, Observer Books of the Year

An intricate, clever, skilfully constructed story which overwhelms by its exuberance and its verbal virtuosity.’

PHILIP ZIEGLER, Daily Telegraph Books of the Year

‘An affecting and intricate story … written with amazing confidence.’

IAN JACK, Independent on Sunday Books of the Year

‘The God of Small Things is an ancient drama played out against an unmistakably modern backdrop. It turns the clash of tongues and histories in Kerala into the motor of its comedy, its lyricism and its fine intelligence. And in doing so, it makes the remarkable Arundhati Roy a fitting standard-bearer for the immensely rich literature of India today.’

BOYD TONKIN, Independent

‘A gripping tale of love and loss … in The God of Small Things, Roy has given us a novel moored in anguish but told with compelling wit, eroticism and consummate tenderness.’

UTTARA CHOUDHURY, Financial Times

‘A beautifully fractured tale … infused with luminous imagery, wry wit and butterfly-delicate characters.’

Esquire

‘A quite astonishing first novel by any standards—broad in its historical sweep, emotionally profound and marvellously acute and delicate.’

Economist

‘The God of Small Things draws the reader into a mesmerising world, conjured up in a lush, lyrical prose that sets the nerves tingling.’

SARAH STRICKLAND, Evening Standard

‘Roy is truly gifted, not just in her ability to make words playful and meaning mischievous, but to use this to create a language texture that bowls you along, gathering momentum like the narrative itself … Witty and vivid, full of rich, memorable images … a verbal stream of steady beauty.’

ALI SMITH, Scotsman

‘The God of Small Things is a magically written effort … quite brilliant. Savvy, beautiful, and with the sort of overall rhythm that artists of all media should dream of managing … One can only strongly recommend this extremely funny and enchanting and pretty much genius piece of debut fiction.’

TOM HINEY, Spectator

From the US and Australian reviews:

‘The quality of Ms Roy’s narration is so extraordinary—at once so morally strenuous and so imaginatively supple—that the reader remains enthralled all the way to its agonising finish. A devastating first novel.’

ALICE TRUAX, New York Times Book Review

‘Roy is impressively adept with language. Words and images flip across the pages like acrobats, combining and contorting in unexpected ways. Not only is the story rich and compelling, but the inventive energy and honour with which it is told keep the reader constantly surprised and captivated.’

TAMSIN TODD, Washington Post

‘A tantalising mix of Indian exotica, mysticism and history on a domestic and national level … a remarkably assured novel, ambitious in scope, innovative in style, filled with moments of quiet beauty … its wonders and wonderings are, for me, unparalleled.’