Gayathri Menon, Grade 11
UWC Mahindra
The monsoons are here. The gurgling rivers often overstep their bounds and find their way on to the streets, and the soil you stand on is swept away from underneath you. Water becomes murky, and silt is washed clean. On such a land, where you lose your footing and then yourself, Arundathi Roy crafts her masterpiece, The God of Small Things. Set in Ayemenem, in Kerala, India, the book fascinates with its appeal to finding poetry in the smallest, most mundane things.
Born in Meghalaya and brought up in Kerala, Roy's work is semi-autobiographical, and the book launched her into the international crowd, grasping their attention. Awarded the prestigious Man Booker prize in 1998, but have had to face charges of obscenity from the state she set her book in, Roy's creation was met with both intense distaste and devotion. Guilty of the latter charge, 'The God of Small Things', became the pivoting point of my own writing journey, making everyday life in my Malayali home more poetic.
I will never forget how Roy detailed the translucent skin of a lizard's belly on the walls of a house. Rather nauseating imagery, indeed, but nonetheless, it is an ode to the geckos that become the ears of those same cement walls where Estha and Rahel find themselves growing up in. The two protagonists of the novel, siblings by blood, have their lives intertwined and enclosed by the story of their mother, Ammu, who flees from one abusive home only to find herself in another. Hauntingly dark and detailed, the stories of this family are bound by what Roy calls 'Love Laws.' The story flits back and forth between 1969 and 1993, from Rahel and Estha's childhood to their reunion as adults.
Offering no suspense, no thrill and no plot-twists, The God of Small Things is humble in its plot and its setting, never overambitious in its need to captivate the readers. With the most effortless pacing, the story flows from one scene to the next, shifting its focus from the past to the present with ease. The story has no pulse, nothing that keeps you glued to the next page, but with Roy's incredibly detailed descriptions, both the village of Ayemenem and the book itself, come to life.
With that same ease, Roy makes political statements with her use of characterization and references to Indira Gandhi's Green revolution and caste politics in Kerala— the book never forgets its setting. Having become a political activist for the majority of her time after its publication, Roy foreshadows her political awareness and involvement through her work. The fissure of caste runs deep into the Malayali body as Ammu breaks the aforementioned 'Love Laws' to pursue a romantic relationship with Vellutha, her household factory's servant. The children, Rahel and Estha, also develop a special bond with Velutha, but the branding of his caste and Ammu's mother's enmity towards him drives the affair to a catastrophic end.
Certainly not a book for the light-hearted or young, there is violence, enmity, depravity, and desire. Stripped off of the usual makings of a commercial success, The God of Small Things has raked in intense displeasure due to the eerie and twisted taste it leaves in the mouth of some readers. To best describe the book, I would like to quote the book itself: "The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to hear again. The ones you can enter anywhere and inhabit comfortably. They don't deceive you with thrills and trick endings."
What makes the book so irreplaceable to me is not its plot, nor its writing, but the setting it takes place in. Roy has captured the essence of my birth land with such undeniable accuracy that I could not help but gasp every now and then. There is a feeling of discomfort and attachment—like the shadow that stalks your being but leaves you alone in the dark. This lingering sense of unease drove me to finish the book. A budding writer myself, Roy's piece evokes in me a feeling I hope to make my readers experience one day. Exploring interpersonal relationships, a tragic turn of events, a disposition towards the darkness of sex and the cage of the 'Love Laws,' the God of Small Things proves itself to be like a lover's embrace; not only does it cling to your mind and body in its wake, it also leaves you aching for more in its absence.
Born in Meghalaya and brought up in Kerala, Roy's work is semi-autobiographical, and the book launched her into the international crowd, grasping their attention. Awarded the prestigious Man Booker prize in 1998, but have had to face charges of obscenity from the state she set her book in, Roy's creation was met with both intense distaste and devotion. Guilty of the latter charge, 'The God of Small Things', became the pivoting point of my own writing journey, making everyday life in my Malayali home more poetic.
I will never forget how Roy detailed the translucent skin of a lizard's belly on the walls of a house. Rather nauseating imagery, indeed, but nonetheless, it is an ode to the geckos that become the ears of those same cement walls where Estha and Rahel find themselves growing up in. The two protagonists of the novel, siblings by blood, have their lives intertwined and enclosed by the story of their mother, Ammu, who flees from one abusive home only to find herself in another. Hauntingly dark and detailed, the stories of this family are bound by what Roy calls 'Love Laws.' The story flits back and forth between 1969 and 1993, from Rahel and Estha's childhood to their reunion as adults.
Offering no suspense, no thrill and no plot-twists, The God of Small Things is humble in its plot and its setting, never overambitious in its need to captivate the readers. With the most effortless pacing, the story flows from one scene to the next, shifting its focus from the past to the present with ease. The story has no pulse, nothing that keeps you glued to the next page, but with Roy's incredibly detailed descriptions, both the village of Ayemenem and the book itself, come to life.
With that same ease, Roy makes political statements with her use of characterization and references to Indira Gandhi's Green revolution and caste politics in Kerala— the book never forgets its setting. Having become a political activist for the majority of her time after its publication, Roy foreshadows her political awareness and involvement through her work. The fissure of caste runs deep into the Malayali body as Ammu breaks the aforementioned 'Love Laws' to pursue a romantic relationship with Vellutha, her household factory's servant. The children, Rahel and Estha, also develop a special bond with Velutha, but the branding of his caste and Ammu's mother's enmity towards him drives the affair to a catastrophic end.
Certainly not a book for the light-hearted or young, there is violence, enmity, depravity, and desire. Stripped off of the usual makings of a commercial success, The God of Small Things has raked in intense displeasure due to the eerie and twisted taste it leaves in the mouth of some readers. To best describe the book, I would like to quote the book itself: "The Great Stories are the ones you have heard and want to hear again. The ones you can enter anywhere and inhabit comfortably. They don't deceive you with thrills and trick endings."
What makes the book so irreplaceable to me is not its plot, nor its writing, but the setting it takes place in. Roy has captured the essence of my birth land with such undeniable accuracy that I could not help but gasp every now and then. There is a feeling of discomfort and attachment—like the shadow that stalks your being but leaves you alone in the dark. This lingering sense of unease drove me to finish the book. A budding writer myself, Roy's piece evokes in me a feeling I hope to make my readers experience one day. Exploring interpersonal relationships, a tragic turn of events, a disposition towards the darkness of sex and the cage of the 'Love Laws,' the God of Small Things proves itself to be like a lover's embrace; not only does it cling to your mind and body in its wake, it also leaves you aching for more in its absence.
Bibliography:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Arundhati-Roy
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Arundhati-Roy
www.unitedworldwide.co