The novel, The God of Small Things, ultimately indicts many elements in traditional Indian society--not only fascist policemen like Inspector Thomas Mathew but also such cold and self-centered Communist bureaucrats as Comrade Pillai, not only the caste and religious biases seen in Baby Kochamma and Mammachi but also the anti-native, pro-British biases seen in Chacko's Anglophilism, as well as the patriarchal biases evidenced in Pappachi's beating his wife and neglecting his daughter's education and needs. What is so remarkable about the novel, though, is its ability to tell such a complex and tragic story while keeping the focus on the internal damage done to two young children, Rahel and Estha. And it manages to do this with subtle humor, rich satire, and an almost magical interplay of childhood imagination and wordplay. It even places a racy forbidden romance at the center of its plot.

Texts: We will read Roy's challenging and remarkable novel, The God of Small Things. Here is a short description of the novel from the Arundhati Roy website. Here is the BestBookBuys.com page for the novel.

Before You Read: The Arundhati Roy page from the South Asian Women Writer's website includes a short biography of Roy and links on the novel.  See Ruth Vanita's Review of The God of Small Things, the live NPR Radio Interview with Arundhati Roy herself discussing the novel & Reena Java's  1997 Salon Interview with Roy.  Jon Simmons' Arundhati Roy Website includes information on Roy's childhood, her later life, her writing, the Booker prize, and political controversies.  If you want to learn how this novel fits in with Roy's political activism and the fight against globalization--and get a fascinating glimpse into who Arudhati Roy is--read the Progressive Interview with Roy.  For an example of more recent work by the prolific writer/activist Roy has become, see this "The Algebra of Infinite Justice" excerpt.  For more like this, see Democracy Now's Archive on Roy, Outlook India's Articles and Statements by Roy, articles such as "Instant-Mix Imperial Democracy" from Common Dreams, as well as the South End Press Roy Page and Alternative Radio's Roy Page.

When You Read: Because of its complexity, length, and unfamiliar setting and references, this is not an easy novel to read. It is made even more difficult by a narration that shifts back and forth between past and present. In the first few pages of the novel many of the key events are all referred to--what "the Orangedrink Lemondrink Man did to Estha," Sophie Mol's funeral, Ammu's demeaning treatment by Inspector Mathew, the tragedy that led to Estha's being "Returned" to his father, Ammu's death, etc. Yet the reader does not learn the details and causes of these events until much later in the novel. You may need to read it more than once despite its length. In any case, you would be wise to make use of the helpful guidance offered in Paul Brians' Study Guide for The God of Small Things.