Thoughts I Had While Reading The God of Small Things.
Posted On March 31, 2019
Hi Readers! I have been reading ‘The God of Small Things’ for a while now. When I started reading it, I got mixed opinions from people. Some said that it’s the most beautiful book they have read. Some said that they never could finish it. And some who finished it, had hated it. So, I was intrigued to read it because there aren’t usually such varied opinions for a book.
This post is based on the premise that I turned out to be in the third category of people. I finished the book & hated it. It is impossible to do a review on it because there’s nothing in it, so instead this post talks about all the random thoughts I had while reading this random book.
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‘The God of Small Things’ written by Arundhati Roy is quite an acclaimed novel. It also won the Man Booker Prize in 1997, which really made me think that anyone can write blether & win a prestigious book prize. So, this post contains a lot of rants, so before hand, I will say, ‘No Offence’. These are my independent truthful views & I don’t intend on hurting anyone. But, this book has made me do it.
You can check out the basic storyline (if it even exists) on Goodreads & then come back here to see if my opinions make sense. So, here we go!
~~CHARACTERS~~
Why are the kids not acting like kids?
Estha & Rahel are the twins in the story. To a certain extent, I can understand how they understand when the other is around. But, the way their brain works, how their bodies act & just everything about them is so unnatural! So, this thought came up to me often, why can’t they just behave like kids? Play in the garden, fight over who watches television or how to come up with ways to bunk school. Everything about those twins is abnormal & bizarre. I thought they will turn out to be like Cercei & Jaime Lannister & how right I was.
Actually, the entire family is dysfunctional!
I have said my piece about Estha & Rahel. But, truth be told, the whole family & all the characters are weird. Firstly, all the adults in that family are divorced; Mammachi, Ammu, Chacko & Rahel. I mean, how does that even happen? How flawed can their generations really be? And, don’t get me talking on Baby Kochamma. I mean, why does that character even exist? All of it is weird. Mother telling her own child that she loves her less because the child said something stupid. And on & on.
A Syrian-Christian Sexist Forward-Thinking Family.
I haven’t got anything to say about it. In some parts, the family members are shown to be such forward thinkers, with getting an education abroad, working there, behaving mannerly & what not. And on the other hand, they ridicule divorced women in their own family, taunt them about it & have Untouchables serving them! I mean, what even?
Why do I need to know about the minor characters?
Just when the story becomes MINUTELY interesting, the next you know is some story in the past about some remotely minor character. Why is there any need at all to write about Comrade Pillai’s history? Or their Untouchable help Velutha’s paralyzed brother’s history? Or Chacko’s & Margaret’s love story? I mean it’s not like it’s even a little bit interesting or important to the main plot! Comrade Pillai is just a nosy neighbor with some power. Velutha’s brother is just no one. And Chacko & Margaret end up divorced! Makes no sense at all. But, I suppose these stories are 10 % better than pages & pages worth of description of a house!
~~STORY~~
Enough with all the flawed, bizarre & absurd characters, lets move on to the flawed, bizarre & absurd story.
What’s with the Orangedrink Lemondrink Man?
I have never read anything as disgusting as this orangedrink man’s incident with Estha. I mean, hello, what the hell? Does this even happen to upper-middle class properly mannered family’s children? So gross. I might see a significance of this incident. If this would not have happened, Estha would not have gone to History House to escape & Sophie Mol would not have died. Yes, there is a point. But, like Joey says, this is so far past the point that you can’t even see the point! There could have been so many better, less gross ways to connect it with her death, but no, it had to be this horrible incident. I didn’t like the book, but I started hating the book from this point onward.
What’s with the Fixation with Words?
There are many many instances in the book in which a few words are repeated all the time. It isn’t annoying. It isn’t absurd like everything else in the novel. But, it is bizarre, like everything else in the novel. Calling Estha & Rahel two-egg twins. Repeating that Ammu loved her a Little Less. Something-Shaped Hole in the Universe. I suppose, the attempt is to make it sound appealing, but it’s just bizarre.
Why am I reading this big book of NOTHINGNESS?
The story is made up of nothing. The characters are made up of nothing. The whole book is just a big gibberish of nothingness. No love story. No dramatic story. No horror story. Nothing!
And, lastly, after I finished it, I had one question. What the hell was that?
So, yes, I strongly advise that you not read this book. If you already have, I’m sorry you had to go through that. If, by chance, you read it & liked it, please let me know in the comments below how did that happen. I can try to keep an open mind & it could be very intriguing.
Until next time,
About The Author
Aishwarya Shenolikar
Hello! I'm Aishwarya, an Introverted bookworm & writer. I have been reviewing books since 6 years on my blog - Mindscape in Words. My favourite genres are Historical Fiction, Mystery, Thrillers, Magical Realism, Poetry, Fantasy & Memoirs. I like the kind of books which evoke emotions on several levels leaving me wrecked, but also incredibly content. I'm dreaming for the world to paint a landscape full of words, more like Mindscape in Words. Hope you enjoy the view.
One Comment
Why so much of hate?
The book has won the booker prize and ted talks also made a video about why you should read this book.