Reviews with content warning for Classism - The God of Small Things

The novel was literally crazy. I really liked how she structured it and apparently Roy studied architecture. At the end, she says that her degree helped her literally structure the book which I thought was cool. I kinda hated the part where the twins literally had sex because that’s so bleh. I was so surprised by Ammu and Velutha’s romance. I gasped when he died even thought I was expecting it. It was so brutal. Sophie’s death was also crazy since it was so brief but so much just collapsed because of it. Also, her imagery is CRAZY! I could literally picture every single scene in my head so well.

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johnatetheapple's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is black magic, its dark spell distills humanity into mere mortal words in a way that leaves you feeling speechless, uncomfortable, and utterly amazed.

This book weaves a complex story of intertwined narratives which feed off each other. The disorganised way in which the story is revealed to us serves to put us in the same mental haze the characters no doubt live through, suspended between the past and the present, their demons haunting them around every corner.

This book genuinely changed something inside of me, and it has rightfully earned the spot amongst the most remarkable book I’ve ever read in my life.

The book has a slow-pace, with the events unfolding leisurely. The author pulls you into many worlds and many perspectives in quick succession, and I was fascinated with the journey. I followed her through these numerous portals with the utmost pleasure. But fair warning that it may at times be disorienting, and at others completely overwhelming, so I don’t recommend reading this book all at once or very quickly. Pace yourself.

I feel like I was genuinely pulled into the world of Ayemenem, with its grief and love and laughter. Speaking of, this books was surprisingly funny, which is not something I’ve noticed any reviews I read mention. Yes, it is poignant and life-changing and harrowing, but it’s also hilarious at times, which caught me unawares.

I feel like I know these people intimately, and if I could only have one complaint it’s that I wish we saw more of Velutha especially, and more of adult Rahel and Estha, because I feel like I was starving for more of them but was left mostly hungry.

All in all, this book should be read by everyone and taught in schools, studied in universities. I am ready to write a 70-page dissertation on it.

I am genuinely tempted to bulk order copies of this book and simply begin handing them out to everyone I know.

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nicolelovesbooks's review against another edition

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2.0

What I will say: the writing itself— the prose and poetic lyrical quality of it— was beautiful, and even cheeky at times.
But the story was hard to follow and quite frankly, horrible. I’m not going to say I regret listening to this (it was for book club obviously), but I’m certainly glad I went with the abridged version.

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atthehuskinbee's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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