Reviews

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

kaydio's review against another edition

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4.0

"And on Ammu's Road (to Age and Death) a small, sunny meadow appeared. Copper grass spangled with blue butterflies. Beyond it, an abyss." p319
Beautiful writing, but so tragic. The tragedy is unavoidable and you know it's coming from near the beginning, yet feel powerless to stop it, because it is at least in part based in the caste system that has existed for generations.

vinaya_1999's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

pasc96's review against another edition

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1.0

If you. Like. Books that. Are. Written. Like. This. Then you'll. Love. This. One. It. Didn't work. For. Me.

This book had a lot of potential, with interesting themes and characters, yet Roy's ego, pretentiousness of style, and utter contempt for her readers completely turned me off. I finished this book at an airport, and just left it there.

mandrea's review against another edition

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4.0

Often heartbreaking, and I have a few quibbles with the nature the twins' relationship took at the end of the book, but ultimately I really enjoyed this book.

heidizeigler's review against another edition

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3.0

The voice in this book is strong and appealing. And heartbreaking. The artfulness of this book's structure keeps me thinking about the question of who gets to tell a person's story.

lpadgett712's review against another edition

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4.0

i had a hard time following this book at first - the author uses a really artistic, stream-of-consciousness style that i grew to appreciate as the story went along. great book with a heart-breaking and tragic story...

judy_kr's review against another edition

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5.0

Second reading for reunion seminar

carla_gee's review against another edition

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2.0

The Booker Prize winner from 1997. I think I was supposed to have read it for book group and never did. After starting, and not liking enough to finish, a number of newly purchased books, I checked our shelves for something I hadn't read. I wish Esta and Rahel's part of the story hadn't ended the way it did.

boronguyen's review against another edition

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5.0

The pure mastery of this. The broken plot should not have worked at all, but somehow it did for me. The choice of making the last chapter the last one (and not the penultimate one) really made the book.

Still, I am not a fan of the excessive foreshadowing. Two or three would have been fine and conveyed sufficiently the tone of the story, but there were way too many. The characters alone would have kept me attached to the story (man, these characters are ridiculously well-crafted).