A review by nhewitt99
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

5.0

Following the perspectives of a large family through many points in time, the style of this book is dizzying at first. Give it time, and the same qualities make it completely immersive. The prevailing story is a tragedy, yanked along by nonlinear storytelling that foreshadows every detail before it happens. It's gripping, and moving, and so difficult to put down. 

I was amazed by how many themes Roy could probe through the lens of one family, including love, modernity, history, classism, sexism, colonialism, trauma, and self determinism. Each topic is given respect and nuance via the myriad perspectives offered by the large cast of characters.

The rhetoric is beautiful and makes great use of extended metaphor and symbolism. It's also ripe with the phrase-as-adjective speech that I'm a sucker for, like deep-seaweed-feeling.
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