Book Review on “The God of Small Things” by Arundhati Roy

Alyssa Q. Batuhan
IV – Marie Curie
Mrs. Ellen May Laurente


Introduction

The God of Small Things (1997) is a politically charged novel by Indian author Arundhati Roy. It is a story about the childhood experiences of a pair of fraternal twins who become victims of circumstance. The book is a description of how the small things in life build up, translate into people's behavior and affect their lives. The book won the Booker Prize in 1997. The God of Small Things is Roy's first book, and as of 2009, is her only novel. Completed in 1996, the book took four years to write. The book became a sensation soon after its release. It sold six million copies, and has been translated into forty languages.

Arundhati Roy, who is born to a Keralite Syrian mother and a Bengali Hindu father, has her partly autobiographical novel The God of Small Things centering on the very themes that she grew up witnessing as a child – there are the Syrian Christian ideals, there’s the Indian caste system, there’s the democracy rule verses communalism, and there are the western and eastern ethics in clash – all in function within the vicinity of a classical Keralite family. But Roy, instead of making a big statement by drawing on the aforementioned themes, offers us a close and intimate look at her personal story. And she does so in sheer loveliness and honor.

Summary of Content

Shri Benaan John Ipe and Shoshamma Ipe (Pappachi and Mammachi respectively) are the parents of Ammu and Chacko. Without ample dowry for a marriage proposal, Ammu becomes desperate to find his man. Finally, she convinces her parents to let her spend a summer with an aunt in Calcutta. Ammu got married, divorced and finally returns to Ayemenem after giving birth to two children, dizygotic twins Estha-Esthappen and Rahel. They now live with Mammachi, their blind grandmother, Chacko, the Oxford scholar who returns to India after separating from his wife, Margaret Kochamma and daughter, Sophie Mol (Mol means girl), and Baby Kochamma, the old yet fresh-and-in-love grandaunt who still muses over Father Mulligan (the young Irish priest she met as a young girl).

Margaret and Sophie were about to spend Christmas in Ayemenem. On the way to the airport to pick them up, they encounter a group of communist protesters. The protesters surround the family car and force Baby Kochamma to wave a red flag and chant a communist slogan. She is humiliated and begins to grudge towards Velutha (a man from the factory with extremely gifted hands, an accomplished carpenter and mechanic.), who Rahel claims to have seen in the crowd, though he didn’t do anything against her. After this, the family visits a theater playing "The Sound of Music", where Estha is sexually abused by the "Orangedrink Lemondrink man" (the food vendor).

The day of Margaret and Sophie's arrival, Ammu and Velutha, who is an untouchable (the lowest caste) and a paravan, realize that they are attracted to one another but when their intimate relationship had been discovered, Velutha was banished and Ammu blames the twins for everything and screams at them to go away. Rahel and Estha decide to run away, and Sophie persuaded them to take her with them. While trying to reach an abandoned house across the river, their boat capsizes and Sophie drowns. The twins search all night for Sophie, but cannot find her. Wearily, they fall asleep at the abandoned house. They are unaware that Velutha is there as well, for it is where he secretly meets with Ammu.

When Sophie's body is discovered, Baby Kochamma goes to the police and accuses Velutha of being responsible for Sophie's death. She claims that Velutha attempted to rape Ammu, threatened the family, and kidnapped the children. A group of policemen hunts Velutha down and savagely beats him for crossing caste lines. The twins witness this terrible scene, and are deeply affected for they know the truth. Baby Kochamma forced Rahel and Estha into believing that unless they accuse Velutha of Sophie's death, they and Ammu will all be sent to jail. Frightened and confused, the children testify against Velutha. Velutha dies from his injuries. However, the love of Ammu for Velutha is unconditional. She comes to the station to tell the truth about their relationship. Afraid of being exposed, Baby Kochamma convinces Chacko that Ammu and the twins are responsible for his daughter's death. Chacko drives Ammu and the twins away. Ammu, unable to find a job, is forced to send Estha to live with his father. Estha never sees Ammu again, as she dies alone and impoverished a few years later.

Rahel, when grown up, leaves for the US, gets married, divorced and finally returns to Ayemenem after several years working as a waitress in an Indian restaurant and as a night clerk at a gas station. Rahel and Estha, both 31 at this time, are reunited for the first time since they were 7 years old. Both Estha and Rahel have been damaged by their past, and by this time Estha has become perpetually silent because of his traumatic childhood. The twins stay together for most of a day, and that night commit incest with one another.

Analysis of Text

Superb! This magnificent book gave me a thrill to know the cause of Estha’s silence. I like the style of the author, the way the author wrote it. Usually, authors write stories from the beginning to the end or from the cause then the effect but Arundhati Roy wrote it vice versa. He started it by stating the current situation and gradually present the past of each characters leading you to the climax of the story and appreciate the characters more. Remarkable and extra-ordinary technique was used. Without a doubt, Roy has an exceptional talent.

It has its twists and turns. Political and moral issues were discussed. Real problems of an Indian National in their everyday life were tackled. Reality was uncovered. Some historical facts were also presented, like the death of Julius Caesar by the hands of his friend, Brutus, in the Senate and how he fell to the floor with knives in his back and said, “Et tu, Brute?–then fall, Caesar.” Simplicity was employed but deeper meaning lies behind the text. Figures of speech were brought in. Symbolisms were used. One example is the Orangedrink Lemondrink Man which represents pedophile.

Evaluation of Text

The book revolves on the story of the two egg twins who thought of themselves together as “ME” and separately as “WE”, the children with back-reading habits. Truly, small things can change the course of one’s life. Circumstances that the characters especially Rahel and Estha faced, undeniably, affected their lives as well as their behavior. Decisions that the characters have made is a matter of great importance. Your future depends on what you are doing and fighting for right now. Prejudice took over in the life of some characters that cause them to turn upside down.

This book is, indeed, astonishing. It is one of a kind and a must read. Indisputably, you shouldn’t miss this book. Grab a copy at your nearest bookstore and start reading. This book will surely open your eyes from naked truth. Learn more about the chauvinism of the caste system in India, how the untouchables were treated by the upper caste and how they live their life together with the touchables. Discover how little things, unnoticed, overlooked and taken for granted, can mold you, for better of for worse.