The God of Small Things

By: Arundhati Roy

Narrated by: Sneha Mathan

Length: 11 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

Man Booker Prize Winner, 1997

Likened to the works of Faulkner and Dickens when it was first published 20 years ago, this extraordinarily accomplished debut novel is a brilliantly plotted story of forbidden love and piercing political drama, centered on the tragic decline of an Indian family in the state of Kerala, on the southernmost tip of India.

Armed only with the invincible innocence of children, the twins Rahel and Esthappen fashion a childhood for themselves in the shade of the wreck that is their family - their lonely, lovely mother Ammu (who loves by night the man her children love by day), their blind grandmother Mammachi (who plays Handel on her violin), their beloved uncle Chacko (Rhodes scholar, pickle baron, radical Marxist, bottom-pincher), their enemy Baby Kochamma (ex-nun and incumbent grandaunt), and the ghost of an imperial entomologist's moth (with unusually dense dorsal tufts).

When their English cousin and her mother arrive on a Christmas visit, the twins learn that things can change in a day. That lives can twist into new, ugly shapes, even cease forever. The brilliantly plotted story uncoils with an agonizing sense of foreboding and inevitability. Yet nothing prepares you for what lies at the heart of it.

©1997 Arundhati Roy (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

The most beautiful book in history

There are no words to describe this story because Arundhati Roy has already used them all up. Raw Beauty and Sadness. Descriptive brilliance. Structurally unique. A literary enigma. It blew my heart away.

Loved it!

Just beautiful! Would have liked to finish at one go instead of the two days it took. Can't wait to start Roy's new book tomorrow.

The narration makes the story come to life!

I read this book when it first came out, over a decade ago. Decided to listen to it on audiobook since it was free on Audible. Let me just say that I am incredibly impressed by the narration! I knew the storyline and enjoyed the intricate pictures Roy creates with her words, but the narration was so perfect that it made the story vibrant in a way I had not anticipated. I highly recommend it!

Beautiful and Haunting

Like a symphony composed in a minor key, every word written by Arundhati Roy and performed by Sneha Mathan are like notes that flow seamlessly, one into the next, to form a beautiful, hauntingly mesmerizing tale that touches the soul. For reviewers who have given this novel less than the five stars it deserves and used the words “flowery” and “overly descriptive”, the poetic cadence and eloquence of the song-like ebb and flow of words...sentences...passages...are what makes The God of Small Things not just a novel, but a work of art. To say the descriptiveness is too much or too distracting is like saying a Mozart symphony has too many notes.
If you enjoy the bewitching power of language, of words that are shaped and formed by a master of morphology, then let this eloquent composition sink deep into your heart and soul.
Also, if I had to choose one book that truly benefits from being devoured with the ears rather than the eyes, this would be it. Sneha Mathan’s narration is flawless; she brings the melodious, rhythmic nature of the written words to life with her perfectly pleasing, lilting voice. A treat for the senses, you’ll not only hear. You will see, taste, smell and feel. It is that powerful. Absolute perfection.

the names are important

the narrator tended to spit out some of the names too quickly. for English readers these are foreign names. the narrator needed to enunciate each name carefully. even some of the English names were hard to understand. for instance Sophie More. I never could clearly hear the name of the untouchable. I could only understand who was speaking by context.

the story is told via an endless series of flashbacks. at times this was very powerful. at other times it was just annoying.

Poetic and Harrowing.

Stunning book. Very complex and deep. Beautifully read! Poignant, funny and horrifying all at once.

Bizarre & poetic

Just when I was ready to pack it in, a scene arrived like a car wreck you can't look away from. The prose is beautiful. The plot dark ad twisty.

Struggled to follow

I struggled to follow and this keep interested due to the non chronological timeline , the many many characters and the frequent use of non English words which prevented me from understanding some of the plot and text, you really have to concentrate with this book. I wanted to like but wasn’t easy to,

I listened after reading

I’ll start off by admitting that without having read this in text format, I would have had great difficulty following the plot. This is my favorite book. Roy is fantastic and listening to it brought everything to life for me. I absolutely love this book and urge you to read it, as the mastery of Roy’s syntax is more pronounced in written format.

Couldn’t stick with it

Abundant metaphors, vivid descriptions, colorful characters. Storytelling deftly woven. Impassionate. Maybe it’s me but it was all too much. And sad. I couldn’t stick with it.