Arundhati roy was born in the capital of Meghalaya ,India. Later spent her childhood in Aymanam in Kerala and to became an architact studied in school of planning and architecture, New Delhi . Arundhati Roy is an english writer who write in english and an activist who focus on issue related to social justice and economic inequality in the indian society . For her novel "The God of Small Thing" won the Booker Prize in 1997.
The God of Small Thing focus on the character Rahel , who tell the story of two-egg twins or Dizygotic twins and their life being affected due to the result of surrounding thing like ,British role and India independence, Communism ,role of man and women in the society , age old caste system and the Christian way of life. Story begin with the funeral of young Sohie Mol, the cousin of the novel’s lead role Rahel and her fraternal twin brother ,Estha and with other character like their grandmother, Mammachi, great-aunt, Baby Kochamma, uncle Chacko, and mother Ammu. While moving towards the end of the novel the event of Sophie-Mol’s tragic death is described. By providing the reader with early knowledge of Sophie-Mol’s tragic destiny Roy stimulate the readers interest and makes them discover the core area of the book and the tragedy behind.
Roy plots the event with great ideas and surrounding scene, at the same time major events in the novel take place during Rahel and Estha’s childhood. However, the occasions in novel , jumps in time when Estha and Rahel return to Ayemenem for the first time since the events of their childhood. Ammu is a portrait mother continues to fight completely for the happiness of her two children.Velutha works in Chacko’s factory and is a member of the Communist force in Aymanam, Velutha is a man who bravely fights against the disgrace that society has imposed upon him. Velutha, the title character, is put under arrest, and his imprisonment shed light on the inequality of the caste system as well as the seriousness of the Communist influence in Southern India. Chacko, is a returned Scholar from Oxford, adds a flavor of male dominance to the book as he gets all the credit for Baby Kochomma’s work with the family business while her contributions are never recognized. By controlling characters that have individual identities Roy allows us as readers to identify emotionally connect with the novel, as the plot thickens with every page, novel leaving the reader anxious to learn the fates of this ill-fated family.
I as a reader will describe The God of Small Things quite simply, one of the most stunning novels leaving great impression. The narrative voice that Arundhati Roy uses in The God of Small Things is absolutely brilliant. The language on the first page was sparking and one could tell straight away that this was a writer with a special talent. Wonderful sentences like (i.e. “dissolute bluebottles hum vacuously in the fruity air”) immediately lead one imagination to Ayemenem, India.
Book Blurb: ‘The God of Small Things’ explores the tragic fate of a family which “tampered with the laws that lay down who should be loved, and how.” They are an eclectic mix: grandmother Mammachi; her spoilt Anglophile son, Chacko, her daughter Ammu; Ammu’s inseparable twins Estha and Rahel; and Baby Kochamma, grand-aunt, determined to spread the bitter seeds of her early disappointment in love.
While reading this book, my roommate who has already read God of Small Things and comes from Ayurkunnam in Kerela, a town near Ayemenem described to me, in detail, the socio-political conditions and the structure of society at the time.
ReplyDeleteHe explained how joint families who own a large chunk of land with their own plantations even today have small working families living and working for them on their land. Althought this is a setup for mutual benefit, there exist clear social demarkations whose violation is still taboo.
This helped me to better understand the pickle in which Ammu and Velutha("The White One") had landed themselves.
Also, you could have mentioned the clearly post-modernistic nature of this novel specially the non-linear narrative style.
P.S.: Speaking of non-linear narrative, do watch Christopher Nolan's Memento. That is one helluva non-linear narrative. :D