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The God of Small Things

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The God of Small Things

By: Arundhati Roy
Narrated by: Aysha Kala
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About this listen

Winner of the 1997 Booker Prize. The richly exotic story of the childhood the twins Esthappen and Rahel craft for themselves amongst India’s vats of banana jam and mountains of peppercorns.

Here, perhaps, is the greatest Indian novel by a woman. Arundhati Roy’s ‘The God of Small Things’ is an astonishingly rich, fertile novel, teeming with life, colour, heart-stopping language, wry comedy and a hint of magical realism.

Set against a background of political turbulence in Kerala, Southern India, ‘The God of Small Things’ tells the story of twins Esthappen and Rahel. Amongst the vats of banana jam and heaps of peppercorns in their grandmother’s factory, they try to craft a childhood for themselves amidst what constitutes their family – their lonely, lovely mother, their beloved Uncle Chacko (pickle baron, radical Marxist and bottom-pincher) and their avowed enemy Baby Kochamma (ex-nun and incumbent grand-aunt).

©1997 Arundhati Roy (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers Limited Coming of Age Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Political Heartfelt Tear-jerking

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Critic reviews

‘Richly deserving the rapturous praise it has received on both sides of the Atlantic…“The God of Small Things” achieves a genuine tragic resonance. It is, indeed, a masterpiece.’ Observer

‘“The God of Small Things” genuinely is a masterpiece, utterly exceptional in every way, and there can be little doubt that posterity will place it very near the top of any shortlist of Indian novels published this century.’ William Dalyrmple, Harpers and Queen.

‘The quality of Ms. Roy’s narration is so extraordinary – at once so morally strenuous and so imaginatively supple – that the reader remains enthralled all the way through to its agonizing finish…it evokes in the reader a feeling of gratitude and wonderment.’ New York Times
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the idea of choosing to be traumatised through a book or film has often confounded me, but through reading this beautifully traumatic book for a second time I realise that it is as the narrator describes the human need to order that led me through the book desperately searching for someone to blame for the trauma bestowed on two 8 year old twins. I think I have found them ...

traumatically beautiful

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I could not get into thos book at the beginning. it was confusing to me and was disjointed. I also didn't like the crass language, I'm a bit prudish, but I just felt like it was unnecessary. The author writes poetically, so I just didn't see why she didn't keep the language decent, esp as sometime it was just random. Eventually I was hooked on the story and I needed to know what this story was building up to. It is such a sad story, heartbreaking, covering many societal issues. listening to the beginning helped me move the story along, I finished this book by a combination of reading and listening, reading hiked me understand the story better, bit listening got me through the boring ish bit!

An interesting tale

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By half way through I decided the struggle to overcome the confusing disjointed narrative wasn’t worth it. Then a friend assured me it will be. So I started from the beginning again. I’m now grateful to my friend and Roy. Such heartbreaking beauty.

Telling the story of human stupidity with such beauty

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There were large sections that bored the hell out of me, and other sections that had me gripped. It’s undoubtedly a work of art, but at times unnecessarily ornate with its endless use of similes; at others, I could appreciate the poetry. I appreciated its educational aspects and moral message too. I’m certainly glad I read it.

A beautiful mixed bag

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came here to reread it with audio experience. but felt instant regret cause of the narration and her poor and generalized indian accent. It was so bad that i had pay extra attention to separate men and women characters. The worst of all was Chako. Surely an Oxford graduate man in that era should have a perfect british accent. Instead I felt like it was a 16 year old girl village girl speaking.

beautiful stoey poor narration

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I know this is on a lot of must-read lists, but I really struggled to get into it. The performance was excellent, and what allowed me to finish, but I won't be seeking out the author again.

It didn't work for me...

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I loved this book, in no small part as a result of the narrator's captivating tone.

Enthralling

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Having previously read this fantastic novel twice I couldn’t resist the Audible version - although didn’t expect it to be anywhere near as good as the book. I was wrong. Beautifully narrated, making the authors eloquent, multi descriptive and flowing words a pure delight. I could listen over and over. One of the best books I have ever read and probably the best narrated as well.

Just wonderful

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Poetic boxing. This story is brutal in its honest depiction of how jealous and inequality breed a snake of revenge which travels across generations.

punch drunk

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This is such a well written book; I highly recommend it. The narration is also excellent.

Beautifully written and stunning narration

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