The God of Small Things

By: Arundhati Roy

Narrated by: Diana Quick

Length: 3 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's Summary

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. Now available for the first time on audio download. More magical than Mistry, more of a rollicking good read than Rushdie, more nerve-tingling imagined than Naipaul, here, perhaps, is the greatest Indian novel by a woman. Arundhati Roy has written 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).

©2012 Arundhati Roy (P)2012 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

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)

Huge amount of text cut out!

Any additional comments?

This book is truly fantastic, one of a kind. I had the paper version and wanted to listen to the audio book whilst reading. However, I quickly realised that huge chunks of the text had been taken away. It is extremely disappointing considering the fact that if you listen to any of Arundhati Roy's interviews, she clearly states that everything is important in her book, that all sentences have a meaning. Our topic in class was post-colonialism, and this book is perfect for the topic. But taking away huge amounts of the text is dreadful.

Great book, read badly

Beautifully written but DEAR FRIKKIN LORD the narrator is annoying beyond belief. She leaves massive, vacuous pauses between each sentence, so it doesn't flow, it clunks.

Modern day classic

Absolutely beautiful. I first read this book over a decade ago and hearing it narrated was just wonderful.

Waste of time

I was totally bored by this book. I could not gauge where in time I was with the characters. Can't understand why this won the Booker Prize.

Don't neglect small things

It seems like many minor scenes are cut to shrink the over all time so not particularly satisfied by the cutting as the book is about minor scenes or small things
But we have implied indian accents & sensible emphases which makes it impressive