The God of Small Things

By: Arundhati Roy

Narrated by: Aysha Kala

Length: 12 hrs and 26 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.

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

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." ( The New York Times)

Beautiful listening experience

More than a story, this impressionistic word painting captures the unfolding of events and conveys history as lived by the two children and their mother, protagonists. Amazing delivery of imagery and especially of the way that children are affected by grown-ups. Great narration.

Boring and pointless

Endurance plus to get to finish line and ask what for? What is more known now than at the beginning? Round and round in circles of description and description, tedious and time wasting yet there was hope of something more than disappointment. Never again...

wow

This book was intense! I loved every minute of it. the end had me in a grip and didn't let go until the end. I definately recommend!

Brilliant! A must read book for all.

I loved every moment of this book. The narration is superb. The descriptive writing is captivating. The story enthralling. Did this book deserve the Booker Prize? Absolutely! A book that will stay worth me forever.

Beautiful

How is it that moments of words can take you, tear your heart and bind you to it all at once

wonderful

Simply wonderful. This is a story that has to be on a list of books one has to listen to

A different type of listening experience

I'll be honest, I struggled to finish listening to this. In thinking how best to describe this book, I found it like a thick, rich dessert. It's beautiful, decadent even, but hard to take in too much at one time. I found it hard to follow and stay engaged.
Listening to this book is like having someone describe in very minute detail a rich, beautiful tapestry. It's not so much a moving through a story from point A to B (although this does happen) as it is an exercise in description and detail within the rough framework of the characters of the story and setting. The ideas are important, the characters deep and beautifully flawed, but for me the pace and flow got lost in the many many descriptions and scene settings.
The author uses simile to an extent that became completely distracting to me. It's beautifully descriptive, but once noticed, it seemed that every other description or setting was bathed in simile. Like a candle dipped repeatedly in wax to build it up. Like an encore to an encore. Like a long turn on a road where you wait and wait until you finally see the path ahead. You get the idea.
The performance and narrator were sensational. I did finally finish it but, like a large delicious meal you've eaten past satiety, as much as I liked it, I'd had my fill and was ready to be done.

a glimpse into Indian lives

an amazing story of lives of a family in India. beautifully written and the narrator was superb
as a audible it is better than reading it. heartily recommended

Listen closely

This is an amazing story worth all the praise it can be given. It is not an easy listen, but it rewards attention with a wealth of details and a thought-provoking tragic story.

A sprawling and devastating story

Roy’s writing is poetic and flowing like a river. It carries with it a staggering amount of detail and a language of its characters that’s wholly unique in every way. It can get repetitive and seem slow but it’s intentional in its pacing and truly makes you realize the value of moments in the passage of time.

The narration by Aysha Kala is great.. for the most part. She can translate Roy’s complex writing into digestible emotion. However, my biggest pet peeve was her Indian accent. It was quite exaggerated and a lot of the inflections seemed almost caricatured. I honestly would not have minded if she performed all the dialogues in her original British accent. If you’re Indian- be forewarned, you will be annoyed at the accent. Apart from that- great narration and very moving.

I wholly recommend this title!