The God of Small Things (1997)
Who wrote it?
Suzanna Arundhati Roy (1961-; active 1997-), born Shillong, India. She began her writing career in the movie world, working with independent filmmaker Pradip Krishen (who she later married) on critically acclaimed films In Which Annie Gives it Those Ones and Electric Moon, for Channel 4 in the UK in the late 80s. After becoming disillusioned with cinema, she began writing The God of Small Things in 1992, drawing some elements from her own childhood.
The novel was a huge commercial success, making Roy financially secure and enabling her to spend much more of her time on outspoken activism on a huge range of causes (a wide range of Indian political issues including recent vehement criticism of the Modi administration, as well as attacks on US Foreign Policy post 9/11, Israel, and numerous others.) While she has published numerous works of non-fiction in the intervening years, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness (2017) is her only other novel to date.
What's it about?
The God of Small Things is primarily the story of two non-identical twins, Rahel and Estha, in Ayemenem, a village in the Kerala region of India. The non-linear narrative flits between the build up to a tragic incident in their youth, involving a visit from England of their cousin Sophie, and their return to their village as adults in 1993.
It’s a difficult novel to discuss in detail without giving too much away, but the plot covers a wide range of themes both political (particularly the role of caste in India, but also touching on the Marxist Naxalite movement and police brutality) and personal, in the shape of the impact of “Love Laws” that govern who one can and cannot love, and their role in a tragedy that shapes and shatters the lives of multiple characters.
What I liked
It took me a little while to tune in to Roy’s idiosyncratic prose, which some have described as difficult or confusing, but when I did it really shone. There’s a real love for language on display, a playful spirit that captures the imaginative spirit of the children at the heart of the novel perfectly. There’s a Joycean thrill in coining portmanteau words that express more together than they could apart, here serving a double role in also subverting the English language of India’s rulers.
The structure is also a little unsettling to begin with, but actually works brilliantly to build the tension of the novel’s central mystery - what happened to Sophie? - the suspense-laden hook that both keeps you gripped but also serves as a framework on which to hang a lot of the novel’s themes.
There are several set-piece moments of tragedy (often compounded by miscommunication or deliberate deception) that really stick in the mind.
Its controversial elements add to the interest - it’s the job of literature to push at the boundaries, exploring subjects we’d maybe rather avoid in the service of exploring more universal themes, challenging norms and contemplating our flawed humanity.
Amongst all of the tragedy and painful detail, there’s also a lot of genuine laugh out loud humour in here, which only serves to heighten your affection for some of the characters and your sadness at their fates.
Overall it felt like a fresh and compelling read, linguistically vibrant and thematically interesting.
What I didn’t like
As mentioned above, it took a while to tune in to the style, and I struggled a little through the first third before racing, addicted, though the rest.
It’s matter of taste, and didn’t bother me too much, but this is a novel that pulls no punches. All aspects of humanity (and accompanying bodily fluids) are here. and described in graphic and visceral detail.
This isn’t a criticism, but it is ultimately a very sad read. We see good people suffer, and children’s lives ruined by a combination of accident and design. The conclusion is not especially cheering - but it does feel very real and true.
Food & drink pairings
Tomato sandwiches in a tiffin tin
Pickles of all varieties
Fun facts
The press fascination with beating on the Booker continued in 1997, with the winner coming under criticism from all circles, some calling it too “populist” a winner (presumably because it sold well and people enjoyed it) and others too “difficult” (…) - additionally Carmen Callil, a Booker Prize judge in 1996, described it as "execrable" - for some reason or other, and “one Guardian journalist” apparently described the whole contest as "profoundly depressing.” Yawn.
Ian McEwan’s Enduring Love narrowly missing the shortlist, apparently massively dividing the judging panel in the process. 1998’s panel would make up for this omission, for better or worse…
Judge Jason Cowley is not the first to have found the process of Booker reading exhausting, describing it as follows:
“I often think that I’ve never quite recovered from my experience of being a judge. I began the year as an enthusiastic and engaged reader and reviewer of contemporary fiction, and ended it much more interested in non-fiction and narrative journalism.”
He also had wise words on the spirit in which the Prize should be taken, which I can’t disagree with:
“I believed then as I do now that the Booker is essentially a jamboree, little more than a kind of sport, with its own roster of winners and losers. It shouldn’t be dignified or taken too seriously.”
The Guardian’s Digested Read by John Crace from 2010 is a giggle and worth a read whether you loved or hated it (especially if you hated it)
Vanquished Foes
Jim Crace (Quarantine)
Mick Jackson (The Underground Man)
Bernard MacLaverty (Grace Notes)
Tim Parks (Europa)
Madeleine St John (The Essence of the Thing)
The second winner of the Women's (then Orange) Prize for Fiction in 1997 was Anne Michaels with Fugitive Pieces. Interestingly Roy did not make the shortlist, despite no apparent rules against Booker winners or nominees being included.. (Margaret Atwood was on the shortlist for Alias Grace a year after being Booker nominated for the same)
Context
In 1997:
UK Labour Party returns to power for the first time in 18 years, with a landslide majority for Tony Blair
Death of Diana, Princess of Wales
Scotland & Wales vote in favour of devolved Parliaments
In the US, Madeleine Albright becomes the first female Secretary of State
K. R. Narayanan sworn in as Indian President - first member of the Dalit caste to hold this office
UK hands sovereignty of Hong Kong to China
Legalisation of divorce in the Republic of Ireland
Murder of rapper Notorious B.I.G.
Murder of fashion designer Gianni Versace in Miami
First broadcast of Channel 5 in the UK
Debut of Pokémon anime in Japan
IBM's Deep Blue computer defeats world champion Garry Kasparov at chess
Toyota Prius, first hybrid vehicle to go into full production, goes on sale in Japan
J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Don DeLillo, Underworld
Philip Roth, American Pastoral
Ian McEwan, Enduring Love
Patrick Marber, Closer
Titanic
The Full Monty
Good Will Hunting
Daft Punk, Homework
Radiohead, OK Computer
Missy Elliott, Supa Dupa Fly
Life Lessons
Political corruption and institutionalized discrimination may be at the root of a lot of the tragedy in here, but it’s human decisions (often made by close family members) that are the (heartbreaking) triggers.
Score
9
I’m very conscious that this one seems to have massively divided readers, but I found it gripping and engaging, with some deep themes sitting alongside a lightness of touch in the writing.
Ranking to date:
The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro (1989) - 9.5
Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie (1981) - 9.5
Moon Tiger - Penelope Lively (1987) - 9
Sacred Hunger - Barry Unsworth (1992) - 9
Oscar & Lucinda - Peter Carey (1988) - 9
The Sea, The Sea - Iris Murdoch (1978) - 9
Life & Times of Michael K. - J. M. Coetzee (1983) - 9
The God of Small Things - Arundhati Roy (1997) - 9
Schindler’s Ark - Thomas Keneally (1982) - 9
The Bone People - Keri Hulme (1985) - 8.5
How Late it Was, How Late - James Kelman (1994) - 8.5
Troubles - J.G. Farrell (1970, "Lost Booker") - 8.5
Possession - A. S. Byatt (1990) - 8
Saville - David Storey (1976) - 8
The Siege of Krishnapur - J.G. Farrell (1973) - 8
The English Patient - Michael Ondaatje (1992) - 7.5
Rites of Passage - William Golding (1980) - 7.5
Offshore - Penelope Fitzgerald (1979) - 7.5
Last Orders - Graham Swift (1996) - 7
The Elected Member - Bernice Rubens (1970) - 7
The Conservationist - Nadine Gordimer (1974) - 7
Holiday - Stanley Middleton (1974) - 7
Heat & Dust - Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (1975) - 6.5
In a Free State* - V.S. Naipaul (1971) - 6.5
Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha - Roddy Doyle (1993) - 6
G. - John Berger (1972) - 6
The Famished Road - Ben Okri (1991) - 6
Something to Answer For - P. H. Newby (1969) - 5.5
The Ghost Road** - Pat Barker (1995) - 5.5
Staying On - Paul Scott (1977) - 5
Hotel du Lac - Anita Brookner (1984) - 4.5
The Old Devils - Kingsley Amis (1986) - 4
*Read in later condensed edition.
**Third part of a trilogy of which I hadn’t read pts 1&2
Next up
Ian McEwan’s much-maligned 1998 winner Amsterdam, which I have read previously but can remember very little about.
