Let's review The God Small Things

           The God of Small Things

                            

                      

     Have you ever wondered how difficult it would be to walk around the streets with stacks of restrictions? "The God of Small Things, written by Arundhati Roy, voices such restrictions and beautifully portrays the prejudices that act as knives to kill the holder. The book was a proud recipient of the Booker Prize in 1997. It voices patriarchy and Casteism in Independent India in her 20s.

Set in the 1960s, the story is about fraternal twins, Rahel and Estha, born to a family of capitalists in Ayemenam, Kerala. Their mother, Ammu, eloped with Babu to escape from her father, who was a male chauvinist with evil behavior. Later she was disappointed to learn that Babu himself was a drunkard.

                   “He beat her when he wasn’t drunk, he ignored her.”

After much reflection, she returned to her parent's house with the twins. Her brother, Chacko, who studied abroad, had a daughter Sophie, who lives with Margaret(ex-wife of Chacko) whose arrival in Ayemenam turned the lives of the twins upside down. Ammu's relationship with Velutha, a lower caste communist member, led to a series of commotion. The narrative switches back and forth from the 1960s to the 1990s. The twins were estranged and had literally nothing to say when they met after years of separation. The novel's theme is a blend of family, loyalty, incest, discrimination, and education.

        “Chacko told Ammu that as a daughter, she had no Locusts Stand I. (In other words, legally, she had no claim to the property.)”

The story, with its dark and sad circumstances, would definitely make the reader gloomy too. The careful description of each character gives us the sense of living as a Keralaite of the sixties. Though the description of Estha's sexual assault was disturbing, the detailed description of the bond between the twins and the prejudicial nature shown towards children was brilliant. The metaphorical river we were flooded with would have been a treat for literary enthusiasts. The trauma carried throughout their lives was a slippershot to caste fanatics. The confidence of Velutha was revolutionary. 

The author's explanation of the tragedy of the novel as having rooted in the times when love laws were made was new and took some time for me to absorb. Maybe she's right. Love laws were created to domesticate humans but the sad thing is it was created by men and carried through centuries by mankind. 

Though metaphorical instruments make the novel pleasing, overuse of them makes it feel like we were imposed by heavy terms. The controversy about the novel's intention to dignify incest was valid in my point of view. Also, the explicit description of physical intimacy between Velutha and Ammu could have been avoided.

Overall the novel is radical and groundbreaking. The novel's essence is to attack the capitalists who, in the guise of communists, still try to stereotype people. The children's confusion about the behavior of elders and their intolerance towards fellow men was gracefully narrated. Being a feminist, I will always have a special place for this book in my heart. If you have read this book, mention your favorite character. Mine was Ammu. She was a strong woman who was torn apart by patriarchal norms and casteist beliefs. My favorite dialogue from her was "When you hurt people, they begin to love you less."

Though the non-linear narration, frequent flashbacks, and dense vocabulary make it a difficult read, it is worth your time, and I can assure you of that. Just go dive into the banks of Arundhati's imagination...