Search - The God of Small Things

This is one of the most brilliant novels I've ever read -- although not an easy read. Arundhati Roy is a master of language --- and of slowly enchanting the reader in a nonlinear plot that is both mystifying and compelling. Readers might want to be aware that there is a free online guide to the book at gradesaver.com - a great help in reading and understanding it!
Tracy M.

Absolutely amazing, must-read! Roy tells the story in backwards order and it's just fascinating.

This is an incredible book, and just like the river that is so central to the haunting yet beautiful lives of the main characters. The prose will catch you up and carry you along in its flow, while the story meanders and ebbs and flows -- sometimes tranquil, and sometimes fast and furious. Wow.

You will never forget this story, told from the viewpoint of a child. Written in a unique style.

I enjoyed this novel. I like fiction that shows how it is in other times and places. This story follows a family of two children and their mother. Their home life is complicated by the absence of the father, the relationship the children develop with an uncle, and what happens when his wife and daughter visit from England. The children's lives are much enriched by their close friendship with a man of much lower caste: their relationship with him makes up for a lot of losses in their family. I enjoyed a story in which children have a good, healthy, loving relationship with an adult male. Of course there's tragedy and torment; it's a post-modern, post-Colonial novel.

The writing is very good. There are some stylistic mannerisms I could have done without, but overall good writing. I'd recommend this book to anyone who's interested in family dramas in exotic locations.

Fantastic book. Set in the background of kerala. The story theme moves back and forth between past and present in different times and then finally it merges.