The God of Small Things

To review a book which has bagged the Booker prize ain't a simple task. What impresses most in this award-winning work is Arundhuti's command over the language.

Set in Ayemenem, a small town in Kerala, this work tells the story of a dysfunctional family and possibly contains autobiographical elements. The author uses the local dialect and sprinkles it throughout the book and at times it tends to become incomprehensible for readers like me unfamiliar with the subtleties of South Indian life/language. An uninitiated reader has to grapple with names like Pappachi, Mammachi, Chacko, Baby Kochamma, Kochu Maria, Kochu Thomban and an English lady called Margaret Kochamma and others!

The two main protagonists are the brother-sister duo, Estha and Rahel. Their experiences and their discoveries about life in Ayemenem and their family forms the backbone of the narrative.The author weaves all facets of Malayali life into the storyline and it touches fishermen songs, Kathakali dancers etc.

The narrative unfolds at a sedate pace; the author has a penchant for providing a vivid description of the most banal activeties one indulges in (e.g a pissing act is described in two pages). Gosh! It's overused throughout her work causing a prickly sensation. Perverse elements, too, finds place. Like when Estha and his family goes to watch THE SOUND OF MUSIC, the Orangedrink Lemondrink man at Abhilash Talkies forces Estha to hold his penis in exchange for a cold bottle and a straw. At times, it tends to become a drag and sometimes the beauty of the language captivates us. She uses Malayali intermittently and she doesn't elucidate ( at times she does). The recurrent use of the same sentence(s) is a novel stylish technique she has employed in her work.

The author also fails in creating any sympathy in us for the two principal characters, Rahel and Estha, offspring of divorced parents. Where she possibly succeed is in her depiction of the vagaries of some of the female characters and the political scenario prevalent in the state.

In the final pages, a tragedy occurs. A game of oneupmanship over the incident leads to a chilling climax.

Yet overall, this 340-page book didn't leave me much impressed. My expectations were higher from this award-winning author. However, what possibly makes this a cut above the commonplace work is the language of Arundhuti Roy, which magically captures the backdrop of each and every scene managing somewhat to retain the readers' interest.