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| Arundhati Roy--as author of our novel |
Arundhati Roy is unique. She has written one novel--over ten years ago and it received the high honor of a Booker Prize and the readership of many who find it lyrical, moving, evocative of India. She is an activist--this is a page to explore about her work and words-- who has written and spoken about the environment--the cause of simple people to preserve their land; their way of life; their connection to water, earth, and place. She is political and has put her life on the line. She writes, still, and is interviewed often--such as this interview at Salon magazine 12 years ago when she had just recently 
published her only book of fiction, The God of Small Things. She said in a recent interview that she is writing/working on another novel. Her most recent non-fiction work is Field Notes on Democracy: Listening to Grasshoppers which she spoke about in Seattle last February. Here us a YouTube video when she is interviewed last Fall for Fault Lines--WATCH THIS TO LEARN ABOUT OUR AUTHOR.
published her only book of fiction, The God of Small Things. She said in a recent interview that she is writing/working on another novel. Her most recent non-fiction work is Field Notes on Democracy: Listening to Grasshoppers which she spoke about in Seattle last February. Here us a YouTube video when she is interviewed last Fall for Fault Lines--WATCH THIS TO LEARN ABOUT OUR AUTHOR.
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ReplyDeleteAfter reading about half of the book, I like how Arundhati Roy goes into a deep narrative for each character, crafting a detailed piece of a larger puzzle that slowly reveals itself. I'm curious to see how everything develops especially with the amount of foreshadowing that's happened so far. A telling quote is Rahel's thoughts about her family: "They all broke the rules. They all crossed into forbidden territory. They all tampered with the laws that lay down who should be loved and how. And how much. The laws that make grandmothers grandmothers, uncles uncles, mothers mothers, cousins cousins, jam jam, and jelly jelly" (31). I'm not sure if anyone's really done anything so far that pertains to these challenges of the laws although there's certainly hints of what's to be revealed. After Estha's molestation, which may be a part of future climactic events, I'm really wondering what lies further ahead in the story.
The story also gives a lot of obvious examples of class roles involving the caste system. We see the oppression of the Untouchables or Paravans. "Paravans were expected to crawl backwards with a broom, sweeping away their footprints so tha Brahmins or Syrian Christians would not defile themselves by accidentally stepping into a Paravan's footprint" (71). I'm wondering how a system this repressive even came about in the first place since there's no way to distinguish different castes except by birth. I understand that the Hindi religion endorses caste-based social systems, but not caste-based discrimination (according to wikipedia) so why would people so strictly repress other people based on their birth when they cannot even be visibly distinguished by race or gender. So it is interesting to me see how the class system in The God of Small Things seems to be one of the most repressively strict that we've seen in the books we've read so far, when it is based on no visibly physical characteristics.
On a side note, I have really enjoyed the humor in Roy's writing style, and this is one of the few books I've read where I've actually laughed out loud. Simple human moments like when Estha had to go to the bathroom and had to urinate in a urinal because "to piss in the pot would be Defeat" (92) were hilarious while they drew empathy. This was such a real moment that every boy goes through in his coming of age that hearing it articulated so aptly was an amazingly cogent example of Roy's understanding of the human condition and her ability to portray it.
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ReplyDeleteRoy's writing is incredibly imaginative, inventive, and magical. At times I feel like I am in a child's mind(maybe my own?). The first 17 pages were slow going. I enjoyed the settling in that it required to be able to read smoothly through the novel.
Her use of Capitalizations is unique. I noticed more in the first few chapters than I did towards the end of the book, not that there were any less capitalizations near the end.
It is fairly obvious, to me, that the mom is going to die. What is it? Maybe an aneurysm or tragic accident?? Or perhaps a suicide or death by her untouchable lover...We all know she is having an affair with Velutha right? She has to be.
I have to say that I was expecting some sort of tradgedy involving the twins. I was not surprised by the malestation that happened with Estha (although he knew better!!). I wasn't shocked, but I am waiting for Rahel's turn. Maybe she is in bed with Velutha too? Or Uncle Chacko (that name reminds me of a creepy clown-Happy Uncle Chacko).
I also think that the twins have a hand in Sophi Mol's death. It sounds like she dies in the river because she was bloated and wrinkled.
I am not quite sure if the twin's feelings and grief will be resolved by the end of this book. I wonder if Rahel or Estha will flip out and burn down the house with Baby Kochamma and her cook in it....
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ReplyDeleteI am glad that there wasn't a surprise ending. I felt like I had a handle of the events in the book as it was going along. I appreciate the way Roy seamlessly intertwine the flashbacks of Rahel like she was crocheting a scarf with memories.
I loathe Velutha's idiot father as I am sure the rest of you do. Why on bloody Earth would you snark on your beloved son when you know that they will probably hang him? It made me soooo angry and I got shivers in my arms like I wanted to restrain him from telling Mammachi myself.
I was also disgusted by Baby Kochamma's actions at the police station just to save her own fat butt! Making those poor children believe they would go to jail with their mom for Sophie's death if they didn't agree with whatever the police officer said. That image of Velutha alone torments Estha for the rest of his grown life. He is probably the next one in the family to crazy--he already stopped talking. Chapter 1 has the first, but not the only, mention of that moment, "But worse of all, he carried inside him the memory of a young man with an old man's mouth. The memory of a swollen face and a smashed, upside-down smile. Of a spreading pool of clear liquid with a bare bulb reflevted in it. Of a bloodshot eye that had opened, wandered and then fixed its gaze on him" (Roy 32). Just terrible.
I am glad that Ammu got to know what love is like before...she went mad and died of t.b.? I think she died of tuberculousis. The old man laughing in her chest sounds as if it was t.b. She was going mad too I think. Belching like a trucker and laughing loudly and talking to herself. I wonder if she would have lost her mind if those events hadn't occured?
Was the communism it's own Red Herring in the story??? I think that is ironic. I didn't think it had that much of an impact on the outcome of things as much as the class system in India did. I am happy that Roy chose to end the book with the flashbacks of Ammu and Velutha's congruous love. It was giving a very tragic story an almost happy ending.
I loved this book too. My favorite has been Minaret, but The God of Small Things is on a totally different level than all the other books we have read this quarter. It was rewarding and moving to read, for me.
The Love Laws were something that really interested me in the story as they were referenced several times and I wasn't sure what they alluded to exactly.
ReplyDeleteThey were referenced early on when Roy foreshadows how a "few dozen hours can affect the outcome of whole lifetimes" (Roy 33). She goes on to say that all these life-changing events really began in the days when the Love Laws were made. "The laws that lay down who shoud be loved, and how" (33). Earlier she says that it could be argued that the Love Laws were created thousands of years ago before many
historical events that molded Indian society. So I think, the Love Laws are rules that are created simply to discipline human nature.
They supercede any societal rules, or perhaps they are the foundation for which social rules are created on top of. Either way they are the
ultimate framework for which people should treat each in any relationship where love is involved.
So one example that we see where the Love Laws are invoked for a familial relationship is during a story by the storyteller that talks of Karna the warrior and his mother Kunti. Kunti invokes the Love Laws to make Karna promise not to go to war against his own brothers:
"They are your brothers. Your own flesh and blood. Promise me that you will not go to war against them. " (222).
In another example at the end after Rahel and Estha's intimacy, the Love Laws were referenced as "they broke the Love Laws" (311). In this relationship, the familial rules of brother and sister were violated through incest. This part didn't surprise me too much actually since their closeness were described many times in the story and their characters, almost seemed surreal at times. I felt like they were capable of anything by the end of the story.
The other relationship between Velutha and Ammu of course was the relationship that violated a lot of laws including perhaps the love laws. As it was stated early that a few hours can change entire lives, and that "it all began with Sophie Mol's arrival" (33). So I think that Sophie Mol's arrival is part of what started the chain of events leading to Ammu's and Velutha's relationship and its discovery, which led to the destruction of Ammu's family and Velutha. It is an example of what happens when two people that shouldn't love, A Touchable and an Untouchable, actually loved and what happens when that is violated.
I'd also like to correct myself on my question of how a class system not based on appearance could come to exist, at least in this novel.
As I read more of the book I realized that at least in Velutha's case his "darker skin" was noted several times although I wasn't sure if
that was the case of all Untouchables.
I have to admit the constantly changing time periods and the intricate plot threads gave the book a higher complexity than most books I read (Harry Potter). It's definitely a book I'd have to read again to really appreciate all of the subtleties of the chain of events that build up toward through the story. I really enjoyed it though and Roy's unique style of writing.
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ReplyDeleteI was a little intimidated when I first started the novel. The beginning is very detailed, which is great, but it confused me a little. I had to reread a few parts over and over again. But once I got into the swing of things, I came to enjoy the story more than expected. If I had to choose one word that describes Roy’s writing it would be vivid. She’s wonderful at explaining something in a way that makes the reader understand it that much more. A few of my favorite;
"Her tear trickled down from behind them and trembled along her jaw like raindrops on the edge of a roof"(7).
"Lying broken on the hot church floor, dark blood spilling from his skull like a secret"(8).
"He grew accustomed to the uneasy octupus that lived inside him and squirted it's inky tranquilizer on his past"(13).
I personally appreciate this type of writing because I'm a visual learner. It helps me feel more intuned with the novel and helps me understand a whole lot better. :)
What I got so far from the story though, is mainly how everyone seems so sad or angry. Ammu seems lonely, unhappy and in her own world at times (same with the older Estha). I can't figure out why though. Maybe it's a little later in the book. Baby Kochamma seems like she has mood swings. I'm thinking it's because she didn't get Father Mulligan? And Pappachi is just mean and continues to carry this entitlement that he's better than everyone until he dies.
Does anyone know the significance of 'ten to two' when time is mentioned? I don't get it.
Did anyone else notice that during the first chapter - Paradise Pickles & Preserves - and second chapter - Papachi's Moth - there is only one mention of the title throughout the whole chapter? I thought that was weird. Why name a chapter something but only mention it once?
Why does Estha and Rahel call Ammu, Ammu, instead of mom? Also, about the caste system,if Estha and Rahel's family is of 'high status' and the Orangedrink Lemondrink man knows that, why did he moleste Estha? I thought people of lower status were not allowed to touch someone of high status? Or was this guy just a creeper and didn't care? I guess I'm curious as to where they draw the line or set boundries.
I too like Victoria, consider this one of my favorite novels out of all the one's we've read. I enjoy and appreciate Roy's creative style of writing.
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ReplyDeleteIt took me a couple of chapters to really get into this book. The beginning I think was a little confusing because she skips around in time a lot and she has a writing style I had to get used to. Around the time when the family goes to see ‘The Sound of Music,’ is when I began to have a good sense of all the character’s personalities.
So far I’ve found this book to be pretty sad. The writing is beautiful, somber and humorous at the same time. I always feel foreshadowing of bad things to come. All the characters seem un-happy in their own ways. Amnu- unhappy with how life played out for her; married a drunk and left with twins in the same town she tried to escape from. Chacko is unhappy because Margaret left him and took Sofie-Mol away with her. Baby Kochamma must be bitter about Father Mulligan because she is a very strange character. A theme of this book seems to be tragedy or scandal; I feel that all the characters are hiding something. It also doesn’t seem like any of the family members love each other very much. I’m excited to see what’s to come, the weird lurking secret that surrounds the family- or whatever it is- has to be revealed soon.
I’m curious about Velutha. It seemed to me that him and Amnu were having a secret relationship, but not sure. Its hard for me to follow some of the communist stuff, it gets all tangled in my head, but I think Velutha is going to be apart of a political scandal at some point. I realized after looking back through the novel that in the beginning at the police station, Amnu is visiting Velutha.
“Amnu asked for the Station House Officer, and when she was shown into his office she told him that there had been a terrible mistake and that she wanted to make a statement. She asked to see Velutha” (9).
She says, “I’ve killed him” on page 10. I assume she’s talking about Velutha. I think if I were to read this book again I would pick up on a lot of foreshadowing done in the beginning that I miss when I’m not aware of the characters yet.
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ReplyDeleteI love this book. The language is so captivating and beautifully written. I like the repetition of certain phrases that gives an overall coherence amidst the shifting time frame of the novel. Phrases like: “Not old. Not young. But a viable, die-able age” (Roy 5), and Pappachi’s moth that keeps showing up everywhere. I was a bit surprised to find out we were reading yet another twin book, but these twins seem much more connected than Olanna and Kainene or Najwa and Omar. This is evident when Estha walks to his sister’s room in the hotel after he has trouble sleeping: “[Estha] stood quietly outside Rahel’s door. Rahel stood on a chair and unlatched the door for him. Chacko didn’t bother to ask how she could possibly have known that Estha was at the door. He was used to their sometimes strangeness” (113). I know something terrible must have happened for them to be so separate now, and I’m really curious to learn exactly what it is. I know it concerns Velutha, who was in love with Ammu (74). I’m also wondering if whatever happened in the past is somehow connected to the fallen state of the neighborhood in general (118-122) or if this is just to reinforce the idea that things have the capacity to change drastically. The pickle factory goes from being prosperous (46) to destitute, while the river goes from being clean and beautiful (116) to a dump (14), and the Ayemenem house has fallen apart (84) and is a total metaphor of what has happened to the family.
I agree with Eugene that this is the most constrictive “class” system we’ve seen but I also want to point out that within these castes, the same oppressive forces that operate in our society (sexism, classism) operate within this one. For example, Mammachi may be able to run her own factory and have more power than lower caste men and women, her son still ends up taking control over it. It’s not just a caste system, but a caste system + the patriarchal, capitalist system.
To Andreah: Ten to two is the time that is painted on Rahel’s toy watch (37) so for her that’s always what time it is. I also think it’s another motif that the author likes to repeat throughout the story, but it’s origin is with Rahel. Paradise Pickles is important because that’s really how Velutha gets introduced to their family. It’s also important in the book’s discussion of communism and events in the book, since Comrade Pillai wanted to get sole credit for organizing the workers and Velutha stood in the way of that (115). Papachi’s moth, while mentioned only once there is mentioned again extensively throughout the first half (69, 107, 111, 131). It doesn’t say the moth is Pappachi’s explicitly but the usage is too coincidental for it not to be the same one.
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ReplyDeleteWhen I started reading The God of Small Things, I also noticed Roy’s unique usage of capitalization.
“The Government never paid for Sophie Mol’s funeral because she wasn’t killed on a zebra crossing.” (6)
“She noticed that Sophie Mol was awake for her funeral. She showed Rahel Two Things” (7)
“Ammu explained later that Too Briefly meant For Too Short a While.” (9)
At first I thought that Roy just wanted to catch the audience’s attention but after reading the first half of the novel, I feel like Roy wanted to make a statement with her usage of capitalization. What do you guys think of this?
Another thing that attracted my attention was the name of each chapter title. Like Andreah, I found it strange that it was only mentioned once throughout the whole chapter.
I noticed Roy’s formatting and how she develops the plot by including the ending before even starting the beginning. Although the order of the chapters was initially confusing, I got used to the format midway through the first half of the novel. In the first chapter, I was taken back by Roy’s description of Sophie Mol’s funeral and it’s power to capture my attention throughout the novel.
When they lowered Sophie Mol’s coffin into the ground in the little cemetery behind the church, Rafel knew that she still wasn’t dead. She heard (on Spohie Mol’s behalf) the softsounds of the red mud and the hardsounds of the orange laterite that spoiled the shining coffin polish. She heard the dullthudding through the polished coffin wood, through the satin coffin lining. The sad priests’ voices muffled by mud and wood.
We entrust into thy hands, most merciful Father,
The soul of this our child departed .
And we commit her body to the ground,
Earth to earth, ashes to ash, dust to dust.
Inside the earth Sophie Mol screamed, and shredded satin with her teeth. But you can’t hear screams through earth and stone.
Sophie Mol died because she couldn’t breathe. (8-9)
By placing this scene (the ending) in the first few pages of the novel, Roy uses dramatic irony so that chapters play off of each other. Since I am not used to this type of format, it was difficult for me to keep track of all the events but the further I read, the more of the story I understood.
I was really intrigued by the first chapter of the novel when it described a little portion of the relationship between Sophie Mol and Rahel.
Throughout the first half of the novel, I thought that Baby Kochamma was an odd character.
“On the backseat of the Plymouth, between Estha and Raphel, sat Baby Kochamma. Ex-nun, and incumbent baby grandaunt. In the way that the unfortunate sometimes dislike the co-unfortunate, Baby Kochamma disliked the twins, for she considered them doomed, fatherless.” (44)
I think that this quote is telling of the relationship between Baby Kochamma and the twins.
“Baby Kochamma’s goodnight kiss left a little spit on Rahel’s cheek. She wiped it off with her shoulder.”
After reading about Velutha, I was reminded of Anwar from Minaret because to his connection with communism. It seems like Velutha has some sort of connection with Amnu but I am still unsure of what the relationship is.
I’m really interested to know what happened to Sophie Mol and Rahel’s involvement with her funeral.
I am impressed with the great details Roy use in this novel. I like the way she is “playing” with words, she reminds me of Nadine Gordimer in terms of word choice, not exactly the same but there are a lot of interesting adjective and vocabulary that I’ve learned so far.
ReplyDeleteJust like Stephanie, I noticed Roy’s unusual capitalization at the beginning.
“…when life was full of Beginnings and no Ends, and Everything was Forever, Eshappen and Rahel thought of themselves together as Me, and separately, individually, as We or Us”. (4)
And lots of other places that she capitalized the words that I do not understand why. Maybe she wanted to stress and draw readers’ attention in a particular part?
I also like the way Roy describe character’s feeling vividly and lively, or the rain for example, she made it so special and different and was able to pull off the beauty out of it.
“It was the first time they’d seen their mother cry. She wasn’t sobbing. Her face was set like stone, but the tears welled up in her eyes and ran down her rigid cheeks”. (10)
The beautiful rain
“Heaven opened and the water hammered down, reviving the reluctant old well, greenmossing the pigless pigsty, carpet bombing still, tea-colored puddles the way memory bombs still, tea-colored minds. The grass looked wetgreen and pleased. Happy earthworms frolicked purple in the slush. Green nettles nodded. Trees bent”. (11)
Estha is a special quiet kid. Roy depicted him as a deep but broken person. The way he withdrew from the world and closed and locked himself in his own world is very sad and it was something horrible in the past that I’d refer not to know (strange?) because I feel like it would poke his pain and I accept him for who he is and let him be.
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ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, the ending of The God of Small Things was one of the more tragic endings in our serious of novels. Unlike Najwa from Minaret who ended up in a less privileged but was able to adjust to her new life, Amnu ended up in a situation where she had a hard time adjusting.
I really admired Roy’s language and her ability to show emotion through her writing.
I was really disturbed with the scene where Baby Kochamma tricked Rahel and Estha to sacrifice their beloved friend for her lying soul.
“We were only playing…”
“Playing? Is that what you call it?”
Baby Kichamma looked at them for a long time before she spoke again.
“Your lovely little cousin’s body is lying in the drawing room. The fish have eaten out her eyes. Her mother can’t stop crying. Is that what you call playing? (300)
….
“It’s a terrible thing to take a person’s life,” Baby Kochamma said. “It’s the worse thing that anyone could do. Even God doesn’t forgive that. You know that don’t you?
Two heads nodded twice.
“and yet” – she looked sadly at them –“you did it.” She looked them in the eye. “she looked sadly at them –“you did it.” She looked them in the eye. “You are murderers.” She waited for this to sink in. (300)
…
“So now you’ll have to go to jail,” Baby Kochamma said kindly. “And your mother will go to jail because of you. Would you like that?”
Frightened eyes and a fountain looked back at her.
“Three of you in three different jails. Do you know what jails in India are like?”
Two heads shook twice. (300-301)
Roy’s language fully exemplifies the emotions, making the novel more personal.
Even though Baby Kochamma used the children, I was surprised Inspector Thomas Mathew allowed her to talk to the twins before giving him their statement.
“The children will do as they’re told,” Baby Kochamma said. “If I could have a few moments alone with them.” (299)
Although he was warned that Baby Kochamma was going to try and persuade the children, he continued to allow her to talk to the twins. This scene shows how the justice system may be based on a system of power and influence.
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ReplyDeleteI'm so in love with Roy's writing, her prose and her style. Her wordplay makes me swoon with wordnerd glee. Though every single page drips with foreboding, making me anxious and scared for the characters I like. I know this book will be tragic. I know there won't be any happy endings here. I can't stop reading, though, even knowing that each page I turn takes me closer to heartbreak. All of these people are so thoroughly broken - I both can and can't wait to hear the full story of how they ended up that way. I already wish I could swoop in and rescue Ammu, Estha, and Rahel from their family and their fates.
I am shocked at Victoria's comment that Estha "knew better". Knew better than what? To unconditionally obey adults? Because I don't think that he did - he was raised to respect and obey all adults. Knew better than to let himself get sexually assaulted? If you have no concept of sexual abuse in any way, you can't "know better" than to let it happen. Stating that Estha "knew better" reads like victim-blaming, as if he was somehow responsible for what happened to him. He wasn't! He was a child!
I'm curious about the place of Communism in this culture - it seems to be somewhat accepted, which is different than the way the US has always felt about Communism. At the same time, being a Communist is also a problem? Even though some Communists - Pillai - are somewhat powerful and somewhat respected, and, if I understood correctly, the Communisty party has some place in the government? It's very confusing.
I'm curious if the caste system is any different in India now. The idea of any human beings being Untouchable makes me so sad, though, that I'm reluctant to do more research. :(
Is there any chance that Baby Kochamma isn't as completely, self-servingly evil as she appears? I doubt it. Her beloved religious man would never have cared for her if he'd known how utterly rotten she is inside.
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ReplyDeleteI sensed all along that the ending was going to be bad, but that didn’t make it any less heartbreaking. Poor Estha and Rahel. Poor Amnu. Poor Velutha. Poor Sofie Mol. Poor Margaret Kochamma.
I really wish Estha hadn’t been sent away. Then there would have more hope for both the twins if they had had each other after such devastation. I can’t imagine what it was like for Estha to be plopped down in his father’s house after everything that happened. And stay there for 23 years! Did he every have any contact with his family in Ayemenem? I really loved Estha’s character. I think he was one of the strongest characters in the book. I can’t really describe why but I thought of him as a very stoic character.
I’m glad that Amnu was able to be with Velutha before everything crumbled. I wish they could have run away together with the twins and made a new life somewhere. Would that have been impossible in this society?
On page 220, a story is told about a man named Karna and his sister/brother Kunti. This part confused me. I wasn’t really sure who Karna was and if the reference to Kunti being a woman is a metaphor for something. Anyone have any ideas?
I’m so happy we got to read this book; it was different from all the others we’ve read so far. It’s a nice book to end the list with.
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ReplyDeleteI'm having a hard time writing about this book. More than any other book we've read this quarter. It got under my skin and into my blood in a way that no other book - not even Half of a Yellow Sun, which is hands-down my favorite book of this class - has. It's difficult to hold the book away from me so I can write about it objectively. It's like the story still lives inside me.
I'm glad that rahel & Estha found their way back to each other in their 30s. It's devastating that they were ripped apart and kept apart for so long. I worried that they would never find a way back to each other, even with Rahel showing up in Ayemenem. Though I won't pretend that I condone the sexual relations between them, or even that it doesn't make me feel icky, I can say that, in the context of these two characters, I understand it. And they were both so utterly, horribly broken that I can't begrudge them whatever comfort and love they could offer each other.
Even though I knew that nobody would be saved or spared - except for the reprehensible Baby Kochamma, just as it sometimes seems that the most evil people are unscathed in real life - I couldn't help wishing for the story to change direction in the end, to spare these children and their beautiful mother (and Margaret Kochamma, too - too much tragedy for one person). I wanted something miraculous to happen, to save Estha, to save Rahel, to save Ammu, to save Velutha. But of course that is not this story. They all lost. They were all broken. And Velutha paid for his love for/with Ammu with his life. Ammu lost the only affection and happiness she had a chance of finding, and was broken in the process. The children lost their mother, their innocence, their cousin, their childhood, and each other - and why? For what? For a faded family name and reputation? For the pleasure, comfort, and joy in hateful machinations of Baby Kochamma?
Even after it became clear that the best, purest people in this story would be paying the most horrible, harshest penalties, I fervently hoped for some sort of karmic retribution to catch up with Baby Kochamma. I know that's not how karma works, but I truly despised her and I vehemently wished to see her pay for all the irrevocable, unspeakable evil she perpetrated on those around her. Someone else mentioned the house being burned down with Baby Kochamma in it? Yes, I would not have minded that. Some sort of payback from the twins, or from the universe. (I am not really as bloodthirsty as I sound - she was just so evil.)
The author amazed me with her talent and skill. The feelings of foreboding, the inevitability and certainty of the heartbreaking, tragic outcomes - they never flagged or waned. And though I knew - I *knew* - this story would leave me bereft and crying real tears for Estha, Ammu, and Rahel, I could not stop turning the pages. Their doom drew me in, drew me forward, pulled me to the end - that is incredibly gifted writing. I knew Ms. Roy was going to break my heart, and I gladly handed it to her; that's how good a writer she is.
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ReplyDeleteAlthough I mentioned that I appreciate Roy’s creative style of writing, it confused me more during the second part of the book versus the first. She is very imaginative like everyone has mentioned, but at times I found myself losing interest because of the complexity. I was confused when the “Orangedrink Lemondrink Man” was mentioned after the incident with Estha. “Thanks to what the Orangedrink Lemondrink Man did to Estha, their home away from home was already equipped”(276). How so?
It’s sad that the truth was never acknowledged about Sophie Mol’s death. And it’s equally sad that Estha was sent away, that he wasn’t raised with his sister and that their mother let it happen that way.
I still cannot believe Baby Kochamma. What a witch! So heartless to twist the truth to benefit herself and the family, when she knows (anyone should know) it could hurt someone. More than hurting the reputation of a family.
I was surprised that Estha and Rahel had sex, I’m trying to figure out the reason. I understand they no longer had the connection they had when they were younger. And years had gone by without them seeing each other, but it’s a bit much. Maybe after all the years, coming back to where they were together and all the baggage just overwhelmed them. Hhmm…I don’t know…odd.
Whew, what a novel, I am completely shocked with the intimacy between the twins. I would call it incest - that would be the correct word.
ReplyDeleteSo far, I have never hated any character in the 6 books we have read. Now I found one, the twins' father. He is the ultimate jerk. I hate him for the attempt to sell Ammu to the boss. I can ignore the fact that he abused her but selling his wife is a jerk move ever. He crosses my limit.
I feel sorry for the twins, all the trauma they have to go through make their childhood rough and unbearable. Each character is broken in their own way. Each denies life, close themselves to the world as if to protect them from getting any more pains from life.
Anyway, to explain for the intimacy between Estha and Rahel, I think in the end they can not find anyone who can understand the other better than other twin, no-one can feel what they feel. They never say it out but they have always had the connection of what the other has gone through in life, and after all these years it's just all coming back and burst out into an oddly intimate relationship? I'm still shocked and see this is too weird.
However, this book is so complicated for me to puzzle the whole picture together. A lot of characters and Roy jumped from time to time. I have to keep in mind that this character is related to the other because of this reason and later another reason appears ect... Anyway, I like Roy's writing and her choice of words. I learn a lot from it and it makes sense after all.
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ReplyDeleteRoy's writing is very rich. She describes things in a very detailed way - emphasis a lot on color and describes nature a lot. Her writing is also non-sequential, I find myself lost sometimes because she's going back and forth. But overall, her writing is amazing, it is broad and deep.
Here are 2 things I find interesting in The God of Small Things.
1. Physical Abuse on women by their husbands.
Papachi-Mamachi, Mammachi love Papachi so much that even though he is beating her, she still miss her husband and cried so much when Papachi died. On the other hand, Ammu-Husband, Ammu did not love her husband at all. She was just scared to be an old-maid that why she got married. Ammu's husband has alcohol addiction and thhus this impair the judgment and lead to beating Ammu. She eventually left her husband with her twins.
2. Class in society.
No matter how good you are if you are born in a lower class, you'll never go up the scale. Just like Veluthra."Apart from his carpentry skills, Veluthra had a way with machines. Mammachi with impenetrable Touchable logic) often said that if onlu he hadn't been a Paravan, he might have become an engineer." (72)
Post 2 of 2 coming up soon..
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ReplyDeleteResponse to Andrea's Post 2 of 2.
ReplyDeleteEstha and Rahel having sex.
I think even though they were far apart for so many years they still felt they are together as one. They share emotions and feelings, sometimes even thing that are not supposed to be felt/known by the other - things just come through like a hollow tube. Does anyone know what page in the book was this connection of them is written? I can't find it, but it is somewhere in 2nd chapter I think.
Post 2 of 2
Like everyone had mentioned, I also feel every character on the book is lost. There is no direction. I felt bad for Ammu because she did not find the happiness - not having the partner in life. Poor Veluthra too, I hope there were no man made barriers with them, and I hope they could've had the chance to be with each other.
The God of Small Things is crafted very artistically, but is not a book that a diverse crowd would love - it's complex and sometimes hard to follow. I look up to the author though because this book is a brilliant work. Her background as a political activist was brought to the book as well, fighting to the right of people (1st chapter).
When I finished the book, I felt a little hopeful but then remembered that I'd already read the true ending, and the bittersweet sadness crept in. I'm glad Roy ended the book the way she did, however. It was like a dedication to Ammu and Velutha, and the love they shared, by letting them have the last words.
ReplyDeleteUgh! Baby Kochamma! By far, one of the most hated characters I have ever read. If it hadn't been for her, so much suffering could have been prevented. Ammu wouldn't have been kicked out. Estha wouldn't have been sent away. Velutha might not even have been beat to death, if someone else had reported it and not twisted the truth so scandalously as she did. Too many circumstances converged on everybody at once. I actually think the communist thread was important to the story because Pillai used him as a tool to further the communist cause by making him a matyr (286) after telling the police that they could go ahead and arrest him since he wasn't connected to the party (248). This is after he tries to send Velutha away by reporting his communist activities to Chacko (263)! Him and Margaret Kochamma knew exactly how to manipulate the others into helping them achieve their goals - Kochamma to make everyone else feel miserable and save the family name, Pillai to become a notable party leader.
I was really moved by the Kathakali dancer, how committed he was to his art and how much he despaired for having corrupted it: "In Ayemmen, they danced to jettison their humiliation in the Heart of Darkness. Their truncated swimming pool performances. Their turning to tourism to stave off starvation. On their way back from the Heart of Darkness, they stopped at the temple to ask pardon of their gods. To apologize for corrupting their stories. For encashing their identities. Misappropriating their lives" (218). To the dancers, these are sacred stories, not stories to be cheapened by peddling them out to people who have no concept or appreciation of the aesthetic or spirituality that is inherent in their stories. I especially like Roy's use of the word "encashing". It brings to mind the word encasing, and I have this image of a god wallpapered in money, his awesome quality unable to shine through, unable to touch the people. This passage seemed especially poignant to me after taking a literature class on myth last quarter.
As for the issue of Estha and Rahel having sex, I was a little incredulous at first, but, like Sarah, I can understand it in the context of their relationship. And if they see themselves as one mind, one soul, it wouldn't be weird to them. Maybe that's the only way for Estha to reach out, since his brain has been hoovered out. I don't know. It's surprising, but understandable.
Posting 1/2
ReplyDeleteThis book The God of small things, is so interesting one, but I had hard time to follow the sequence of the story as book jumps back and forth between events. In first chapter, the funeral of the Sophie Mol is exposed, where in the later chapters Sophie Mol is playing role.
The cast system in Indian society iwas unfortunately dictating the limit of the characters like Velutha. Despite their love towards each other, he can't marry to Ammu.
This story portrays a painful physical separation among the emotionally tied individuals. Twins were so unlucky, as their parents were not together any more, Esthe was send to live with Baba, and Rahel stayed with her mother. Soon after her mother died, Rahel was expelled from three different schools. Before their reunion, the twins separation had lasted more than twenty years. Ammu and Velutha was also separated by cultural barriers, in addition the death of Velutha was grieving moment of their indefinite separation. Sophie's parents, Margaret Kochamma and Chacko also experienced an other painful separation of, but the lost of their daughter was the biggest tragic.
Posting 2/2
ReplyDeleteIn this story there were some helpless characters who could do nothing to change their unfavorable situations. Velutha and Ammu was the example of these category. Though Velutha was campaigning for the communist part who was preaching the equality of all casts, yet he knew that his efforts was not enough to improve his status.
In Ayemenem, cast system and marriage was considered as big thing, and all the important people in that culture will care how their related rules were followed and preserved. For Ammu and Velutha, to feel in control of some thing in their life, they tried to seek other environment. They found an old history house at the bank of the river, where every body was afraid to go, especially at nigh time.
Now Velutha became the God of small things, and had established his own kingdom. The kingdom that was free from the influence of the cast. He regularly visits to the history house where he emotionally lived with the small living creatures, taking some time with them, gazing and concentration their activities.