Carolime Time

on reading The God of Small Things

I thought I’d share my views on The God of Small Things, a book I just finished reading last night after a long stretch. Written for the purpose of Facebook’s Visual Bookshelf.

“This is the sort of book that slowly weighs down on your mind and heart, kinda like the moth that figures so prominently in its pages. Roy’s writing takes some getting used to, it’s very quirky, but once you’re thinking like her and her characters, you’re in for the long run..a large portion of the book surrounds two children, the epitome of innocence and curiosity. Roy’s technique here is to use descriptions and comparisons that a child might innocently assign to an idea or experience. When it comes to the less than honourable adults, she is unsparing in describing their worst and rarely their best and if so, indirectly. The writing here was slow and patient in telling the trials and dramas of this family, much of which I’m sure is based on fact considering I myself have seen some of these familial mentalities manifest in my circles. i found this very powerful in not just bringing uneasy topics close to home but in making me think from the point of view of the vulnerable and weak. All in all, i thought this was clever, playful, possessing many levels of personality..beautifully written, a pleasure to read..”

I know, it took me forever to read this. I’ve been dragging it around to hair appointments, buses, casinos and swimming pool chaises, but I’ve only finished it now. Mind you, I have been reading “The Element” (Sir Ken Robinson) and just lately, “Shock Doctrine” by Naomi Klein. So I’m allowed to be a slow reader:P Anyway, I only REALLY got into the book in the last 100 pages. It’s only about 337pg to begin with. What I really liked about this book is that it wasn’t unbelievable. The writing style really took some getting used to, in that it was so child-like that I sometimes just stopped and frowned at the words, like is she serious? Does she live in a fairytale world? But her use of choppy, internal thoughts actually created such an image in mind that makes it easy to get immersed and tied up in the characters’  lives. I’m ten years late in reading this book (first tried when I was 14) but I am glad I did it! I am putting on my bookshelf beside other favs including Immortality (Kundera) and Intimacy (Sartre).