The God of Small Things
‘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.’
Estha and Rahel, seven-year-old twins, are growing up amidst vats of banana jam, mountains of peppercorns and scenes of political turbulence in Kerala. But when their beautiful young cousin Sophie arrives, their world is irrevocably shaken. An illicit liaison and tragedies both accidental and intentional expose things that lurk unsaid, in a country drifting dangerously towards unrest.
Winner of the Booker Prize, The God of Small Things is lush, lyrical and unnerving: a literary sensation and a modern classic.
”'Richly deserving the rapturous praise it has received on both sides of the Atlantic…The God of Small Things achieves a genuine tragic resonance. It is, indeed, a masterpiece” - Observer
”'Roy is truly gifted, not just in her ability to make words playful and meaning mischievous, but to use this to create a language texture that bowls you along, gathering momentum like the narrative itself…Witty and vivid, full of rich, memorable images…a verbal stream of steady beauty” - Ali Smith
”'It is rare to find a book that so effectively cuts through the clothes of nationality, caste and religion to reveal the bare bones of humanity. A sensational novel” - Daily Telegraph
”'A quite astonishing novel by any standards - broad in its historical sweep, emotionally profound and marvellously acute and delicate” - Economist
”'Quite brilliant…One can only strongly recommend this extremely funny and enchanting and pretty much genius piece of debut fiction” - Spectator