Wednesday, October 27, 2010

The God of Small Things - A Review


The fifth thing that strikes you about this book, once you reach the last pages, is the complete disregard for the 'normal' movement of Time in a story. The novel ends with a touching description of a single night (and the 13 nights which followed it), a night on which "...the Love Laws were broken. The laws which lay down who should be loved, how, and how much." A night on which a 'touchable' had sex with an 'untouchable'.

Imagine the storyline of the novel to be arranged in increasing order of time, from the past to the future. Now break it up into several pieces; different events. Rearrange the pieces in this way: place a significant event of the novel, which actually occurs in the middle of our original arrangement, right at the end (described above). Keep this event as a reference point. Place a few events which happen after the reference point, right in the beginning of our original arrangement, followed by a few events which happen before our reference point. Continue placing pieces one after the other, constantly juggling between events that happen after and before our reference point. The reference point itself is placed, as mentioned before, right at the end of our new arrangement. Insert hints and teasers of things that will take place later in the book. And you get the novel, 'The God of Small Things', in its actual form.

The novel is set in the town of Ayemenem, Kerala. A small town, with the caste system quite visibly prevalent. The story revolves around the twins Estha and Rahel, a boy and a girl. Their mother Ammu (the 'touchable'). And a man who has being doing odd jobs for the family, ever since he was a child, in exchange for a small plot of land for his father and crippled brother to live in: Velutha (the 'untouchable'...also 'the god of small things'). Velutha is a Paravan: a person of the lower caste. When they were children, Velutha used to make little toys out of dried palm leaves and place them carefully on Ammu's outstretched hand, so as not to touch her. Paravan's were not supposed to touch upper-class Syrian Christians. Years later the same Velutha and Ammu had the briefest of relationships: 14 days. They met by the side of a river near their house on each night. When Ammu's family got to know about this relationship, they were naturally furious. I would not like to reveal most of the plot here. So lets just say that a series of circumstances (some related to Ammu's relationship, some not) led to the death of Sophi Mol (the twins' cousin). To 'save' their honour, Ammu's family framed Velutha on charges of attempt to rape and kidnapping. But before I tell you what happened next...

The God of Small Things is essentially about a caste ridden, male dominant and highly traditional society. It also talks about politics and the rise of the Communist Party in Kerala. One of the things I'll always remember this book for is its use of the terms 'Love-Laws' and 'History'. According to the book the Love Laws were created hundreds of years ago; they are not officially recorded anywhere, they are just there in our heads. They signify the accepted norms, the prejudices, the generations old traditions in our society. At first glance, it might seem that the book is asking us to break the Love Laws (the societal rules which tell us who should be loved, how, how much). To be a rebel. Some of the characters in the book do, do that. Scratch the surface a little, and you realize that the book is trying to do more. What it is essentially trying to tell you, is frankly, quite depressing. Break the accepted norms of society (more specifically, the Love Laws) and you will be butchered by the world around you, in some way or the other. The 'butchers' can include politicians, the moral police, the real police, your own family...all of them (along with society's intolerance of rebels) are bundled into a neat little package, a term: History.

...Velutha is brutally beaten up by the police ('brutally' is an understatement, the scene is described in such vivid detail; we're told exactly how each bone in his body broke, how each muscle tore); he dies...Ammu is asked by her family to leave the house, she dies a lonely death...the twins live without a mother or father, they live very lonely lives, with 'holes' in their hearts, seperated from each other...

The book takes an innocent stand on what happened. It neither justifies nor criticizes the atrocities its characters experience. It simply says (time and again) that "...History negotiates its terms and collects its dues from those who break its laws".

Style. The book associates certain phrases with the characters. A character's mention is occasionally followed by the phrase associated with it (One Loved from the Beginning, One Loved a little Less, The God of Loss etc.). Certain lines in the book are repeated quite often. This did seem a bit irritating at first; but further along these constant repetitions managed to create a wholesome picture of the characters. Capitalisation of certain words is another technique used to give greater emphasis on certain aspects. Symbolism is another distinguishing characteristic. Rahels's feelings are often represented by this moth which spreads its wings and folds it.

And finally...

The first thing that struck me about this book...was the sheer beauty of the place it talked about: Kerala. God's own country is no stranger to me. My home town (Ayurkunnam) and Ayemenem (even if its a ficticious place) are located in the same district, Kottayam. But to read about the place I long to go to every summer, described in such a fresh and exotic manner...brought back memories. Nostalgia.

"...the hot May...the wet June...the countryside turns an immodest green...pepper vines snake up electric poles...and small fish appear in the puddles that fill the PWD potholes on the highways"

Aby Joseph
2009PH10702

12 comments:

  1. I was deeply moved by this book (perhaps even more than any of the books we have covered in our course). "History collects its dues from those who break its laws"...was very disturbing.

    The 'Laws'. The "unwritten rules of society". How should they be looked upon: with anger, contempt? Are they really necessary for the 'proper' functioning of society? Anarchism anyone?

    I request Anybody who has read the novel to please share your views. The time I spent on this review would be meaningless without some criticism.

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  3. I liked the book but a lot less than 'Midnight's Children' or '100 Years of Solitude' as these two books were epics in a sense telling tales of multiple generations and packing in a lot of events in their pages. This book feels a lot shallower by comparison as the events it revolves around are quite mundane (except for the death and the arrest in the end of the book)mostly consisting of day-to-day normal stuff. Also the pacing is quite slow compared to the above mentioned books (although it picks up pace midway through the book)and the book doesn't really sink it's hooks into you until about midway through the book. After the first two or three chapters I was thinking to myself - 'How did this win a Booker Prize?' (Mind you, the only two Booker winning books I've read are Midnight's Children and The White Tiger which are fast paced eventful books quite different from this book so I guess I was a bit biased) although I got hooked by the seventh or eighth chapter.

    I'm not saying that this book is bad. On the contrary, it's a very very good book. I guess I'm being a bit unfair comparing it to Midnight's Chidren and 100 Years of Solitude as these two novels are undisputed masterpieces in the world of literature and it would be very hard for any book to shine when seen in respect to these two books.

    Arundhati Roy uses a non-linear narrative throughout the book skipping from different points in time throwing subtle references to events (both in the past and the future) which would occur in further chapters. Also she gives vivid details of objects and events by describing minute aspects of them (the beating of Velutha and the love-making scene between Velutha and Ammu in the last chapter). The natural flora and fauna of Kerala too is rendered in painstaking detail.

    Also I sensed a similarity to 100 Years of Solitude in the fact that almost every member of the family experiences sadness in a sense. Baby Kochamma at being denied love, Chacko because of his divorce and inability to see his daughter growing up, Ammu due to her divorce and her fear of growing old etc.

    All in all, a good book which weaves a memorable (and sad) story which stays in your mind long after you've read it.

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  4. Firstly, I would like to say that I really liked the review posted by Aby especially the way it is written.
    I would like to focus on the title of the novel. Throughout the novel their has been focus more on small unimportant things and most of the important characters gave more precedence to small events or facts rather than big things. Firstly, Ammu and Velutha started seeing each other overlooking the big fact that they are of different caste. Estha became silent until his adulthood after molestation which caused unrepairable damage to his mind and personality although it did not deserved that much importance. Another important instance is that Rahel start hating her mother when she declared that she loved Estha a bit more. There are large number of examples throughout the novel.
    Also, I would like to appreciate that this novel perfectly represented India. All the major issues dealt in the novel (inter-caste relationships, fight between people of different religions, politics, ruthlessness police) are the important issues of India. Also, it was a complete action packed novel as is desired by most Indian. It had drama, action, negative character(Baby Kochama). In a way, this novel is completely Indian.
    Also, I felt reading this a bit difficult. It was not boring as such but ordering of events, language together with with theme made it difficult for me to read.

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  5. @mrinal...I must clarify that I too never meant to compare this book with the others we are doing in the course. As you said, these are uncomparable in terms of their stature(we cannot say which is better). Agreed. Midnight's Children and One Hundred Years are epics of sorts. The God of Small Things revolves around the lives of only a few individuals. It concentrates on the experiences of these few characters. In that sense, the book managed to evoke in me a greater sense of attatchment to these few individual characters. This is what I was trying to convey in my previous comment (perhaps I didnt do it properly).

    Yes the narrative does focus on very minute details. After reading Vishal's comment...I feel perhaps this represents the underlying theme of the novel: "the Big Things are ignored...only the Small Things are talked about".

    I think the focus on the mundane was intentional. Again, I think it has to do with "...only the Small Things being talked about...". (This is a line often repeated in the novel.)

    Thanks for the comment; I couldn't agree more that the story remains in your mind a long time after you have read it.

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  6. @vishal...I think you have raised a very important point. (frankly, I regret not mentioning it in my own review).

    If I may quote directly from the book...
    "...at times like these, only the Small
    Things are ever said. The Big Things lurk unsaid inside."

    I think the author is suggesting that its the small things which influence our lives the most. In the three examples that you gave, its the seemingly inconsequential events that affect the lives of the characters the most. Did you notice one thing...the words 'small' and 'big' are used in other instances also (Small God, Big God, Small Man, Big Man).

    Yes some of the key issues in our country at that time (1969), is discussed in the novel. Whether its the caste system; or politics (the uprising of the Communist Party in Kerala). I think the novel is less action-packed; and more about minute detailing(as mrinal mentioned).

    A fruitful discussion. Thankyou.

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  7. Now you say it I suppose Arundhati Roy was focusing on the mundane purposely. My other book was Sea of Poppies which I fell in love with instantly as it was again an 'epic' of a book - various characters, exotic settings etc etc while this book is more focused on the minute everyday details of life.

    Thanks for pointing it out. Now I appreciate the book more.

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  8. I want to clarify that by action-packed I didn’t meant as it is interpreted by you. Actually, what I wanted to say that it incorporated many things that it appears in shallow reading. All kinds of human emotions, all sorts of worldly ways appeared in the novel.
    Many other small stories are interwoven in the novel which sometimes makes it eventful. I want to focus on these stories in my discussion.
    I believe that Chacko marrying a foreigner and Baby Kochama felling in love with a Christian have some kind of significance. They were orthodox hindu who considered it to be a sin to have relation with a person of lower caste. But orthodox people also believed making love with non-hindus to be a sin. So these people were hypocrite in the sense especially Baby Kochama that laws were different for her and for Ammu.
    Also, Aby, I would like you to specify second, third and fourth things that struck you while reading the novel.

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  9. I forgot to write my name and entry number
    VISHAL VERMA
    2009CS10224

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  10. @vishal...I don't think anyone in the Ayemenem house is a Hindu. They were all 'upper class' Syrian Christians.

    But lets leave aside the facts for now. Your point about "small stories being intervowen in the novel" (and their significance) is well taken. Ammu had to 'pay the price' for marrying outside her parents' wishes. Yes, Baby Kochamma does seem to have double standards. Even Mammachi. Her notion of "Men's needs". What about a woman's Needs?

    P.S. you mean the fourth, second and third things?...:D
    it was just to make the reading more interesting...

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  11. Oh, I'm sorry. Actually, I got confused as I believed that so pronounced caste-system is prevalent only in Hinduism. I am so used to caste-system in Hinduism that I forgot that they were so other religion.

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