Indian writer Arundhati Roy wrote her debut novel, The God of Small Things, in 1997. The novel won the 1997 Booker Prize and that is one of the most prestigious awards in the English literacy society. It is quite impressive how Roy was able to write such a compelling story when she was trained more as an architect rather than a writer. For a first attempt, Roy a great splash in the world of writing. Click the button to the right to read more about the life of Arundhati Roy. |
The novel takes place in Ayemenem, a village in the southwestern Indian state of Kerala, in 1969 and 1993. These two time periods are covered with the help of flashbacks and foreshadowing. Nevertheless, the society that our characters live in is still largely shaped by the caste system. These restrictions prove to have major effects on the story because the division of social classes in India dictated the status each person held. The novel also pays attention to class politics, particularly those based on Marxism and communism. Major themes and motifs of the story include society and class, family, love, and innocence.
During this time period, 1969, the ideals of Communism have been spreading across the eastern hemisphere. Many countries such as the United States had been fighting Communism for the past few decades in order to avoid another World War. Political divisions combined with social limitations can create many obstacles and issues for the characters in the story. |