The God of Small Things (1997) is the debut novel of Indian author Arundhati Roy. It is a story about the childhood experiences of fraternal twins whose lives are destroyed by the "Love Laws" that lay down "who should be loved, and how. And how much." The book is a description of how the small things in life affect people's behavior and their lives. The book won the Booker Prize in 1997.
The God of Small Things is Roy's first book and, as of 2012, is her only novel. Completed in 1996, the book took four years to write. The potential of the story was first recognized by Pankaj Mishra, an editor with HarperCollins, who sent it to three British publishers. Roy received half-a-million pounds in advances, and rights to the book were sold in 21 countries.
While generally praised, the book did receive some criticism for its verbosity and controversial subject matter.
Read more about The God Of Small Things: Plot, Characters, Techniques
Famous quotes containing the words god and/or small:
“Religion! How it dominates man’s mind, how it humiliates and degrades his soul. God is everything, man is nothing, says religion. But out of that nothing God has created a kingdom so despotic, so tyrannical, so cruel, so terribly exacting that naught but gloom and tears and blood have ruled the world since gods began.”
—Emma Goldman (1869–1940)
“Great indebtedness does not lead to thankfulness, but rather to vengefulness; and when a small favor is not forgotten it turns into a gnawing worm.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)