God of Small Things

The God of Small Things is another unique read, just like Wild Sheep Chase or Haroun. These books have all been very unconventional compared to what I have read for other classes, but WAY more interesting. I think Roy's style is very unique. She combines strange words to create a kind of sing song effect. I think she may have been making a political statement with her use of language. I also enjoy the format of the actual text. Passages are moved into the middle, and others italicized. Although the family tree was initally very confusing I like how the story circles around the trials and tribulations of one very dysfunctional family. The chronological order of the book reminds me of Wild Sheep Chase exactly. I also think of the movie Memento about a guy with amnesia that can only remember a day at a time, he attempts to solve a crime with no memory of what he figured out the day before. I think movies and books written with the confusing chronological order makes for a more interesting story. I also think the content of the book is very appealing. There are obvious sexual undertones throughout most of the beginning of the book. Not only the idea of incest between brother and sister but there seems to be much talk of dysfunctional relationships and forshadowing of other possbile sexual encounters(Velutha and Ammu)The tragic scene in which Estha is molested by the orangedrink, lemondrink man remains a difficult yet real scene. Roy makes the book feel very legitmate by including such a disturbing sequence of events. Molestation occurs so frequently right under the noses of unknowing family members. I feel as though that part was more difficult to read because of the fact that Estha's family was there and the situation was completely preventable. I enjoy the suggestion of a special mental bond between the twins. I think that over the years it has been proven that many twins do have a unique sense of each other that other siblings lack. This makes me think of the horrible twin experiments implicated during Hitler's regime in Nazi germany. Many Jewish twins were kept in the camps and forced to assist the Germans in their horrific experiements. Torturing one twin and watching the others reaction for example. I feel like there is definately a connection between twins,close or not. The book seems to almost become a bit of a detective novel. Not so much the characters themselves, but the mysteries behind the deaths of the mother, Sophie Mol and pappachi. I think there are also mysteries about other characters that Roy forshadows discretly throughout the beginning. The caste system is a very intricate dynamic of the story. The Indian socioeconomic system is very interesting. THe idea of reincarnation at a different social level and the idea of the "untouchables" is very intriguing. I think that Valutha is defiantely a better person than many of the other characters despite his low social standing. the system is almost like that of a class system in many prisons. Child molestors and rapists are often the lowest members of prison society whereas gang leaders make up the top of the social ladder. I think that caste systems can be applied all over even now a days, just not to the same extent. Many people do not consider the idea of a social caste anymore, but there is obivously unspoken caste systems all over. Overall I am excited about continuing this book and very interested to figure out all of the hidden meaning and mystery inside.