Just finished book No. 10 on my summer list: "The God of Small Things" by Adrunhati Roy.
It's one of those books where I get to the end and I'm like, "hmmm." Meaning I liked it and I didn't like it. Roy writes in a sort of magical realism style ... with out much magic. The story is about two unidentical twins, a boy and a girl, living in India and how one day changes their lives and the lives of those around them. Seems like a straight forward enough plot, right? No so much. From pretty much the start you know what the event that changed everything probably was, but she doesn't let you in on HOW it happened until about 235 pages into the 320 page book. Sometimes you don't know where Roy is leading you or how a certain event even matters in the grand scheme of things. But in the end, usually they make so semblance of sense. There's lots of little history and back story on the characters that shows how their past has shaped them, but then sometimes has little baring on the actual plot.
At some points in the book I had had enough of the weird description with some words in capitals for a reason I couldn't guess and some descriptions that words just strings of words. Ex: "Melted chocolates. Cigarette sweets. Orangedrinks. Lemondrinks. CocaColaFantaicecreamrosemilk..."
It got a little tedious after a while.
But sometimes the descriptions were enchanting and beautiful. Some parts made me smile to myself and other made me a little sad. But there was no extreme of emotions. I didn't laugh out loud, cry or get angry at any of the characters or events - though that could just be me. I liked the characters but didn't loved them, I also didn't really hate any of them. I more or less felt disconnected from the whole story while reading it, instead of getting lost inside it like I usually do with books.
Also, the time element was not confusing, but a little disruptive in switched from past events to present events and the book actually ended with a past event, beautifully written but leaving out a sense of closure for the book. Yet, though annoyed by the lack of closure I kind of liked the ending. And it did go into a part of the plot that had not yet been fully developed.
I guess I'd say read this. It won the Booker Prize and is a solid piece of literary work - but give yourself time to get used to the writing style, the book gets better as it goes on.
And, favorite quote from the book:
"If he touched her he couldn't talk to her, if he loved her he couldn't leave, if he spoke he couldn't listen, if he fought he couldn't win."
It's one of those books where I get to the end and I'm like, "hmmm." Meaning I liked it and I didn't like it. Roy writes in a sort of magical realism style ... with out much magic. The story is about two unidentical twins, a boy and a girl, living in India and how one day changes their lives and the lives of those around them. Seems like a straight forward enough plot, right? No so much. From pretty much the start you know what the event that changed everything probably was, but she doesn't let you in on HOW it happened until about 235 pages into the 320 page book. Sometimes you don't know where Roy is leading you or how a certain event even matters in the grand scheme of things. But in the end, usually they make so semblance of sense. There's lots of little history and back story on the characters that shows how their past has shaped them, but then sometimes has little baring on the actual plot.At some points in the book I had had enough of the weird description with some words in capitals for a reason I couldn't guess and some descriptions that words just strings of words. Ex: "Melted chocolates. Cigarette sweets. Orangedrinks. Lemondrinks. CocaColaFantaicecreamrosemilk..."
It got a little tedious after a while.
But sometimes the descriptions were enchanting and beautiful. Some parts made me smile to myself and other made me a little sad. But there was no extreme of emotions. I didn't laugh out loud, cry or get angry at any of the characters or events - though that could just be me. I liked the characters but didn't loved them, I also didn't really hate any of them. I more or less felt disconnected from the whole story while reading it, instead of getting lost inside it like I usually do with books.
Also, the time element was not confusing, but a little disruptive in switched from past events to present events and the book actually ended with a past event, beautifully written but leaving out a sense of closure for the book. Yet, though annoyed by the lack of closure I kind of liked the ending. And it did go into a part of the plot that had not yet been fully developed.
I guess I'd say read this. It won the Booker Prize and is a solid piece of literary work - but give yourself time to get used to the writing style, the book gets better as it goes on.
And, favorite quote from the book:
"If he touched her he couldn't talk to her, if he loved her he couldn't leave, if he spoke he couldn't listen, if he fought he couldn't win."
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comment!