At the time of its publication in 1997, The God of Small Things was said to be India's #1 bestselling novel by a nonexpatriate writer. The novel is a lyrical and non-linear examination of a family tragedy, spanning across decades and continents, while always returning to one fateful moment in 1969 in the town of Ayemenem, Kerala.
In keeping with Arundhati Roy's background of social and political activism, the novel is set against the backdrop of the complex social climate of the coastal state of Kerala. Throughout the story, India's caste system defines interactions between characters. While the family at the center of the story is Christian, and therefore technically...
