Should write shorter novels...
Written by Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things did look like a
promising book when I lifted it off the shelf. It was written back in
1997 and so far it is the only novel of the mentioned author. The main
theme implies how the small things change your life forever whereas
every life changing event which leads to a series of catastrophes is in
fact the opposite of small and unimportant.
The
setting is quite strong with detailed descriptions of not just the
spaces but of characters as well. So visioning the book and directing
your own movie in your head while reading it is quite the easy task.
What is not an easy task is reading through a story which feels stretched after a while.
In
general I am in great favor of a mystery, which is to be revealed later
on or at the end. Especially if it includes a O.Henry style twist. But
if the author reveals too much and lets the reader guess it through the
mid-book then it is completely ruined. And no amount of repetitive
staccato sentences lifted off from "Waiting for Godot" is going to save
it.
Despite
the wrong technique employed in the book, the story is interesting and
even informative when it comes to reading about a culture which is so
wholly unconnected to that of your own. The non-sequential narrative is a
must when there is a mystery to be revealed. Going back and forth in
the story is always refreshing and it is even something I adore since
I've read my first Jose Vasconcelos book.
Looking
at the book from every angle I can see its misused potential. Much like
the characters within it, the book refuses to transcend and instead
stretches itself to its limits, up to a point where you sit back and
say: "Just get to the point please.". The third person narration used in
the story resembles a chatty 90 year-old who has to talk about her
childhood for an hour beforehand in order to explain why the wine she
bought yesterday was tasty.
In
concluding this post I have to say that the book was not bad. It could
have been a masterpiece had it been shorter and if the writer had not
succumbed to some cliche techniques such as repetitions and staccato
sentences which really only work for short stories and plays. As it is
now however I can only call it mediocre.
