The God of Small Things

Un put down able.. And also, very well written, and very well structured.

Back in 97, when every other Indian novel to hit the stands was not winning the Booker prize, I didnt think it was surprising that this book won the prize. A book written the way this one was written, definitely deserved the prize.

Perhaps my enthusiasm for the book stemmed from the fact that I am one of those 'Caste Christians' and have seen Meenichilaaru almost every summer, while visiting my fathers house in Palai. I can very easily visualise a fat-basking in oil- lungi clad uncle asking about your die-vorce. And having watched enough Mallu movies, it is just as easy to imagine a Policeman who taps at someones breasts. However, having been brought up outside Kerala, I possibly missed the political context completely, and therefore did not find anything controversial in the book..(The fact of the matter is, I hardly know who EMS was... ) As for the alleged sexual content that the Mallu media was raising such a cry about.. I didnt find it to be any worse than an average Sidney Sheldon novel.

It was only later, when I started reading other winning novels set in other parts of our country, that I realised how difficult it is to comprehend the culture and subtleties of another state. I could not appreciate Kiran Desai's Inheritance of Loss. Nor did I like The White Tiger as much as I liked The God of Small Things. It is only then, that I realised how difficult a job "appreciation" is. And how difficult it must be for a booker prize committe to judge each book, coming in with the ethos and culture of authors from so many different countries. So far, I think they have done a wonderful job, picking out the right books..

Years after I finished reading The God of Small Things, I came upon another Booker prize winning novel called "The Bone People" by Kerewin Holmes. I was surprised by how similar the two books seemed in structure. Was it just a coincidence, or was Ms. Roy influenced by it? Now that I mention it, The Bone people is a great read too.

And for those of you who like Arundhati Roy, I would suggest that you try her essays. Her essays are at times even more impressive than the book.

Shantaram

If I had known prior to reading this book that it was written by a convicted criminal, I would possibly have given it a pass. Someone in my hostel passed on the book to me, and I read it, oblivious to the background of its author. But I digress... the author is not the topic of discussion here, the book is.

When I am not reading a crime novel, the foremost thing I look for in a book is structure. Second to that, I look for style of writing. Both aspects are adequately taken care of in Shantaram, and the pace of the story makes one read it up without putting it down too many times. Whether it was the setting of the story or the sinister background of the author that made it interesting - I dont know... the story starts with the narrator arriving in Bombay, after having escaped prison in Australia. It takes a while for the foreigner to get used to living in an Indian slum, but as time passes by, he starts to appreciate the people around him, as well as their enterprise despite the squalid conditions in which they live. The rest of the story is about how Shantaram thrives in Mumbai, getting involved with the underworld, falling in love, going to prison and ofcourse, smuggling.

A different perspective on our culture and people, and a good read, for a nice lazy weekend :)

Btw, it figures along with The God of Small Things and Midnight's Children as a fav. on a blog by someone who describes herself as a pop culture junkie... Check out http://www.madnessandbeauty.com/2009/06/40-things-i-wish-i-had-known-before-i.html