of Indian author Arundhati Roy
. It is a story about the childhood experiences of fraternal twins whose lives are destroyed by the "Love Laws" that lay down "who should be loved, and how. And how much." The book is a description of how the small things in life affect people's behavior and their lives. The book won the Booker Prize in 1997.
The God of Small Things is Roy's first book, and , is her only novel.
"Ammu explained to Estha and Rahel that people always loved best what they Identified most with." (page 98)
"They all crossed into forbidden territory. They all tampered with the laws that lay down who should be loved, and how. And how much."
"Kochu Maria watched with her cake-crumbs.The Fond Smiles watched Fondly.Little Girls Playing.Sweet.One beach-coloured.One brown.One Loved.One Loved a Little Less." (page 186)
"Ammu had an elaborate Calcutta wedding. Later, looking back on the day, Ammu realized that the slightest feverish glitter in her bridegroom's eyes had not been love, or even excitement at the prospect of carnal bliss, but approximately eight large pegs of whiskey. Straight. Neat."
"Humbling was a nice word, Rahel thought. Humbling along without a care in the world"
"She wondered what had caused the bald pilgrims to vomit so uniformly, and whether they had vomited together in a single, well-orchestrated heave (to music perhaps, to the rhythm of a bus bhajan), or separately, one at a time."
"'Ammu,' Chacko said, his voice steady and deliberately casual, 'is it at all possible for you to prevent your washed-up cynicism from completely colouring everything?'Silence filled the car like a saturated sponge. Washed-up cut like a knife through a small thing. The sun shone with a shuddering sigh. This was the trouble with families. Like invidious doctors, they knew just where it hurt."