The plot of the novel, taking place in Ayemenem (in real life Aymanam), India, is set up very quickly, in the first few pages. It's 1969 and  almost 9-year-old Sophie Mol, cousin of 7-year-old fraternal twins Estha (male) and Rahel (female), has drowned. At her funeral, Estha, Rahel, and their mother Ammu, are shunned. At the police station after the funeral where Ammu has gone with her twins, Ammu is treated contemptuously by Inspector Thomas Mathew who calls her a "veshya" (prostitute). What has happened? Has foul play or something else resulted in the death of Sophie?

I bought the book because I was interested in its religious aspects. The book features Keralite Syrian Christians, Catholics and Hindus. The twins maternal great aunt, Baby Kochamann, converted to Catholicism at an early age and became a nun. She did this to get close to Father Mulligan, an Irish priest she is in love with. But this unrequited love sets her on long path of bitterness and scheming.

There are heavy themes throughout the book, sexual abuse being one of them. Estha (male) was molested at a theatre by a man who worked there. Estha doesn't speak. It is a very sad story, starting with the death of a small child followed by a 23-year separation of twins Estha and Rahel.

The book features a number of words in the Malayalam spoken in Kerala, India. Arundhati Roy writes in a lively, vivid style and has an artist's eye for color. Here are a couple of brief excerpts:

"May in Ayemenem is a hot, brooding month. The days are long and humid. The river shrinks and black crows gorge on bright mangoes in still, dustgreen trees. Red bananas ripen. Jackfruits burst. Dissolute bluebottles hum vacuously in the fruity air. ... Pepper vines snake up electric poles. ... In the undergrowth a rat snake rubbed itself against a glistening stone. Hopeful yellow bullfrogs cruised the scummy pond for mates."(pp. 3,4) ...

"They never did look much like each other, Estha and Rahel, and even when they were thin-armed children, flat-chested, wormridden and Elvis Presley-puffed, there was none of the usual 'Who is who?' and 'Which is which?'" (p. 4)
The plot of the novel, taking place in Ayemenem (in real life Aymanam), India, is set up very quickly, in the first few pages. It's 1969 and  almost 9-year-old Sophie Mol, cousin of 7-year-old fraternal twins Estha (male) and Rahel (female), has drowned. At her funeral, Estha, Rahel, and their mother Ammu, are shunned. At the police station after the funeral where Ammu has gone with her twins, Ammu is treated contemptuously by Inspector Thomas Mathew who calls her a "veshya" (prostitute). What has happened? Has foul play or something else resulted in the death of Sophie? I bought the book because I was interested in its religious aspects. The book features Keralite Syrian Christians, Catholics and Hindus. The twins maternal great aunt, Baby Kochamann, converted to Catholicism at an early age and became a nun. She did this to get close to Father Mulligan, an Irish priest she is in love with. But this unrequited love sets her on long path of bitterness and scheming. There are heavy themes throughout the book, sexual abuse being one of them. Estha (male) was molested at a theatre by a man who worked there. Estha doesn't speak. It is a very sad story, starting with the death of a small child followed by a 23-year separation of twins Estha and Rahel. The book features a number of words in the Malayalam spoken in Kerala, India. Arundhati Roy writes in a lively, vivid style and has an artist's eye for color. Here are a couple of brief excerpts:

"May in Ayemenem is a hot, brooding month. The days are long and humid. The river shrinks and black crows gorge on bright mangoes in still, dustgreen trees. Red bananas ripen. Jackfruits burst. Dissolute bluebottles hum vacuously in the fruity air. ... Pepper vines snake up electric poles. ... In the undergrowth a rat snake rubbed itself against a glistening stone. Hopeful yellow bullfrogs cruised the scummy pond for mates. "(pp. 3,4)... "They never did look much like each other, Estha and Rahel, and even when they were thin-armed children, flat-chested, wormridden and Elvis Presley-puffed, there was none of the usual 'Who is who? ' and 'Which is which? '" (p. 4)