#122 in Romance
The God of Small Things
- 357
- Pages
- about 7 h
- Reading time
- Booker Prize
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Our view
“The God of Small Things” has an intricate structure that some readers find overwhelming on a first attempt and rewarding on a later one. It follows twins in 1960s Kerala through a family’s tensions and griefs, then meets them again as adults, with caste and the legacy of British rule pressing on every relationship. It is a dark, thoughtful novel for readers willing to give it time.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The God of Small Things is the 1997 debut novel written by Indian author Arundhati Roy. The novel follows the seven-year-old twins Estha and Rahel, raised by a single mother, as they navigate their childhood, the tensions in their family and the circumstances surrounding the arrival of their British cousin to Ayemenem, India, with the twins later reuniting in their thirties. The novel's events are set against the backdrop of social discrimination and political upheaval in 1960s Kerala, with casteism and British colonialism in India being central themes.
Where the score comes from
The sources average 7.7 across 508 ratings — not yet many, so the reader vote carries 78% of the weight and the rest pulls toward the Romance average of 7.6. That is how 7.8 comes out. A further +0.10 comes from the small bonus for major awards.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 7.6 | 73 | 14% |
| Hardcover | 7.7 | 435 | 86% |
Frequently asked
How long is The God of Small Things?
It has 357 pages — shorter than 69% of the ranked books in Romance.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Romance — with scores between 7.7 and 7.9, closest to this book.
