book nook
my reading diary. passages that caught me, thoughts that followed.
The God of Small Things
"What Esthappen and Rahel witnessed that morning, though they didn't know it then, was a clinical demonstration in controlled conditions (this was not war after all, or genocide) of human nature's pursuit of ascendancy. Structure. Order. Complete monopoly. It was human history, masquerading as God's Purpose, revealing herself to an under-age audience.
There was nothing accidental about what happened that morning. Nothing incidental. It was no stray mugging or personal settling of scores. This was an era imprinting itself on those who lived in it.
History in live performance."
There was nothing accidental about what happened that morning. Nothing incidental. It was no stray mugging or personal settling of scores. This was an era imprinting itself on those who lived in it.
History in live performance."
whewww what a layered and captivating read. was able to chew through this one in two weeks, which is rare for me! it took a bit for me to get used to the childlike/whimsical prose (backwards reading, capitalizing, lyrical at times) but once i got to the end, i realized there was no other way this story could have been written. it's the prose that makes each catasrophic event in the twins' lives (estha and rahel) that much more painful to read through. by revealing the caste-based discrimination that is ingrained in the twins' lives and the Big Tragic Event at the very beginning of this book to the beloved sophie mol, arundhati roy is able to draw your attention to the Little Things that are direct results of "Big History" - ugly, violent, and grief filled moments of a family that are all trying to live under the horrifying "Love Laws".
i've never read a more heartbreaking relationship between a mother and her children. i felt the moth on rahel's heart when ammu said those horrid things, i understood the repitition that overtook estha's thoughts. i also felt helplessness for ammu in those last few chapters. the ending between the twins definitely threw me off for a while, but i realize how intentional this ending is. roy beautifully sets you up to feel righteous about the caste system, and right when you think you know how things ought to progress, she yanks the rug out. because if you can't accept estha and rahel in that moment, aren't you enforcing your own version of the "Love Laws"? it's the most uncomfortable reflection a novel has ever asked me to sit with.
will be thinking abt this one for a while. such gorgeous words to describe such hideous grief.
i've never read a more heartbreaking relationship between a mother and her children. i felt the moth on rahel's heart when ammu said those horrid things, i understood the repitition that overtook estha's thoughts. i also felt helplessness for ammu in those last few chapters. the ending between the twins definitely threw me off for a while, but i realize how intentional this ending is. roy beautifully sets you up to feel righteous about the caste system, and right when you think you know how things ought to progress, she yanks the rug out. because if you can't accept estha and rahel in that moment, aren't you enforcing your own version of the "Love Laws"? it's the most uncomfortable reflection a novel has ever asked me to sit with.
will be thinking abt this one for a while. such gorgeous words to describe such hideous grief.
Written on The Body
i really wanted to like this but all i could think reading this was "why would you do this to yourself" ˙◠˙ beautifully written, content was not my cuppa tea unfortunately- i should probably read more books about healthy relationship dynamics yikes
Beloved
"She is a friend of my mind. She gather me, man. The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order."
1/2 way through... i'll get back to her
Pachinko
"You want to see a very bad man? Make an ordinary man successful beyond his imagination. Let’s see how good he is when he can do whatever he wants."
“All her life, Sunja had heard this sentiment from other women, that they must suffer—suffer as a girl, suffer as a wife, suffer as a mother—die suffering. Go-saeng—the word made her sick.”
“All her life, Sunja had heard this sentiment from other women, that they must suffer—suffer as a girl, suffer as a wife, suffer as a mother—die suffering. Go-saeng—the word made her sick.”
i picked this up because i remember enjoying the series a few years ago, and wow i'm so glad i did. what a heartbreaking story. i think MJL combined the history of the land and the familial sacrifices/tragedies so well, i came to the end of this book and felt like i really cared about this family
When Memory Dies
"There's an emptiness, too, where once the mountains of my country, the rivers and streams, the trees and birds, have been. And often, it is that emptiness that connects you to me. But what sort of a thing is that - that I should be connected to you only through my emptiness?"
"...we may recover from betraying the trust others have placed in us, but the wounds of self-betrayal bleed us to death."
"...we may recover from betraying the trust others have placed in us, but the wounds of self-betrayal bleed us to death."
dad never talks about what happened in sri lanka during his life there, and this book showed me why. each chapter in this story helps trace the country's journey from colonial dependency to fratricidal war, showing how each generation forgets more of its moral past. in the book, sahadevan remebers solidarity, rajan remembers love, and vijay remembers humanity. when all those memories die, only violence remains. this gave me a lot of context to so many discussions i overheard growing up and it is so appreciated- keeping this one in my library!