Top 100 books challenge: 85. The God of Small Things

I really enjoyed this book, and read it in a few days. It was nice to find a book I couldn’t put down after I was disappointed by Captain Corelli’s Mandolin.

The story is set in India and follows twins Rahel and Estha. We see their experiences, and the book interchanges from when they are seven and never apart, to when they are 31, and reunited. They were separated after an incident that happened to them, and don’t see each other again until they are adults.

I really enjoyed reading about the twins lives, and seeing the differences from childhood to adulthood. At first I thought that the interchanging chapters flitting from them at seven to them at 31 would be distract from the story, and be hard to follow. It wasn't at all, and in fact actually enhanced the story.

The main theme of the book is love, and the Love Laws, which say who should be loved and how much. It focuses on the small things that affect people’s behaviour and lives.

We see this with the difference in the twins between the two ages. Estha is particularly affected by events that happened at the age of seven, when the twins cousin Sophie Moll dies. What happens after this tragic incident ultimately results in the death of an innocent man, and the twins being split up. It shows how one night can change the rest of your life. The twins are marked by the events in their past - with Estha silent and Rahel with a haunted look in her eyes. Neither have been able to keep a relationship, and find that there is no one who can understand them.

It was also interesting to get a glimpse of life in India in the 1960’s, where social discrimination and class relations are high.

I found that I couldn’t put this book down, as I was so keen to hear what happens to the twins. Some parts were hard to read, for example the twins mother being beaten by her father and husband, and an incident when Estha was sexually assaulted. But these were key elements to the story, and it wouldn’t have stood up with out them. They contributed to the fall of the twins, and explained their behaviour as adults.

Rating 9/10

Top 100 books challenge: 19. Captain Corelli’s Mandolin

It seems like it has taken me ages to read this book. The fact is it has, and that is due to the fact that I didn’t enjoy it much, and was not motivated to read it.

I really struggled to get into the story, as it was really slow. It wasn't until I was gone halfway through that I started to become more interested. This was a shame as I had heard good things about it, and fully expected to love it. But it wasn't to be.

I did enjoy the story of  Pelagia, and finding out about her life with her doctor father Iannis. In particular I liked reading about the relationship between Pelagia and Antonio Corelli, an Italian captain with a love for music and life. It was interesting seeing her initial hate and distrust of him turn to love, and when they were separated I felt her pain. This relationship for me summed up the feelings of women during the war, the fear of your loved one going off to fight and never returning. It also had a kind of Romeo and Juliet feel to it, as he is an Italian soldier positioned on the Greek Island during the war, and she a Greek woman forced to accommodate him in her house.

However the chapters focusing on Pelagia and Antonio were mixed in with chapters focusing on other characters, including soldiers fighting in various places. I found this distracting, and wanted to be back with Pelagia’s story.

The last quarter of the book was my favourite, because it stayed with Pelagia, telling us what happened to her and her family. We saw her grow older, adopt a child and open a bar. The ending was sweet, but I did feel resentment for the lost years of Pelagia and Antonio. I won’t spoil the story by revealing what happens though.

All in all I think the most amusing thing about this book was that I kept calling it Captain Corelli’s Manderin by mistake.

Rating 4/10