Special Offers see all

More at Powell's

Interviews | Q&As | Essays

Anthony Marra: The Powells.com Interview

Anthony Marra's debut novel is a marvel. A Constellation of Vital Phenomena describes, in astonishingly beautiful prose, five days in a rural... Continue »

$18.20 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
Anthony MarraAnthony Marra 9780770436407

$3.50

Used Trade Paper

Ships in 1 to 3 days

Qty	Store	Section
14	Local Warehouse	Literature- A to Z

More copies of this ISBN

This title in other editions

The God of Small Things

by Arundhati Roy

ISBN13: 9780060977498
ISBN10: 0060977493
Condition: Standard
All Product Details

Staff Pick

One of the best works of contemporary literature. This rare work of fiction by Roy is a gem. Her intensity and intellect are felt in both her nonfiction and in her fiction.
Recommended by Adrienne, Powells.com

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

The story of the tragic decline of an Indian family whose members suffer the terrible consequences of forbidden love, The God of Small Things is set in the state of Kerala, on the southernmost tip of India. Armed only with the invincible innocence of children, the twins Rahel and Esthappen fashion a childhood for themselves in the shade of the wreck that is their family — their lonely, lovely mother, Ammu (who loves by night the man her children love by day), their blind grandmother, Mammachi (who plays Handel on her violin), their beloved uncle Chacko (Rhodes scholar, pickle baron, radical Marxist, bottom-pincher), their enemy, Baby Kochamma (ex-nun and incumbent grandaunt), and the ghost of an imperial entomologist's moth (with unusually dense dorsal tufts).

When their English cousin and her mother arrive on a Christmas visit, the twins learn that Things Can Change in a Day. That lives can twist into new, ugly shapes, even cease forever. The brilliantly plotted story uncoils with an agonizing sense of foreboding and inevitability. Yet nothing prepares you for what lies at the heart of it.

Synopsis:

"A banquet for all the senses", said "Newsweek" of this bestselling and Booker Prize-winning literary novel--a richly textured first book about the tragic decline of one family whose members suffer the terrible consequences of forbidden love.

About the Author

Arundhati Roy was trained as an architect. She has worked as a production designer and has written the screenplays for two films. She lives in New Delhi. This is her first book.

What Our Readers Are Saying

Add a comment for a chance to win!

Average customer rating based on 7 comments:

: Danya, January 1, 2013 (view all comments by Danya)
This is a beautiful story, written in a whimsical style that is never dull. Told through the eyes of two young siblings, it is filled with their imaginative spin on the serious events unfolding around them. The narration reads at times like a dream weaving through the events of the story, from the lighthearted joys of their childhood to the bittersweet challenges of life and family.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No

report this comment

: Engelfelt, January 26, 2010 (view all comments by Engelfelt)
The storytelling ability of Arundhati Roy in her first novel is more than astounding. The complex, heart-rending tale she weaves, seen through an Indian girl's eyes in Kerala Province, is laced with incredible, witty, imaginative, intriguing language. A life-changing novel, for sure.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(1 of 1 readers found this comment helpful)

report this comment

: jlpen77, January 15, 2010 (view all comments by jlpen77)
I read this nearly a decade ago and it's still haunting me. The fine line between hope and despair, our desperate need for connection and love,the world's indifference to the powerless, all are explored here in astonishing scenes and events that unfold against vivid, varied Indian landscapes. From the first astonishing scene to the last, you will ache for the characters, portrayed without a trace of sentimentality, undiminished by tragedies grand or banal. This is a classic.
Was this comment helpful? | Yes | No
(1 of 3 readers found this comment helpful)

report this comment

View all 7 comments

Product Details

ISBN:: 9780060977498
Author:: Roy, Arundhati
Publisher:: Harper Perennial
Author:: Roy, Arundati
Author:: by Arundhati Roy
Location:: New York :
Subject:: General
Subject:: Literary
Subject:: Fiction
Subject:: India
Subject:: Twins
Subject:: Family saga
Subject:: Social classes
Subject:: India Fiction.
Subject:: Domestic fiction
Subject:: Psychological fiction
Edition Number:: 1st ed.
Edition Description:: Harperperennial
Publication Date:: June 1998
Binding:: Paperback
Grade Level:: General/trade
Language:: English
Illustrations:: Yes
Pages:: 336
Dimensions:: 8.00x5.46x.78 in. .56 lbs.

Other books you might like

Midnight's Children Salman Rushdie

Used Mass Market $3.50
Their Eyes Were Watching God Zora Neale Hurston

Used Trade Paper $3.50
Snake Charmer Sanjay Nigam Used Trade Paper $2.50
Paradise Toni Morrison

Used Book Club Paperback $1.95
Widow for One Year John Irving

Used Trade Paper $1.48
Red Earth and Pouring Rain Vikram Chandra

Used Trade Paper $2.95

Related Subjects

Featured Titles » Man Booker Prize Winners
Fiction and Poetry » Literature » A to Z

Follow us on...

RSS 2.0
Log Off

Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.