120,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

Enjoy overnight delivery from our 100% NZ-owned independent bookstore 🚀

The God of Small Things

A Novel
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
In The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, the narrative intertwines the lives of fraternal twins Rahel and Estha as they navigate childhood and the complexities of family dynamics in Kerala, India. Set against the backdrop of a changing society, the story explores themes of love, loss, and the lingering impacts of personal and societal restrictions. Roy's lyrical prose captures the small, seemingly insignificant details that profoundly shape the characters' lives.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$5600

International Supplier

This title is in-stock with overseas suppliers. While it is not available locally, we fly books in weekly from the US and UK to our Auckland warehouse for immediate dispatch.

AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 2-3 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

You might enjoy this book if you're drawn to lyrical prose and stories that explore complex family dynamics against a vividly depicted Indian backdrop. The narrative beautifully intertwines personal experiences with broader social issues, providing a poignant and moving exploration of love, loss, and societal expectations.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

"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.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

BOOKER PRIZE WINNER • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • An affluent Indian family is forever changed by one fateful day in 1969, from the author of The Ministry of Utmost Happiness and Mother Mary Comes to Me

The God of Small Things offers such magic, mystery, and sadness that, literally, this reader turned the last page and decided to reread it. Immediately. It’s that haunting.” —USA Today

Compared favourably to the works of Faulkner and Dickens, Arundhati Roy’s modern classic is equal parts powerful family saga, forbidden love story, and piercing political drama. The seven-year-old twins Estha and Rahel see their world shaken irrevocably by the arrival of their beautiful young cousin, Sophie. It is an event that will lead to an illicit liaison and tragedies both accidental and intentional, exposing “big things [that] lurk unsaid” in a country drifting dangerously toward unrest.

Lush, lyrical, and unnerving, The God of Small Things is an award-winning landmark that started for its author an esteemed career of fiction and political commentary that continues unabated.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy has been widely acclaimed for its vivid storytelling and rich, poetic language. Reviewers praise its intricate narrative structure and deep exploration of themes such as family, love, and social division in India. Many commend Roy's ability to weave a deeply emotional tale that resonates with readers while also providing a critical commentary on the socio-political landscape. Some have noted the complexity of its non-linear timeline as both challenging and rewarding. Overall, it is celebrated as a poignant and powerful debut novel.

Book Hero reading reviews

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780812979657

Publisher: Random House USA Inc

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 16 December 2008

Country: United States

Imprint: Random House Inc

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 17.0mm

Width: 132.0mm

Height: 203.0mm

Weight: 249g

Pages: 352

About the Author

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

Also by Arundhati Roy

View all
  • The God of Small Things
    The Asian literary phenomenon of the 90s. More magical than Mistry, more of a rollicking good read than Rushdie, more nerve-tinglingly imagined than Naipaul, here, perhaps, is the greatest Indian novel by a woman. Arundhati Roy has written an astonishingly rich, fertile novel, teeming with life, colour, heart-stopping language, wry comedy and a hint of magical realism. Set against a...
    Paperback
    $2300
    Elsewhere:
    $2500
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • AZADI
    With fascism on the march once more, this is an urgent dispatch from one of the great writers and intellectuals of our time. Azadi—Urdu for 'freedom'—is the iconic chant of the Kashmiri freedom struggle. And now, while Kashmir's streets have been silenced, the irony is that this same anthem echoes round the streets of the country that most Kashmiris view...
    Paperback
    $1799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
    The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy is a radiant and compelling novel that elegantly weaves together profound narratives set across the vast and diverse landscapes of India. This luminous follow-up to her Booker Prize-winning novel The God of Small Things takes readers on an extraordinary journey, exploring themes of love, hope, and resilience through a rich tapestry of...
    Paperback
    $2300
    Elsewhere:
    $2600
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Mother Mary Comes To Me
    The incredible first memoir from the Booker-winning radical icon Arundhati Roy, author of The God of Small Things. Arundhati Roy's first work of memoir, this is a soaring account, both intimate and inspiring, of how the author became the person and the writer she is, shaped by circumstance, but above all by her relationship to her extraordinary, singular mother Mary,...
    Paperback
    $3200
    Elsewhere:
    $4000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Architecture of Modern Empire
    From the bestselling author of Azadi and My Seditious Heart, a piercing exploration of modern empire, nationalism, and rising fascism that gives us the tools to resist and fight back. Over a lifetime spent at the frontline of solidarity and resistance, Arundhati Roy's words have lit a clear way through the darkness that surrounds us. Combining the skills of the...
    Paperback
    $3000
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Mother Mary Comes To Me
    The incredible first memoir from the Booker-winning radical icon Arundhati Roy, author of The God of Small Things. 'Heart-smashed' by the death of the mother she ran from at age eighteen and shaken by the intensity of her response, Arundhati Roy began this remarkable memoir—a soaring account, both intimate and inspiring, of how the author became the person and the...
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Kashmir
    Kashmir is one of the most protracted and bloody occupations in the world—and one of the most ignored. Under an Indian military rule that, at half a million strong, exceeds the total number of US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, freedom of speech is non-existent, and human rights abuses and atrocities are routinely visited on its Muslim-majority population. In the...
    Paperback
    $5600
    Available
    Ships in 2-3 weeks
  • My Seditious Heart
    Collected essays and speeches from the bestselling, Booker-winning author of The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. My Seditious Heart collects the work of a two-decade period when Arundhati Roy devoted herself to the political essay as a way of opening up space for justice, rights, and freedoms in an increasingly hostile environment. Taken together, the essays speak in a uniquely spirited...
    Hardback
    Sold Out
  • The God of Small Things
    Introducing the Collins Modern Classics, a series featuring some of the most significant books of recent times, books that shed light on the human experience – classics which will endure for generations to come. He folded his fear into a perfect rose. He held it out in the palm of his hand. She took it from him and put it...
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • Tales of Two Planets
    Tales of Two Planets, expertly curated by the beloved writer and editor John Freeman, builds upon his acclaimed anthology Tales of Two Americas. In this new collection, Freeman gathers some of the most remarkable writers from around the globe to illuminate how the environmental crisis impacts the world's most vulnerable communities. Over the last five years, John Freeman, the former...
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • Things That Can and Cannot Be Said
    Acclaimed actor John Cusack and Booker Prize-winning activist Arundhati Roy meet heroic whistle-blower Edward Snowden and report back. What sort of love is this love that we have for countries? What sort of country is it that will ever live up to our dreams? What sort of dreams were these that have been broken? An account of an unforgettable meeting...
    Paperback
    Sold Out

More from General Fiction

View all
  • The Wedding People
    'BEST READ OF THE YEAR SO FAR' THE TIMES 'BOOKS AS FUN AS THIS ONE ARE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN' GUARDIAN Phoebe Stone arrives at a grand beachside hotel in Rhode Island wearing her best dress and least comfortable shoes. Immediately she is mistaken for one of the wedding people — but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall...
    Paperback
    $2399
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Yesteryear
    A BOLD AND BITING SATIRE. WILL HAVE YOU GASPING TO THE FINAL PAGE — Nita Prose WICKEDLY FUNNY, BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN AND FRIGHTENINGLY PERCEPTIVE — Abigail Dean INVENTIVE, ADDICTIVE, A WILD RIDE — Ashley Audrain SHOT THROUGH WITH HUMOUR AND LACED WITH DARKNESS — Clare Mackintosh The Stepford Wives meets The Handmaid's Tale — Hannah Deitch My name was Natalie Heller...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3699
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Theo of Golden
    THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON'For anything to be truly good, there must be love in it. Nothing is what it's supposed to be if love is not at the core.' One morning, a stranger arrives in the town of Golden. No one knows who he is or where he came from…His name is Theo and he's arrived there by chance –...
    Paperback
    $2899
    Elsewhere:
    $3499
    (6)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Dungeon Crawler Carl
    The apocalypse will be televised! Welcome to the first book in the wildly popular and addictive Dungeon Crawler Carl series by Matt Dinniman-now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition! You know what's worse than breaking up with your girlfriend? Being stuck with her prize-winning show cat. And you know what's worse than that? An alien invasion, the destruction...
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3800
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Fourth Wing
    THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES AND NUMBER ONE GLOBAL BESTSELLING PHENOMENON! DON'T MISS OUT ON THE SERIES THAT EVERYONE CAN'T STOP TALKING ABOUT: 'This book contains an addictive, drug-like essence that will make you relinquish all responsibility until the very last word. Do not say I didn't warn you' Glamour 'I didn't sleep, I didn't eat, and when I finished, I...
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook
    Carl and Princess Donut have to team up with other contestants to not just survive, but to solve a deadly puzzle in this third, mind-twisting novel in the addictive Dungeon Crawler Carl series -now with bonus material exclusive to this print edition! Carl and Donut have survived so far, but this fourth level is unlike anything they could imagine. The...
    Hardback
    $4700
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • New Release
    Taipei Story
    TAIPEI STORY is the electrifying new novel by bestselling literary phenomenon Rebecca F. Kuang, a profoundly moving coming-of-age story that explores first love, second language and final goodbyes – all set against the backdrop of one unforgettable summer in Taipei. Yale student Lily Chen arrives in Taipei hungry: for family, for culture, for connection. But her summer of discovery quickly...
    Paperback
    $2999
    Elsewhere:
    $3699
    (3)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • The Gate of the Feral Gods
    The fourth book in the explosive LitRPG Dungeon Crawler Carl series New Achievement! Total, Utter Failure.You failed a quest less than five minutes after you received it. Now that's talent. Surviving in a multilevel dungeon that also happens to be the set of the galaxy's most watched game show has taught Coast Guard vet Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat, Princess...
    Hardback
    $6000
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Iron Flame
    The instant number one Sunday Times bestseller and thrilling sequel to the global phenomenon, Fourth Wing! DON'T BE THE LAST TO DISCOVER THE SERIES THAT EVERYONE CAN'T STOP TALKING ABOUT: 'Yarros is the true inheritor of Harry Potter and inspires Hunger Games levels of devotion' Guardian 'Fear not, levels of fighting, rebelliousness and all-round sexiness are still sky-high' Daily Mail...
    Paperback
    $2200
    Elsewhere:
    $3999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Haunting Adeline
    VIRAL BOOKTOK SENSATION AND USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR! The Manipulator I can manipulate the emotions of anyone who lets me. I will make you hurt, make you cry, make you laugh and sigh. But my words don't affect him. Especially not when I plead for him to leave. He's always there, watching and waiting. And I can never look away....
    Paperback
    $3199
    Elsewhere:
    $3799
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • Carl's Doomsday Scenario
    Join Carl and his ex-girlfriend's cat Princess Donut as they fight fantastical creatures and deadly mobs in the second book in the smash-hit Dungeon Crawler Carl series -now with bonus material exclusive to the print edition Now on the third floor, Carl and Donut have to fight harder than ever. They've already proven that a Coast Guard vet and once-and-forever...
    Hardback
    $4699
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow
  • A Court of Thorns and Roses
    The first instalment of the GLOBAL PHENOMENON and TikTok sensation, from multi-million selling and #1 Sunday Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas. Maas has established herself as a fantasy fiction titan – Time Harry Potter magic, Taylor Swift sass, Fifty Shades-level athleticism – The Sunday Times With bits of Buffy, Game of Thrones and Outlander, this is a glorious series...
    Paperback
    $2100
    Elsewhere:
    $2299
    (2)
    In Stock
    Ships tomorrow

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.

General Fiction lists from the team

Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!