`They all crossed into forbidden territory. They all tampered with the laws that lay down who should be loved, and how. And how much.' 'Roy peels away the layers of her mysteries with such delicate cunning, such a dazzlingly adroit shuffle of accumulating revelations that to discuss the plot would be to violate it... Like a devotionally built temple, The God of Small Things builds a massive inter-locking structure of fine, intensely felt details. A novel of real ambition must invent its own language, and this one does.' John Updike, New Yorker. `It is rare to find a book that so effectively cuts through the clothes of nationality, caste and religion to reveal the bare bones of humanity. A sensational novel.' Claire Scobie, Daily Telegraph. `Her reality is magical. She has a heightened awareness of the natural world, of smells and sounds, of colour and light. And she tenders palpable this world, at once strange and familiar, in prose of sinuous beauty... A small wonder of style and compassion.' Jason Cowley, The Times. `Richly deserving the rapturous praise it bas received on both sides of the Atlantic... The God of Small Things achieves genuine tragic resonance. It is, indeed, a masterpiece.' Christina Patterson, Observer.