Our February Book of the Month is Arundhati Roy's debut novel The God of Small Things - part political fable, part psychological drama and part fairy tale.

Described as a novel for the senses, it tells the richly textured story of twins Estha and Rahel, growing up in Kerala, Southern India, amongst the aromas of banana jam, pickles, spices and mountains of peppercorns. The novel considers the fate of those who cross societal and religious boundaries in pursuit of love, disregarding India’s so-called ‘love laws’.

The God of Small Things took four years to write and was published in 1996, going on to pick up the Booker Prize in 1997. Roy’s second novel, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, was published twenty years later in 2017, with her work as a political activist and non-fiction writer allowing little time for fiction in the intervening years.

"They all broke the rules. They all crossed into forbidden territory. They all tampered with the laws that lay down who should be loved, and how. And how much."
Arundhati Roy, The God of Small Things

We invite you to read or re-read this book and share your thoughts with us below or online using #OCOBclub

Better yet, why not attend one of our monthly book club sessions. Book your place here.