Love Laws and the Hierarchy of Despair: The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy
“He didn’t know that in some places, like the country that Rahel came from, various kinds of despair competed for primacy. And that personal despair could never be desperate enough. That something happened when personal turmoil dropped by at the wayside shrine of the vast, violent, circling, driving, ridiculous, insane, unfeasible, public turmoil of a nation. That Big God howled like a hot wind, and demanded obeisance. Then Small God (cozy and contained, private and limited) came away cauterized, laughing numbly at his own temerity. Inured by the confirmation of his own inconsequence, he became resilient and truly indifferent…Because Worse Things had happened…So Small God laughed a hollow laugh, and skipped away cheerful. Like a rich boy in shorts. He whistled, kicked stones. The source of his brittle elation was the relative smallness of his misfortune. He climbed into people’s eyes and became an exasperating expression.”
~The God of Small Things, Page 19
Come join Nebu as he reflects on Roy’s novel, especially her real, raw, brutal, honest portrayal of life as it is. He would love to hear how the themes in this book set in rural Kerala relate to all life in the States. Nebu is a senior at Saint Louis University studying Public Health. His family hails from the state of Kerala, in India. The God of Small Things is one of his favorite books.
Join us
Sunday 28 September
Potluck dinner begins at 6:00
Nebu begins sharing at 6:45
At the home of Cristina and Patrick Cousins
3856 Utah Place
Saint Louis 63116
Nebu with his uncle in Kerala, December, 2014
