That forbidden love triggers the shocking ending of the book. Both are also involved in a close but platonic relationship with a “dalit”, or untouchable, who befriends them and ultimately becomes the lover of their mother. Their close relationship with each other ultimately culminates in a not-so-wonderful act of incest near the end. The central story is the close relationship between the boy, Estha, and his sister Rahel, which borders on romantic love. The story, which jumps back and forth in time over about 25 years, touches on many aspects of Indian life, including the Communism of Kerala (India’s only Communist state), the caste system-still very much alive then, and the ambiguity of love. The plot involves a pair of fraternal twins (boy and girl) growing up in Kerala, India in the 1960s in an extended family of Christians. This is just a mini-review as I’m still processing the book. Published in 1997, it won the Booker the same year. The latest one was one was The God of Small Things written by Arundhati Roy. I’ve finished my second novel in my quest to read all the Booker Prize winners (I read eight before I started this odyssey).
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