I have heard a lot about this author yet not read her most famous work, The God of Small Things which is now on my list.

This is Roy’s memoir where she bares the ups and downs of her life with her fiercely determined   single mother Mrs Roy. Roy has always called her mother that since Mary Roy set up a Christian school in India changing the lives of many.  Her mother, an asthmatic was a woman who got things done where no barrier was too high for her to ruthlessly knock down. Her daughter and son where casualties and the cruelty imposed on them gave them powers into adulthood when Arundhati became an activist for social justice in India. No threat equaled that of her mother.

This is a fascinating memoir not just from Roy’s point of view about her family and upbringing but also gives insight into her writing, her relationships, poverty and her entry into activism. It was particularly insightful to learn about the political situation in India, the corruption, mass deaths and inequity as it was about how her novels came together.

The writing is beautiful evocative of the times she lived through. Her grief over her mother is confounding for her as is the love.

Roy like her mother has lived a full and fruitful life and I’d recommend this memoir.