Book Review: TMOUH by Arundhati Roy

Name of the book: The Ministry Of Utmost Happiness

Name of the author: Arundhati Roy
Length of the book: 437pages
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Arundhati Roy and ‘The God of Small Things’ are terms that always land up in the list of ‘Must Reads’ or Book Club discussions when it comes to Indian writers. The God of Small Things of 1997 was Roy’s first work of fiction that won her the Man Booker Prize. All the more, a reason that everyone had high hopes from The Ministry of Utmost Happiness- Roy’s second work of fiction after a period of 20 long and conflict filled years.

In between writing these stories, Roy has been vocal about several political topics including Anti-Globalization and the Kashmir separatist movement, to an extent where she has also been charged with sedition. So when you take up the larger narrative in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, one can easily draw parallels from real life.

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness builds around two characters connected by a thin line, Anjum – a transgender and Tilo – a riot victim. The book begins with ‘Where Do Old Birds Go To Die?’ which acts as an introduction to Anjum through allegorical descriptions, that leads us to Khwabgah which beautifully takes us through the dilemma of the life around a transgender. Meticulous detailing like the story behind Rooh Afza further add to the interest that progresses with the story. As the plot unfolds and you’re still guessing the next turn of events, a series of conflicts described though metaphor and allegory jump in.

Everything including Bhopal Gas tragedy, anti-sikh riots of 1984, the 2002 Gujarat Riots and Anna Hazare’s protest against corruption, all find a special mention in the story. One might even feel that the writer has an agenda that she’s trying to propagate as we reach half the book. Thanks to Anjum’s character, we digress from all the intellectual talk behind the politics and come closer to our character.

The sudden jumps in time also take a while to realize the changing setting of the society, especially with minor characters coming-in and exiting every now and then. The reader might find himself in a messed up plot in such cases, but the second protagonist – Tilo makes her way in by then, taking us closer to the struggle, leading us to a more emotional low.  

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness can get jumbled at times, but one finds his way out as the story progresses with an ensemble of characters. Personally, looking at the story from a larger angle; it also offers a perspective at the history of our society and the conflicts that have followed over the years. In this story, Roy takes us through an emotional journey asking a lot of questions that we might not have answers to. The Ministry of Utmost Happiness gets three and a half stars. Special thanks to Flipkart for sending over a copy of the book.