( HEMA )

DESCRIPTION ABOUT AUTHOR AND SUMARRY OF

THE BOOK
ABOUT THE AUTHOR-
Suzanna Arundhati Roy, an Indian author best known for her debut
novel “The God of Small Things”, which won the Man Booker Prize
for Fiction in 1997 and became the best-selling book by a non-
expatriate Indian author. She was also awarded with Sydney Peace
Prize in the year 2004. She is a human rights activist. Her writing,
precise and powerful, highlights her commitment to social , economic
and environmental justice.
SUMMARY-
'A simple story set against the backdrop of social discrimination,
communism and the caste system'

The story unfolds the lives of people in Kerala who are the captives of
Communism, the caste system, and the Keralite Syrian Christian way
of life. It embarks on the journey of the dizyotic twins Rahel and
Esthappen (Estha), the children of Ammu Ipe.

The book opens with Rahel returning from Calcutta and he reaches
Ayemenem during the brooding month of summer. Ammu Ipe who
had become desperate to marry after she got rejected during marriage
proposals due to her dowry, moves to Kolkata to her aunt where she
marries a man who worked in a tea estate. The man soon turned out to
be an alcoholic and who used to beat her. After Rahel and Estha were
born, she moved back to her house in Ayemenem and lived with her
mother and brother Chacko.

Sophie Mol is Chacko and Margaret's daughter. Sophie Mol is dead.

When Ammu Ipe came to knew about Rahel and Velutha's (who
worked at their house and belonged to the untouchable class)
relationship, she sacked Velutha from work and she locked herself in
her room. Rahel and Velutha tried to flee together by rowing across
the river to an abandoned house and were helped by Sophie Mol.
When they were rowing across the river, an accident takes Sophie
Mol's life. Pappachi is Rahel and Estha's grandfather. Navomi Ipe
Kochamma nicknamed "Baby Kochamma" was Pappachi's sister.
Baby Kochamma blamed Velutha for Sophie Mol's death and
complained to the police. The police who beat ruthlessly beat Velutha
for crossing caste line. This had a deep effect on the twins who
became silent after this savage act.

The twins reveal the truth of Sophie's death to the police chief; the
police chief knew that since Velutha was a communist his wrongful
arrest and beating would antagonise the local communists.

Baby Kochamma fearing arrest convinces Chacko into believing that

the twins are responsible for his daughter's (Sophie Mol) death.
Chacko asks Ammu to leave the house. On account of poverty Ammu
was forced to send Estha to live with his father.

Rahel returns from the US, where he had left after an abusive
childhood, got married and divorced, finally returns back to
Ayemenem. Rahel, who was 31-year old when he returned back, met
Estha again for the first time since childhood. The twins realised that
no one understood them better than themselves.