Books - The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness takes place in India; though India doesn't serve so much as the background for a narrative story, as much as a non-corporal entity that imposes its will and structure and ideology on various (other) characters in the work.

In some ways, the book can be fascinating - providing glimpses into a culture that has profound similarities to the culture in the U.S., as well as significant differences. In particular, the story of Anjum, a woman who was formerly Aftab, a man, known as a Hijra, had me thinking of parallels in this country; and how changes in religious, political, and cultural ideology can have such profound impacts on individuals (and often those individuals without religious or political power).

However, as strong as Anjum is (or maybe because of it), I had trouble *caring* about the other characters and narratives in the book. In addition, the narrative of the book seems very much of secondary importance; and I always seem to struggle with books that don't have a strong narrative structure. So, perhaps its my sensibilities as a reader, but I found myself frustrated as I wanted to read more about Anjum and her story, but it wasn't there.

Another frustration (and absolutely my fault), is that while I know enough about India to know that the book has significant commentary about political and cultural changes in the country over the last 20-30 years; I don't know enough about Indian politics and culture to truly get the benefit or insight of this commentary and critique.

The lack of narrative, along with the lengthy explorations of background and personality of characters - including even minor characters - made the book difficult for me to maintain my sense of bearing. Several times, I found myself having to flip back several pages to recall specifically exactly what was happening plot-wise because a character deep-dive had gotten out of hand.

I wonder if I knew more about Indian politics and culture if my take on this book would have been different; I'm sure there are those readers out there that will enjoy this book much more than me and get much more out of it then me. But, for me, it was just okay.



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