As reviews go abuzz about the new novel “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness” by Arundhati Roy, we take a look at the fairness of the reviews.
A few years after Arundhati Roy came out with “The God Of Small Things”, yours sincerely read it under peer pressure, and was at wonders about why the book was being showered so many accolades. By then the book had gained a radical reputation, which can be the bane for any reader. You are damned if you read it, and damned if you don’t. The vivid imagery and startling revelations seem to compel a liberal world view, and yet seemed to take an ambivalent stand on significant topics like the caste system.
It has been 20 years now. Since the fast few weeks, all news and media portals are abuzz with the reviews of her second book, “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness”. And this time, it is a bane to the author. Whatever the book reads like, the author is going to be assuaged with high-flying expectations and the book is going to be buried under mundane acceptance. In the intervening two decades Roy has created a controversial profile for herself, speaking about ecological degradation, rightist nationalism, Kashmiri independence and also being charged with sedition.
It is got to a point where it is difficult to separate the book from the author. But any work needs to be viewed as distinct from the artist, once it is out and presented to the audience. This is more so for “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness”. The book uses all the props of the first novel, but this is done in a more stylistic way, as the plot and characters are submitted to the political theme of the novel. The reader is swayed to the tunes of the strong opinions of the writer. Merely for this persuasion, “The Ministry of Utmost Happiness” deserves a fair chance, removed from the reputation of the author.
Similar expectations were made on Harper Lee when she came out with her second novel “Go Set A Watchman” in 2016, though it seemed to underachieve the heights reached by her first novel “To Kill A Mockingbird” in 1960.
The art and effort that go into writing a book deserve that the readers respond to the book only, as a separate entity. The author needs to be reviewed only for the art of writing. This seems only fair given that the writer has chosen the medium to channel all her opinions and thoughts through the book.
What’s your take on this? Should books be reviewed on the basis of the author’s life and political views? Tell us in comments below.
