Rachel - Roy, 3/28

The God of Small Things is definitely a diction-driven book.  Sometimes it can be hard to decipher what, exactly, is going on in the plot; I'm sure some readers will have different interpretations of what happens than others.  In that way, it's kind of like the Old Testament...or maybe even poetry.  It's fast reading pace is certainly reminiscent of poetry.

This diction is particularly clear on page sixty-three:

     "Within minutes, the road was swamped by thousands of marching people.  Automobile islands in a river of people.  The air was red with flags, which dipped and lifted as the marchers ducked under the level-crossing gate and swept across the railway tracks in a red wave.

     The sound of a thousand voices spread over the frozen traffic like a Noise Umbrella.

     'Inquilah Zindabad!

     Thozhilali Ekta Zindabad!'  "

Some things I immediately notice are: "automobile islands" (assonance), "Noise Umbrella," "dipped and lifted" (assonance again), "red" (repeated, it's said twice), the visual you get from "swamped by thousands of marching people" and "red wave."  P.s. - PLEASE correct me if these literary devices are wrong...AP English has completely escaped me, and even with one of those fancy internet guides, I still feel awkward using fancy Greek words.  I don't want to walk around Lang sounding like a jackass.  You know.

Anyhow.

Roy is just incredible as a wordsmith.  I found it only took me two or three days to complete this book, since she's able to create such surreal images with her diction.  The literary devices themselves seem so simple, such as juxtaposing the words "noise" and "umbrella" and then capitalizing the first letter.  Easy, effective.  That's a trait I deeply admire in a writer.

Thumbs up for Roy.  :}