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The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2017

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The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

By: Arundhati Roy
Narrated by: Arundhati Roy
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Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, written and read by Arundhati Roy.

FROM THE BOOKER PRIZE WINNING AUTHOR OF THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS

LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2018


LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2017

NOMINATED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR FICTION

LONGLISTED FOR THE CARNEGIE 2018

THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE and THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

'A sprawling kaleidoscopic fable' Guardian, Books of the Year

'Roy's second novel proves as remarkable as her first' Financial Times

'A great tempest of a novel... which will leave you awed by the heat of its anger and the depth of its compassion' Washington Post

'A dazzling return to form' Independent

'Intricately layered and passionate, a work of extraordinary intricacy and grace' Prospect

'A masterpiece. Roy joins Dickens, Naipaul, García Márquez, and Rushdie in her abiding compassion, storytelling magic, and piquant wit. An entrancing, imaginative, and wrenching epic' Booklist starred review


'At magic hour; when the sun has gone but the light has not, armies of flying foxes unhinge themselves from the Banyan trees in the old graveyard and drift across the city like smoke...'

So begins The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, Arundhati Roy's incredible follow-up to The God of Small Things. We meet Anjum, who used to be Aftab, who runs a guest-house in an Old Delhi graveyard and gathers around her the lost, the broken and the cast out. We meet Tilo, an architect, who although she is loved by three men, lives in a 'country of her own skin' . When Tilo claims an abandoned baby as her own, her destiny and that of Anjum become entangled as a tale that sweeps across the years and a teeming continent takes flight...

20th Century Contemporary Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Political Romance World Literature Heartfelt Happiness
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Critic reviews

She is back with a heavyweight state-of-the-nation story that has been ten years in the making
Roy's second novel proves as remarkable as her first
A great tempest of a novel... which will leave you awed by the heat of its anger and the depth of its compassion
A humane, engaged near-fairy tale that soon turns dark - full of characters and their meetings, accidental and orchestrated alike to find, yes, that utmost happiness of which the title speaks
An author worth waiting two decades for
Ambitious, original, and haunting. A novel [that] fuses tenderness and brutality, mythic resonance and the stuff of headlines . . .essential to Roy's vision of a bewilderingly beautiful, contradictory, and broken world
A masterpiece. Roy joins Dickens, Naipaul, García Márquez, and Rushdie in her abiding compassion, storytelling magic, and piquant wit. A tale of suffering, sacrifice and transcendence-an entrancing, imaginative, and wrenching epic (Donna Seaman)
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness confirms Roy's status as a writer of delicate human dramas that also touch on some of the largest questions of the day. It is the novel as intimate epic. Expect to see it on every prize shortlist this year
Heartfelt, poetic, intimate, laced with ironic humour...The intensity of Roy's writing - the sheer amount she cares about these people - compels you to concentrate...This is the novel one hoped Arundhati Roy would write about India
Teems with human drama, contains a vivid cast of characters and offers an evocative, searing portrait of modern India
All stars
Most relevant
Sadly gave up listening. I was so looking forward to Arundhati Roy's new book and was excited by the thought of the narration given by the author as I had heard her being interviewed.
The first hour or two was just lovely but as the story became more complex the quality of the narration faltered. Some long passages sounded monotone and small phrases were paused at the end of sentences then quickly added as if the voice was catching up with the readers eyes. It really detracted from the enjoyment of and concentration on the story. I suspect we are getting used to such fabulous and professional narration that when a slightly amateurish attempt is presented, it is just too noticeable. Happy to have another go with another narrator at a later time.

Couldn't finish 😢

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I can only think that Ms Roy used almost every fibre of her being to write this book. For anybody who has lived in a place where all is not as it seems on a fairly grand, enduring scale you'll appreciate the layers upon layers of this narrative. If those are not experiences familiar to you then the beauty of the images countered by others quite unexpected, some funny, many thought provoking, may hold your attention. I hope the person who gave the first review tries again. Ms Roy's reading may not be polished to perfection, but that is what gives this audiobook both charm and a sense of the story's immense wealth.

Buried in the undergrowth of a forgotten garden

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What a feat. Skilfully spun story that travels history, religion, spirituality, love and war. The beauty and the evil of humanity laid bare.

Beautiful sprawling story that spans India

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Where does The Ministry of Utmost Happiness rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

My favourite audiobook so far.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Ministry of Utmost Happiness?

I loved how the individual character's stories weaved amongst each other.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

Each section of the book held its own memorable moments but the imagery linked to the ever-changing cemetery was superb.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It's a big book and needed to be heard in small chunks, allowing time for each section to resonate.

Any additional comments?

I particularly enjoyed the author's beautiful rhythmic narration - don't let some of the other reviews put you off!

A beautiful novel

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This author masters language beautifully, ingeniously and with the utmost originality. I did feel that the characterisation could have been much more in depth. I did get some insight into the plight of the Kashmiris and the brutality they have suffered at the hands of the Indian Army and Government. This novel is like a summary history with summary yet consequential characters. An unusual blend of storytelling.

Witty yet shocking

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