Rahel

The God of Small Things is told from Rahel’s point of view. She is Estha’s twin sister. The action of the novel revolves around the present time when she is 31 years old. It also is set in 1969, when she and Estha are seven. Until that time, Rahel thinks of herself and her twin as one person, sharing the same memories and experiences. Much of the time, they communicate without speaking. As children, she and her brother are precocious in their reading, and like to play by reading things backwards. She is concerned about losing her mother’s love, and when Ammu dies at age 31, she is left alone to fend for herself. She leaves home as soon as she can and becomes an architect, though it is not a career she’s passionate about. She marries an American named Larry McCaslin and moves to the United...