The God of Small Things: Plot Summary

Plot Overview

Set in Ayemenem, a small village in Kerala, India, “The God of Small Things” is written largely from the viewpoint of seven-year-old twins, Estha and Rahel.
The narration fluctuates back and forth between past (in 1969) and present (in 1993), unravelling events that shaped the lives of the twins and their dysfunctional family.
The family includes their single mother Ammu, their grandaunt Baby Kochamma, and their uncle Chacko. They belong to a Christian Syrian caste holding a high social status in Kerala.
The central tragedy of the novel is the death of their half-English cousin, Sophie Mol, which tears the family apart.

Sophie Mol’s arrival from England, along with her mother Margaret Kochamma, disrupts the family balance. She is treated with unparalleled respect, sparking feelings of resentment and jealousy in the twins.
Parallel to this, Ammu begins a forbidden affair with Velutha, a Paravan (Untouchable) which confronts the prevailing caste system.
Estha and Rahel’s attempt to run away with Sophie Mol ends in disaster, with Sophie Mol drowning in the river.
In a series of tragic misinterpretations, Velutha is wrongfully blamed for Sophie’s death and beaten by the police - an act leading to his death.
Estha is ‘Returned’ by his mother to his father in Calcutta, leading to a 23-year-separation from Rahel.

The narrative jumps to over two decades later when Rahel returns to Ayemenem, following her failed marriage in America.
She finds Estha, mute for years, and the family home decaying with time. Ammu and Sophie Mol are dead. Baby Kochamma and the maid Kochu Maria are the only ones still living there.
Estha and Rahel rekindle their strong bond; driven by shared loneliness and guilt, the novel ends on a controversial note of incest.