The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
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The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
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Narrated by:
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Arundhati Roy
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Written by:
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Arundhati Roy
About this listen
Penguin presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, written and read by Arundhati Roy.
An intimate author-read recording of the richly moving new novel - the first since the author's Booker-Prize winning, internationally celebrated debut, The God of Small Things, went on to become a beloved best seller and enduring classic.
Arundhati's voice transports us across a subcontinent on a journey of many years in The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. It takes us deep into the lives of its gloriously rendered characters, each of them in search of a place of safety - in search of meaning, and of love.
In a graveyard outside the walls of Old Delhi, a resident unrolls a threadbare Persian carpet. On a concrete sidewalk, a baby suddenly appears, just after midnight. In a snowy valley, a bereaved father writes a letter to his five-year-old daughter about the people who came to her funeral. In a second-floor apartment, a lone woman chain-smokes as she reads through her old notebooks. At the Jannat Guest House, two people who have known each other all their lives sleep with their arms wrapped around each other, as though they have just met.
A braided narrative of astonishing force and originality, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness is at once a love story and a provocation - a novel as inventive as it is emotionally engaging. It is told with a whisper, in a shout, through joyous tears and sometimes with a bitter laugh. Its heroes, both present and departed, have been broken by the world we live in - and then mended by love. For this reason, they will never surrender.
How to tell a shattered story?
By slowly becoming everybody.
No.
By slowly becoming everything.
Humane and sensuous, beautifully narrated by the author herself, this extraordinary audiobook demonstrates the miracle of Arundhati Roy's storytelling gifts.
©2017 Arundhati Roy (P)2017 Penguin AudioWhat listeners say about The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- mandeep
- 24-06-19
Story of Contemporary India
Narrated beautifully, this book talks about everything that is ugly & dark in India. The words are woven in an intricate thread and the writing is quite poetic - with phrases from Urdu, Kashmiri & Malayalam poetry. All characters have a strong history - they stay with you even after you have finished reading.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Sharmili Priyadarsini
- 22-06-19
Politically Relevant....
Excellent one, Politically succinct and relevant. The story covers the sensitive issues running around the group of people whose life is often misunderstood, misjudged and mostly undiscussed.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 05-09-22
Fantastic.
Arundhati Roy's narration is brilliant. The characters come alive. Didn't want it to end.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Richa Kumar
- 23-01-19
This book will rip your soul into two with the hope that it all gets better in the end, because it has to
Needless to say, Arundhati Roy’s writing is beautiful. It is poetic, it is visual, and it very skilfully weaves a real world into the fabric of fiction. Coupled with how she narrates that story, which is a narration and not a reading makes you feel what her characters are feeling right in your bones. Ending this book with empathy I hadn’t expected to have.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Rushikesh Writes
- 17-07-22
okayish
less of a fiction more of an essay. lil boring. . . . . .
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- NP
- 29-12-23
Politically pertinent, but a skewed perspective by a problematic writer
A complicated book that focuses on India’s socio-political climate, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness certainly raises many valid points. However, it presents a very uni-dimensional, single-sided perspective, especially in the second half of the book that deals with Kashmir.
I really enjoyed Anjum’s story in the first half. Tilo and Kashmir’s story could have been tightened significantly since it felt like there was a lot of padding in that section.
What really is the issue for me, is that Arundhati Roy is a problematic and performative writer. A woman who calls herself “casteless”, while enjoying the privileges of an upper caste surname and who makes controversial statements supporting criminals like Ranga and Billa; is the author of a this work.
Honestly, her personal life undoes a lot of the impact her political writings seek to do. This is a big reason why I found this novel to be - although touching on really important topics and providing a new perspective - to also be superficial.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 25-11-20
Two novels in one book
First half of the book is about Anjum while the second revolves around Thilo. First half explores the world of trans people while the second, Kashmiri lives. What lacks is a proper link between the two worlds. Reader is forced to shift focus which kills the flow. As a writer of details, Roy has done a fabulous job with the descriptions. Worth a read.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Mohan Raj
- 22-05-19
Poetic prose
The narrative of Arundhati Roy is very poetic and engaging. The characters remain with you for a long time.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sangram M.
- 10-07-22
Happiness and it's utmostness
Arundhati Roy encapsulates with text and further unequivocally with a surreal voice. Imaginary work should allow for such imagination. And I hope to live in ways that allow me to be Tilo and/or Anjum for a flicker even if it's in one lifetime
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Shagufta Arshad
- 30-10-19
The God of Small things is better.
The first half of the story is great. I wanted to know more about Anjum but the story goes to Kashmir and other major characters surrounding the situation.
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1 person found this helpful