The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

I probably downloaded this two years ago, and it's serving its purpose quite well as a palette cleanse and diversion from my Greek study.

Taking place in India, this winner of the Booker Prize tells the story of a pair of twins who don't fit in with the surrounding world.  Syrian Christians in a largely Hindu country, the twins struggle to fully understand the world around them.  Their relative affluence, surrounded by poverty, separates them further from normality.

The book frequently uses words, phrases and metaphors that I don't understand.  It's as if I'm reading a sequel to a book that I've never read.  

The writing is beautiful, but it's often hard to know if I'm really missing something given the obscure (or made-up?) references.

Still, it's clearly the story of a troubled family in a troubled society.  Their frequent reference to a Terror that is coming (I'm only about 2/3rds of the way through book as I write this), something that ruins lives for generations to come, creates a constant foreboding.

Still, the book is interesting and diverting my attention.  I will renew my study of ancient Greek history with new enthusiasm!