“A great tempest of a novel. . . . Will leave you awed.” —
The Washington Post“Staggeringly beautiful. . . . Once a decade, if we are lucky, a novel emerges from the cinder pit of living that asks the urgent question of our global era. . . . Roy’s novel is this decade’s ecstatic and necessary answer.” —
The Boston Globe “Powerful and moving. . . . Infused with so much passion—political, social, emotional—that it vibrates. It may leave you shaking, too.” —
San Francisco Chronicle“Roy writes with astonishing vividness.” —
The New York Times Book Review “Magisterial. . . .
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness works its empathetic magic upon a breathtakingly broad slate.” —
O, The Oprah Magazine“A fiercely unforgettable novel about gender, terrorism, Indian’s caste system, corruption and politics. . . . A love story with characters so heartbreaking and compelling they sear themselves into the reader’s brain.” —
USA Today “Thrilling. . . . [Roy’s] luminous passages span eras and regions of the Indian subcontinent and artfully weave the stories of several characters into a triumphant symphony.” —
Minneapolis Star Tribune
“A lustrously braided and populated tale.” —
Vanity Fair
“Roy’s second novel proves as remarkable as her first. . . . Through [the characters’] archetypal interactions, juxtaposed with Roy’s glorious social details, you will have been granted a powerful sense of their world, of the complexity, energy and diversity of contemporary India.” —
Financial Times “Epic in scale, but intimately human in its concerns, the long-awaited story dazzles with its kaleidoscopic narrative approach and unforgettable characters.” —
Elle “The novel weaves the personal and the political with powerful results. . . . Roy turns her lens outward to examine India’s rich but violent history and the catastrophic lingering effects of Partition.” —
Esquire “A riotous carnival, as wryly funny and irreverent as its author.” —
The Guardian “A deeply rewarding work. . . . Images in
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness . . . wedge themselves in the mind like memories of lived experience.” —
Slate “Complex and ambitious. . . . A deep and richly satisfying read.” —
The Christian Science Monitor “One of the best protest novels ever written. . . . Roy elucidates the conversation around power and diversity in a way that no other author does.” —
Los Angeles Review of Books “A rich, romantic, and sprawling tale. . . . You’re guaranteed to fall in love with the characters and be swept up by the writing.” —
Glamour
“Once again, Roy demonstrates her mastery of exquisite prose, visionary intelligence and a bent for epic storytelling.” —
The Seattle Times
“Haunting. . . . A passionate political masterpiece delivered in an enchanting array of narrative styles and voices.” —
The Times Literary Supplement “Stunning. . . . Roy’s lyrical sentences, and the ferocity of her narrative, are a wonder to behold.” —
Richmond Times-Dispatch
