The Ministry of Utmost Happiness

By: Arundhati Roy

Narrated by: Arundhati Roy

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 Audio

Great in every way!

Amazing writer for singular stories through a beloved India. High level of language so for non native you may enjoy to have the written version with you, depending on your level. I loved the book with all its nuances and details. Very recommended.

Indescribable

Felt deeply appreciative to have the opportunity to listen to the book narrated by Arundhati Roy. Powerful testimony of life and love and war. Felt like i lived it. cannot describe how i felt transfixed page after page of narration.

Brilliant

I loved this book. Arundhati Roy reads it beautifully and her writing sparkles and her anger at human behaviour and aspects of India is supercharged.

Hauntingly poetic. Tragically beautiful.

As with her first novel, God of Small Things, I was spellbound. Being able to listen to Arundhati's beautiful writing read in her own soft, accented voice was the cherry on the top. The storytelling for this novel couldn't get more authentic. I felt honoured to be listening to this masterful weaver of words.

She threads her magic into every sentence and gives insight into India's multi-layered society. It is a wonderous tale (or many) that follows eccentric, marginalised characters and "ordinary" people in society who are pushed to extraordinary extremes in their lives in order to survive the prejudice, hardships and chaotic lawlessness. I found it an eye opener into the political and religious web that exists there and the occupied Kashmiri Valley. It is a disturbing reflection on human nature but her ability to transform even traumatic events into something close to poetry makes these tragic stories shared more bearable to hear, while at the same time emphasises the senseless of the dreadfulness. These left me wondering, not for the first time in my life, if the human race will ever actually succeed in getting along. Yet through all that, there are strong underlying stories that share our ability to love. Deeply.

I love Arundhati's subtle humour. Especially in the Jannat guest house created around Anjum's family graveyard. So many beautiful moments and characters, I often re-listened to sections just to fully appreciate her brilliance. Thank you Arundhati.

Good but could be great

As usual Arundhati Roy's writing is wonderful but the unfortunately, the story doesnt do it service. The story lacks coherence at points and there isnt a clear line narration line

beautifully written , a simple yet storming story

beautifully written, there's magic in this book , I mean real magic , must read . a story from the heart .

Many lifetimes in one book...

What can I say. An accurate account of the situation, as beautifully written as it is well researched. Soul stirring in every way...