
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Arundhati Roy
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By:
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Arundhati Roy
About this listen
A 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 an enduring classic.
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness transports us across a subcontinent on a journey of many years. 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 told, this extraordinary novel demonstrates the miracle of Arundhati Roy's storytelling gifts.
©2017 Arundhati Roy (P)2017 Random House AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Editorial reviews
Editors Select, June 2017
Arundhati Roy’s The Ministry of Utmost Happiness begins in the "Jannat Guest House", a graveyard where living people have taken up residence. (If there’s a better metaphor for autobiographical fiction, I’d like to hear it.) In a cruel society-outside-of-society, some dignity still abides for the broken-down denizens: untouchables, addicts, abandoned children, and our transgender protagonist, Anjum: "she let the hurt blow through her branches like a breeze and used the music of her rustling leaves as balm to ease the pain." The author’s narration enlivens each character’s point of view and makes this episodic and sprawling story seem like a deliberately choreographed ballet. Every character appears on their own terms, and the author’s measured, attentive performance conveys the cruelty and wit and unexpected sweetness of their experience - Arundhati Roy’s voice is not just lyrical, it’s essential. —Christina, Audible Editor
Critic reviews
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If you like well-written novels that prioritize compelling timely storylines with artful prose and structure, then this is the genre for you. So, why is it called "contemporary"? Because it’s fiction set in the real world, in times contemporary to the date it was published, and the stories deal with real-world issues. Representing a diversity of backgrounds and nationalities, here are our picks for the best writers of contemporary fiction over the last 50 years.
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- A Novel
- By: Madhuri Vijay
- Narrated by: Sneha Mathan
- Length: 14 hrs
- Unabridged
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In the wake of her mother's death, Shalini, a privileged and restless young woman from Bangalore, sets out for a remote Himalayan village in the troubled northern region of Kashmir. Certain that the loss of her mother is somehow connected to the decade-old disappearance of Bashir Ahmed, a charming Kashmiri salesman who frequented her childhood home, she is determined to confront him. But upon her arrival, Shalini is brought face to face with Kashmir's politics, as well as the tangled history of the local family that takes her in. And then life in the village turns volatile and old hatreds threaten to erupt into violence.
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Very morose
- By Amy Lanman on 06-08-19
By: Madhuri Vijay
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All the Lives We Never Lived
- By: Anuradha Roy
- Narrated by: Vikas Adam
- Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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From the Man Booker Prize-nominated author of Sleeping on Jupiter, The Folded Earth, and An Atlas of Impossible Longing, a poignant and sweeping novel set in India during World War II and the present day about a son’s quest to uncover the truth about his mother....
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Beautiful book
- By Sonia S. on 12-13-19
By: Anuradha Roy
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Azadi
- Freedom. Fascism. Fiction.
- By: Arundhati Roy
- Narrated by: Shaheen Khan
- Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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The chant of Azadi! - Urdu for "freedom!" - is the slogan of the freedom struggle in Kashmir against what Kashmiris see as the Indian Occupation. Ironically it has also become the chant of millions on the streets of India against the project of Hindu Nationalism. What lies between these two calls for freedom? A chasm or a bridge? In this series of penetrating essays on politics and literature, Arundhati Roy examines this question and challenges us to reflect on the meaning of freedom in a world of growing authoritarianism.
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Eye opener to all the fascist practices in India
- By Samanvitha on 02-02-21
By: Arundhati Roy
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The Namesake
- By: Jhumpa Lahiri
- Narrated by: Sarita Choudhury
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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The Namesake follows the Ganguli family through its journey from Calcutta to Cambridge to the Boston suburbs. When their son is born, the task of naming him betrays the vexed results of bringing old ways to the new world. Named for a Russian writer by his Indian parents in memory of a catastrophe years before, Gogol Ganguli knows only that he suffers the burden of his heritage as well as his odd, antic name.
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My favorite book - in print and audio
- By Diana - Audible on 04-16-12
By: Jhumpa Lahiri
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The Satanic Verses
- By: Salman Rushdie
- Narrated by: Sam Dastor
- Length: 21 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Inextricably linked with the fatwa called against its author in the wake of the novel’s publication, The Satanic Verses is, beyond that, a rich showcase for Salman Rushdie’s comic sensibilities, cultural observations, and unparalleled mastery of language. The book begins with two Indians plummeting from the sky after the explosion of their airliner, and proceeds through a series of metamorphoses, dreams and revelations.
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Use an audiobook to really enjoy Satanic Verses
- By David Edelberg on 11-24-12
By: Salman Rushdie
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Midnight's Children
- By: Salman Rushdie
- Narrated by: Lyndam Gregory
- Length: 24 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Salman Rushdie holds the literary world in awe with a jaw-dropping catalog of critically acclaimed novels that have made him one of the world's most celebrated authors. Winner of the prestigious Booker of Bookers, Midnight's Children tells the story of Saleem Sinai, born on the stroke of India's independence.
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Outstanding book, superb narration
- By MarcS on 06-09-09
By: Salman Rushdie
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Independence
- A Novel
- By: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
- Narrated by: Sneha Mathan
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Set during the partition of British India in 1947, a time when neighbor was pitted against neighbor and families were torn apart, award-winning author Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s novel brings to life the sweeping story of three sisters caught up in events beyond their control, their unbreakable bond, and their incredible struggle against powerful odds.
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A very interesting story, good but a tad flat
- By Naturegirl09 on 06-25-23
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Half of a Yellow Sun
- By: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Narrated by: Zainab Jah
- Length: 18 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Adichie illuminates a seminal moment in modern African history: Biafra’s impassioned struggle to establish an independent republic in southeastern Nigeria during the late 1960s. We experience this tumultuous decade alongside five unforgettable characters: Ugwu, a 13-year-old houseboy working for Odenigbo, a university professor full of revolutionary zeal; Olanna, the professor’s beautiful young mistress who's abandoned her life in Lagos for a dusty town and her lover’s charm; and Richard, a shy young Englishman infatuated with Olanna’s willful twin sister Kainene.
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A Little Background Adjustment
- By Perkbrooke on 03-13-18
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When the Moon Is Low
- A Novel
- By: Nadia Hashimi
- Narrated by: Sneha Mathan, Neil Shah
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Mahmoud’s passion for his wife, Fereiba, a schoolteacher, is greater than any love she’s ever known. But their happy, middle-class world implodes when their country is engulfed in war and the Taliban rises to power. Mahmoud, a civil engineer, becomes a target of the new fundamentalist regime and is murdered. Forced to flee Kabul with her three children, Fereiba must find a way to cross Europe and reach her sister’s family in England. With forged papers and help from kind strangers they meet along the way, Fereiba make a dangerous crossing into Iran under cover of darkness.
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Unfinished?
- By James R. Hyde on 10-25-21
By: Nadia Hashimi
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The Luminaries
- By: Eleanor Catton
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 29 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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It is 1866 and Walter Moody has come to make his fortune upon the New Zealand goldfields. On arrival, he stumbles across a tense gathering of 12 local men, who have met in secret to discuss a series of unsolved crimes. A wealthy man has vanished, a whore has tried to end her life, and an enormous fortune has been discovered in the home of a luckless drunk. Moody is soon drawn into the mystery: a network of fates and fortunes that is as complex and exquisitely patterned as the night sky.
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Not So Luminous
- By Mel on 11-10-13
By: Eleanor Catton
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One Hundred Years of Solitude
- By: Gabriel García Márquez, Gregory Rabassa - translator
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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One of the 20th century's enduring works, One Hundred Years of Solitude is a widely beloved and acclaimed novel known throughout the world and the ultimate achievement in a Nobel Prize-winning career. The novel tells the story of the rise and fall of the mythical town of Macondo through the history of the Buendía family. Rich and brilliant, it is a chronicle of life, death, and the tragicomedy of humankind. In the beautiful, ridiculous, and tawdry story of the Buendía family, one sees all of humanity, just as in the history, myths, growth, and decay of Macondo, one sees all of Latin America.
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What in the heck happened?????
- By Melinda on 02-05-14
By: Gabriel García Márquez, and others
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Hello Beautiful
- A Novel
- By: Ann Napolitano
- Narrated by: Maura Tierney
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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William Waters grew up in a house silenced by tragedy, where his parents could hardly bear to look at him, much less love him—so when he meets the spirited and ambitious Julia Padavano in his freshman year of college, it’s as if the world has lit up around him. With Julia comes her family, as she and her three sisters are inseparable: Sylvie, the family’s dreamer, is happiest with her nose in a book; Cecelia is a free-spirited artist; and Emeline patiently takes care of them all.
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Book was great, performance terrible
- By Amazon Customer on 03-17-23
By: Ann Napolitano
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The Covenant of Water
- By: Abraham Verghese
- Narrated by: Abraham Verghese
- Length: 31 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Spanning the years 1900 to 1977, The Covenant of Water is set in Kerala, on South India’s Malabar Coast, and follows three generations of a family that suffers a peculiar affliction: in every generation, at least one person dies by drowning—and in Kerala, water is everywhere. At the turn of the century, a twelve-year-old girl from Kerala’s long-existing Christian community, grieving the death of her father, is sent by boat to her wedding, where she will meet her forty-year-old husband for the first time.
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Story Telling At Its Best
- By Regina on 05-06-23
By: Abraham Verghese
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The Ministry of Time
- A Novel
- By: Kaliane Bradley
- Narrated by: George Weightman, Katie Leung
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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In the near future, a civil servant is offered the salary of her dreams and is, shortly afterward, told what project she’ll be working on. A recently established government ministry is gathering “expats” from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible—for the body, but also for the fabric of space-time.
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More than the sum of its parts but…
- By L. Williams on 05-17-24
By: Kaliane Bradley
What listeners say about The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
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- Mercy Wambui
- 08-11-18
A story as complex and as diverse as India
Arundhati Roy’s masterpiece is a fantastic lyrical treat of stories within stories. The wide range of characters remain with you as they experience humanity in both horrific and glorious ways. The complexity of Kashmir is always present. So are other questions - cast, LGBT, poverty, power, ideology. Roy invites you to live life on the edges and on the margins of a changing India.
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- Sarah Zaaimi
- 04-19-21
Simply stunning!
An intricate yet tender insight into India’s Kashmir conflict that breaks up in a web of sub-stories illustrating the country’s ill-management of cast, religion, and gender minorities. Beautiful and rich story with the right doses of drama, history, and romance. Highly recommend it!
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- Julie
- 07-10-17
it's power to open hearts to let in her world.
it is poetry in the form of a novel. compassion in the form of words.
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- LRH
- 11-24-17
Narration not great for non-Indian listeners!
I love Arundhati Roy's writing, but this novel is very complex with many characters and for a western ear, it is really hard to hear the difference in characters. This book does need a native Indian narrator, but perhaps someone whose skill is in narration and could do a clearer job with defining the characters. I made it through half the book, but found I was dreading trying to listen to the other half. I think, like some others, I will get the kindle version and finish it that way.
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- Avery Janeczek
- 11-14-17
Stunning, important!
An incredible, gorgeous, skillfully crafted, highly informed, artful modern work that celebrates those who are underrepresented and often considered disposable by the machinations of capitalism and empire. Highly recommended! Intense, and dynamic not a lightweight escape. Especially riveting for anyone with a connection to India, Yoga, etc. and especially important in this dangerously anti-Muslim global atmosphere we are in. It was amazing to hear it read by Arundhati, a beautiful way to experience the book.
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- kristina
- 08-24-18
a master storyteller
evocative, powerful, brave and fierce. Roy is a truth teller and has the courage that many lack, especially world leaders.
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- nazim
- 08-06-18
fantastic novel
she weaves a poignant story of the LBGTQ in old delhi india before the world became aware of LGBTQ
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- ainjibi
- 02-29-24
Deep
Author’s pronunciation of certain words and names ylike ‘ rifled’ , ‘Jahanara’ ‘Khadija’ .. minor matters but rather irritating..
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- Avid reader
- 09-07-20
A masterpiece & a social justice narrative
I have waited so long for this book. The author is a genius as we we all know, her writing is superb, and to listen to her reading it is an added treat for the reader.
What is a bit challenging in this novel is the almost report-like telling about the horrific, Nazi-like intimidation, violence and murder perpetrated by Indians in Kashmir, that seem as if they are not a novel but really a description of true events that must go to a criminal court for prosecution.
On the one hand I wish this had been written as a novel and that this endless, horrific attempt to destroy a people was present but not for so much of the novel as we understand it the first time, the second time and no need in a novel to bring that theme over and over and over. On the other, I understand why she wrote it this way though; once you've been witness to, and tried as an activist to stop such monstrous treatment of people, as Miss Roy has, and you want everyone in the world to become a witness to it, so that they can all object to the nightmare that India is imposing on Kashmiri people.
Miss Roy is a genius author and a dedicated social justice warrior. She remains one of my heroes and role model
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- V.P.Epperoni
- 12-22-17
An Epic novel
This is really three novels in one. She is a masterful writer and she read her book beautifully.
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