Arundhati Roy is an acclaimed Indian novelist best known for literary fiction. Her celebrated debut novel, The God of Small Things, won international recognition.
If you enjoy reading books by Arundhati Roy then you might also like the following authors:
Readers who enjoy the storytelling style and vivid imagery of Arundhati Roy might appreciate Salman Rushdie’s novels, especially Midnight’s Children . Rushdie weaves historical events and personal stories with a lively imagination and humor.
Midnight’s Children follows the life of Saleem Sinai, born at the exact moment of India’s independence. His life and the lives of others born at that special time are mysteriously connected to India’s ups and downs.
Rushdie explores their adventures, family struggles, tragedies, and comedies as their fates mirror the changing face of an entire nation. His writing will resonate with any reader who loves stories that blend history, magic, and rich, complex characters.
Books by Zadie Smith often share a similar depth and sensitivity found in the work of Arundhati Roy. Smith is skilled at crafting rich, vivid characters and tackling complex social and cultural questions.
In her novel White Teeth, Smith explores themes of family, identity, race, and immigration through the intertwined lives of three diverse families in multicultural London.
The story spans decades and touches humorously and thoughtfully on generational clashes, religious tension, and the search for belonging. With relatable characters, engaging dialogue, and sharp insights, White Teeth offers an entertaining yet thoughtful read.
Books by Jhumpa Lahiri often explore themes of identity, displacement, and the emotional ties that define family bonds. A great book to start with is The Namesake. It follows the life of Gogol Ganguli, born to Bengali immigrants in America.
Gogol struggles with his unusual name and dual culture. He experiences school, romance, and personal loss, each situation connecting deeply to the challenges of growing up between two cultures.
If you’ve enjoyed the rich storytelling and layered characters in Arundhati Roy’s works, Jhumpa Lahiri’s exploration of family relationships and self-discovery in The Namesake will certainly resonate with you.
Kiran Desai is an Indian author who crafts lively narratives filled with vibrant characters and emotional depth, reminiscent of Arundhati Roy’s exploration of Indian society.
In her novel The Inheritance of Loss, Desai beautifully portrays the lives of people caught between tradition and modernity.
Set in the misty Himalayan foothills, the story brings together a retired judge, his orphaned granddaughter Sai, and their cook’s son Biju, who navigates a tough immigrant life in New York City.
Through humor and empathy, the author sheds light on the struggles of displacement, cultural conflict, and identity. Readers moved by Arundhati Roy’s realistic and heartfelt stories of India will find similar themes in Desai’s absorbing narrative.
Amitav Ghosh is an Indian novelist whose works explore diverse historical settings and social themes. Readers who appreciate the depth and eloquence they find in Arundhati Roy’s books may enjoy Ghosh’s novel The Hungry Tide .
Set in the mysterious and remote Sundarbans, the story follows two contrasting characters, Piya, an Indian-American marine biologist researching dolphins, and Kanai, a Delhi businessman visiting family.
Their journeys intersect at a shared point of culture, environmental concerns, and personal discovery. Ghosh vividly portrays the complex relationship between humans and nature while highlighting the cultural tensions and rich folklore of the region.
The novel’s thoughtful narrative and clear prose immerse readers in the challenging landscape of the Sundarbans delta.
If you enjoy Arundhati Roy’s vivid characters and engaging storytelling, you might appreciate Vikram Seth’s novels as well. Seth is known for his ability to portray complex family relationships and societal tensions through deeply relatable characters.
In his novel A Suitable Boy, Seth transports you to post-independence India, where a mother searches diligently to find the perfect husband for her daughter, Lata.
Throughout the story, you’ll witness love, social expectations, and political upheaval skillfully woven together in a narrative that’s both intimate and expansive.
Readers who value Roy’s attentive eye for cultural detail will find plenty to savor in Seth’s depiction of family dynamics, romance, and shifting traditions in a rapidly changing India.
Books by Mohsin Hamid often explore complex human emotions and social themes through deeply personal narratives, a quality Arundhati Roy readers will readily appreciate.
His novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist presents the story of Changez, a young Pakistani graduate living in America after 9/11. Changez reflects on his experiences of ambition, love, prejudice, and identity against the backdrop of those tense times.
Hamid’s clear, compelling prose captures the conflicts and choices Changez faces, making this novel an insightful portrayal of cultural tension and personal transformation.
If Roy’s intricate exploration of personal struggles and societal issues in novels such as The God of Small Things resonates with you, Mohsin Hamid’s work provides another meaningful literary experience.
Readers who appreciate the storytelling style of Arundhati Roy may also enjoy Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. Adichie is a Nigerian author whose novels often explore personal relationships set against important cultural and political events.
Her novel Half of a Yellow Sun follows several lives caught up in the Nigerian Civil War of the late 1960s.
The story jumps between the perspectives of Ugwu, a young servant eager to learn, Olanna, a privileged woman adjusting to the harsh realities of war, and Richard, an English writer captivated by Nigeria.
Through these characters, Adichie portrays the human cost of conflict and examines the complexity of love and loss.
Readers who enjoy Arundhati Roy may find Rohinton Mistry equally captivating. Mistry is an Indian-born Canadian author known for thoughtful storytelling and detailed portrayals of life in India.
His novel A Fine Balance follows the interconnected lives of four individuals during India’s political turmoil in the 1970s. Dina, a determined widow, struggles to maintain independence by running a small tailoring business.
Maneck, a college student from a mountain town, moves to the city to pursue his studies. Ishvar and Omprakash, recently arrived tailors from a rural village, attempt to escape their troubled pasts.
Together, their lives intersect in unexpected ways as they deal with hardship, friendship, and hope amid chaos. The novel vividly captures the spirit and struggle of ordinary people during a turbulent historical moment.
Readers who appreciate Arundhati Roy’s rich storytelling and deep exploration of personal and political tensions may also enjoy Kamila Shamsie’s novels.
Shamsie is a Pakistani-born author whose work skillfully blends intimate personal scenes with larger historical and political contexts.
Her novel Home Fire centers on the struggles of two British-Pakistani families caught between loyalty, love, and identity in a climate of political suspicion and danger.
The story follows siblings Isma, Aneeka, and Parvaiz, who each navigate their own path through complicated family ties and conflicting loyalties. This modern retelling of Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone explores family bonds, political tension, and difficult choices.
Through compelling characters and emotional tensions, Home Fire speaks deeply to issues of homeland, belonging, and the clash between personal desires and political realities.
Readers who appreciate Arundhati Roy’s lyrical style and thoughtful exploration of complex characters may also connect with Michael Ondaatje. His novel The English Patient centers on four characters brought together in an abandoned villa during the last days of World War II.
Each carries the weight of their past, secrets unfold gradually. An anonymous patient, severely burned, holds mysteries about his identity that slowly become clear through passages of memory and discovery.
Ondaatje weaves landscapes and emotional histories, creating a world where personal and historical boundaries blur beautifully.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez is a Colombian author known for rich storytelling that blends reality and fantasy in remarkable ways.
Readers who enjoyed Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things, with its lyrical, poetic style, will likely be drawn to Marquez’s celebrated novel One Hundred Years of Solitude.
This is the incredible tale of the Buendia family, whose journey unfolds over generations in the fictional town of Macondo. Marquez wraps relatable human struggles, supernatural twists, and historical events into one mesmerizing narrative.
The book explores love, loneliness, war, and destiny within a vividly imaginative setting. People fly, rain falls for months without stopping, memories fade mysteriously—but through it all, the stories feel compellingly human.
This unique style makes Marquez a great choice for readers looking to discover a fresh voice with similar depth as Roy’s storytelling.
Books by Toni Morrison often explore profound themes of identity, history, and the lasting effects of human relationships. Readers who enjoy the deep emotional landscapes of Arundhati Roy might appreciate Morrison’s Beloved.
This novel tells the story of Sethe, a woman haunted by the ghostly memories of her past as a slave. Through elements of magical realism and a poetic style full of intensity, Morrison captures the raw truth of trauma, love, and family.
Her characters stay with you long after you finish reading, and the emotional depth of Sethe’s journey allows readers to connect deeply with her struggles and triumphs.
Readers who enjoy Arundhati Roy’s vivid portrayals of family and history might find Isabel Allende equally captivating. Isabel Allende is a Chilean author known for her novels filled with magical realism and strong, memorable characters.
Her debut novel, The House of the Spirits, spans several generations of the Trueba family against the turbulent backdrop of political upheaval in Chile.
The book mixes the supernatural visions of Clara, a woman who sees into the future, with very real human struggles of love, ambition, and rebellion.
As the family story unfolds through changing political landscapes, readers witness the deep connections and fierce conflicts that bind generations together and tear them apart.
Books by Orhan Pamuk often explore deep cultural conflicts and emotional connections similar to themes Arundhati Roy addresses in The God of Small Things. Pamuk, a Turkish novelist known for reflecting the tensions between tradition and modernity, wrote the novel Snow.
The book follows Ka, a poet who returns to Turkey after years in exile to investigate a series of troubling suicides in a snowbound border town.
As he digs deeper, Ka encounters intense political conflicts, forbidden romance, and shifting loyalties within a community caught between religious traditions and secular authorities.
Pamuk’s storytelling invites readers to experience the complexity of human emotion set against rich political and cultural backdrops.