Arundhati Roy
(Photo by PRADIP KRISHEN)



For review copies of The Cost of Living, please contact Layla Morrissey of Random House.

Arundhati Roy's fall 1999 trip to the United States is sponsored by International Rivers Network -- "Linking Human Rights and Environmental Protection" -- of Berkeley, California.

THE COST OF LIVING
By Arundhati Roy
author of the international bestseller, The God of Small Things

"Arundhati Roy's polemic is necessary and important. She combines brilliant reportage with a passionate, no-holds-barred commentary on two great Indian betrayals masquerading as progress. I salute both her courage and her skill."
-- Salman Rushdie

When asked what book would follow The God of Small Things (her debut novel, winner of the Booker Prize and a New York Times bestseller), Arundhati Roy replied she would write another book only if the inspiration hit her and she had another story to tell.

When you start reading the impassioned prose of THE COST OF LIVING (Modern Library Paperback Original; October 28, 1999; $11.95), it is clear that she has been inspired and compelled to address the future of her beloved country, India. Her first book of nonfiction, THE COST OF LIVING is a spirited work in which Roy dares to speak critically about two of the great illusions of India's progress: the massive dam projects which were supposed to haul this sprawling subcontinent into the modern age, but which instead have displaced untold millions; and the detonation of India's first nuclear bomb, with all its attendant Faustian bargains. Roy peels away the mask of democracy to show the true costs hidden beneath.

Roy's outspoken stance on these topics has already caused heated debates and protests in India, and has made headlines at home and abroad. In the Christian Science Monitor, Robert Marquand wrote "Roy is more than an exotic literary figure in her native land. She has emerged as a kind of populist conscience, a budding Pablo Neruda of India, an upstart who has bravely taken on some of India's most sacred cows." But for all the praise, there is also criticism. The Supreme Court of India sought action against her after the publication of her essay "The Greater Common Good," claiming the essay criticizing the Sardar Sarovar dam on the Narmada river had "undermined the dignity of the court." Supporters of the dams have burnt her book in public.

Arundhati Roy's strong and vivid voice in THE COST OF LIVING proves her a true literary talent, existing comfortably - and powerfully - in the realm of both fiction and nonfiction.

Arundhati Roy was trained as an architect. Her first novel, The God of Small Things, won the Booker Prize, spent 49 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, and has been published in 39 languages. She lives in New Delhi.

From the Sawnet Who's Who among South Asian Women

Born in 1961 in Bengal, Arundhati Roy grew up in Kerala. She trained as an architect at the Delhi School of Architecture, but became better known for her complex, scathing film scripts. She wrote and starred in 'In Which Annie Gives it Those Ones', and wrote the script for Pradip Kishen's 'Electric Moon'. Media attention came when she spoke out in support of Phoolan Devi, who she felt had been exploited by Shekhar Kapur's film Bandit Queen. The controversy escalated into a court case, after which she retired to private life to work on her first book, The God of Small Things. The half-million pound advance on this book, more than Vikram Seth's for A Suitable Boy, shot her to fame again. As the daughter of Mary Roy, the woman whose court case changed the inheritance laws in favour of women, she was closely acquainted with the Syrian Catholic traditions, which feature prominently in the book. She says "a feminist is a woman who negotiates herself into a position where she has choices.."

The God of Small Things, won Britain's premier book prize, the Booker McConnell, in 1997. Although Indian authors such as Salman Rushdie and Rohinton Mistry have featured in the Booker shortlist, and Rushdie's Midnight's Children won the 'Booker of Bookers', Roy is the first non-expatriate Indian author and the first Indian woman to have won this prize. To top it all, this happened in 1997, India's 50th anniversary of independence from Britain. As always, the exclusions and choices of the Booker judges created some controversy, with some critics praising the lush imagery of Roy's book while others referred to it as 'tripe'. The book has also attracted a lawsuit and angry criticism from Kerala's leftists.

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From the Sawnet Who's Who among South Asian Women