Twenty years ago, Arundhati Roy wrote The God of Small Things, a novel that captivated readers around the globe. Now, two decades later, her second novel is here, and it’s worth the wait. In The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, Roy’s India is a place of both hope and despair, profound beauty and ugliness, comedy and tragedy. She masterfully weaves together the unforgettable stories of a few of the subcontinent’s denizens, creating an epic tale that is challenging in all the best ways, but also eminently readable.