Listen to a sample
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness
- Author
- Arundhati Roy
- Narrator
- Arundhati Roy
- Publisher
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Publish Date
- 6 June 2017
- Run Time
- 16 hours 37 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
- Genre
- Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, War, combat and military adventure fiction, Narrative theme: environmental issues / the natural world, Narrative theme: politics / economics, Narrative theme: sense of place, Narrative theme: social issues / social problems
- Rating
- 4.0 (1 review)
Not available in your country
We don't have the rights to sell this audiobook where you are. If it's already in your library you can still listen to it in My Books.
What to expect
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, written and read by Arundhati Roy.
FROM THE BOOKER PRIZE WINNING AUTHOR OF THE GOD OF SMALL THINGS
LONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2018
LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2017
NOMINATED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR FICTION
LONGLISTED FOR THE CARNEGIE 2018
THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE and THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
'A sprawling kaleidoscopic fable' Guardian, Books of the Year
'Roy's second novel proves as remarkable as her first' Financial Times
'A great tempest of a novel... which will leave you awed by the heat of its anger and the depth of its compassion' Washington Post
'A dazzling return to form' Independent
'Intricately layered and passionate, a work of extraordinary intricacy and grace' Prospect
'A masterpiece. Roy joins Dickens, Naipaul, García Márquez, and Rushdie in her abiding compassion, storytelling magic, and piquant wit. An entrancing, imaginative, and wrenching epic' Booklist starred review
'At magic hour; when the sun has gone but the light has not, armies of flying foxes unhinge themselves from the Banyan trees in the old graveyard and drift across the city like smoke...'
So begins The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, Arundhati Roy's incredible follow-up to The God of Small Things. We meet Anjum, who used to be Aftab, who runs a guest-house in an Old Delhi graveyard and gathers around her the lost, the broken and the cast out. We meet Tilo, an architect, who although she is loved by three men, lives in a 'country of her own skin' . When Tilo claims an abandoned baby as her own, her destiny and that of Anjum become entangled as a tale that sweeps across the years and a teeming continent takes flight...
Critics Review
-
She is back with a heavyweight state-of-the-nation story that has been ten years in the making
Daily Mail
-
Roy's second novel proves as remarkable as her first
Financial Times
-
A great tempest of a novel... which will leave you awed by the heat of its anger and the depth of its compassion
Washington Post
-
A humane, engaged near-fairy tale that soon turns dark - full of characters and their meetings, accidental and orchestrated alike to find, yes, that utmost happiness of which the title speaks
Kirkus (starred review)
See more reviews See fewer reviews
-
An author worth waiting two decades for
Financial Times
-
Ambitious, original, and haunting. A novel [that] fuses tenderness and brutality, mythic resonance and the stuff of headlines . . .essential to Roy's vision of a bewilderingly beautiful, contradictory, and broken world
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
-
A masterpiece. Roy joins Dickens, Naipaul, García Márquez, and Rushdie in her abiding compassion, storytelling magic, and piquant wit. A tale of suffering, sacrifice and transcendence-an entrancing, imaginative, and wrenching epic
Booklist (starred review)
-
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness confirms Roy's status as a writer of delicate human dramas that also touch on some of the largest questions of the day. It is the novel as intimate epic. Expect to see it on every prize shortlist this year
The Times
-
Heartfelt, poetic, intimate, laced with ironic humour...The intensity of Roy's writing - the sheer amount she cares about these people - compels you to concentrate...This is the novel one hoped Arundhati Roy would write about India
Daily Telegraph
-
Teems with human drama, contains a vivid cast of characters and offers an evocative, searing portrait of modern India
Tatler
User Reviews
Book 4.0
Narration 1.0
-
4.0 1.0
I couldn’t finish this book because I kept being pulled out of the story by the narrator’s style. Unusual cadence, random pauses, and hearing their breath repeatedly whistling through their nose. Also very little variety in intonation. Such a shame, because I’m sure the writing is great.
JWL 2025-07-12
Details
- Author
- Arundhati Roy
- Narrator
- Arundhati Roy
- Duration
- 16 hours 37 minutes
- Release Date
- 6 June 2017
- ISBN
- 9780241980781
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Penguin Books Ltd
- Genre
- Modern and contemporary fiction: literary and general, War, combat and military adventure fiction, Narrative theme: environmental issues / the natural world, Narrative theme: politics / economics, Narrative theme: sense of place, Narrative theme: social issues / social problems
- Rating
- 4.0(1 review)
- Narration
- 1.0(1 review)
Synopsis
Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, written and read by Arundhati Roy.FROM THE BOOKER PRIZE WINNING AUTHOR OF THE GOD OF SMALL THINGSLONGLISTED FOR THE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 2018LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE 2017NOMINATED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR FICTIONLONGLISTED FOR THE CARNEGIE 2018THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE and THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER'A sprawling kaleidoscopic fable' Guardian, Books of the Year'Roy's second novel proves as remarkable as her first' Financial Times'A great tempest of a novel... which will leave you awed by the heat of its anger and the depth of its compassion' Washington Post'A dazzling return to form' Independent'Intricately layered and passionate, a work of extraordinary intricacy and grace' Prospect'A masterpiece. Roy joins Dickens, Naipaul, García Márquez, and Rushdie in her abiding compassion, storytelling magic, and piquant wit. An entrancing, imaginative, and wrenching epic' Booklist starred review 'At magic hour; when the sun has gone but the light has not, armies of flying foxes unhinge themselves from the Banyan trees in the old graveyard and drift across the city like smoke...'So begins The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, Arundhati Roy's incredible follow-up to The God of Small Things. We meet Anjum, who used to be Aftab, who runs a guest-house in an Old Delhi graveyard and gathers around her the lost, the broken and the cast out. We meet Tilo, an architect, who although she is loved by three men, lives in a 'country of her own skin' . When Tilo claims an abandoned baby as her own, her destiny and that of Anjum become entangled as a tale that sweeps across the years and a teeming continent takes flight...
About xigxag
xigxag is an independent, UK-based audiobook platform and the UK's only B Corp certified audiobook company. We offer nearly 150,000 audiobooks, all with professional human narration. No AI-generated voices. xigxag is rated an Ethical Consumer Best Buy for audiobooks and a top-rated ethical bookshop.
There is no subscription. You buy the audiobooks you want, you own them permanently, and prices start at $13.95. The more you listen over the year, the less you pay per book, and there is always a selection in Listen for Less from $7.95. You can also send audiobooks as gifts using our audiobook gift cards or in-app gifting.
Every audiobook on xigxag has honest reviews covering both the book and the narration, and our community features make it easy to share what you are listening to, discover what others recommend, and find your next listen.
Download or stream on iOS, Android, or in your browser. Browse the full catalogue at xigxag.co.uk.