Arundhati Roy Breaks Silence: A Fearless Memoir of Family, Writing and Activism
A Literary Icon’s Most Personal Work Yet
September 2025 marks the release of Arundhati Roy’s first memoir, ‘Mother Mary Comes to Me’, which focuses on her early years living with her mother. Mary Roy, who passed away in 2022, left a complex legacy that shaped her daughter into becoming one of India’s most powerful literary voices.
The Making of a Literary Revolutionary
Roy, who won the Booker Prize for her novel ‘The God of Small Things’ (1997), has established herself as one of India’s most significant authors, known for her powerful critiques of fascism, social injustice, and globalization. She has emerged as literature’s most uncompromising truth-teller, wielding her pen as both an artistic instrument and political weapon, transforming from Booker Prize-winning novelist to fearless activist-essayist.
A Complex Mother-Child Dynamic
Mary Roy was not just any mother – she was a Malayali Jacobite Syrian Christian, an educator, and a women’s rights activist who made history by winning a Supreme Court lawsuit in 1986 that granted equal rights to women in family property inheritance. However, the memoir reveals difficult truths about their relationship, including instances where Mrs. Roy mocked her daughter in public and subjected her to various forms of emotional abuse.
Current Impact and Legacy
Roy’s work has become increasingly prescient in today’s world. Her early warnings about unfettered development and corporate power now appear prophetic, while her defense of dissent and minority rights gains particular resonance amid rising authoritarianism. Through her work, Roy has created something both artistically significant and politically necessary, giving voice to perspectives too often excluded from mainstream discourse.
As a voice for the forgotten – including Dalits, Kashmiris, and Adivasis – Roy’s work has only grown more relevant as political unrest, environmental degradation, and media manipulation continue to dominate global headlines. What sets her apart is her unique ability to blend storytelling with activism, creating works that are simultaneously poetic and revolutionary.