Mother Mary Comes to MeMother Mary Comes to Me
What it's about
Arundhati Roy's memoir of her mother, Mary Roy: a fierce, brilliant, impossible woman who left an abusive marriage, raised her children alone in Kerala, founded a celebrated school, and won a landmark court case that gave Syrian Christian women in India equal inheritance rights. She was also the person who hurt Roy most. Roy traces their relationship from her childhood to her mother's death, and the long road from that household to The God of Small Things.
Why it's worth reading
It's a ferocious, funny, unflinching portrait of a mother-daughter bond, and of how a writer is made. It won the NBCC Award for memoir.
You'll love it if you liked
I'm Glad My Mom Died
The Glass Castle
Educated: A MemoirGood to know
Readers of The God of Small Things will recognize people and places from the novel, but you don't need to have read it. It includes emotional and physical abuse.
By the numbers
- Readers90 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics49 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Bestseller24 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Buzz72 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #38 of the 290 memoirs and biographies we rank
- #32 of the 481 new books we rank
- #196 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
True story
More by Arundhati Roy
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Quick answers
Is Mother Mary Comes to Me worth reading?
Yes. It's a ferocious, funny, unflinching portrait of a mother-daughter bond, and of how a writer is made. It ranks #196 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 83.7 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is Mother Mary Comes to Me about?
Arundhati Roy's memoir of her mother, Mary Roy: a fierce, brilliant, impossible woman who left an abusive marriage, raised her children alone in Kerala, founded a celebrated school, and won a landmark court case that gave Syrian Christian women in India equal inheritance rights. She was also the person who hurt Roy most. Roy traces their relationship from her childhood to her mother's death, and the long road from that household to The God of Small Things.
How long does it take to read Mother Mary Comes to Me?
About 9 hours (376 pages), or about 3 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What awards has Mother Mary Comes to Me won?
NBCC Award (Memoir) winner (2025).
What should I read after Mother Mary Comes to Me?
If you liked it, try I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy, The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls or Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover.