Capitalism: A Ghost Story By Arundhati Roy

Capitalism: A Ghost Story is a controversial book by Arundhati Roy that aims to expose the downside that capitalism has brought to the Indian society. Ms. Roy accuses private corporations of robbing the poor in their quest for wealth, and how the government turned a blind eye when this is going on, as well as their harsh stance on detractors and terrorists. The book is asking whether it is ethical for the government, in order to boost their countries economy, let these private corporations exploit the poor people and their resources. It gives readers an account on some of the activities the Indian government engaged in that are not reported in the mainstream media, particularly on violence by government-funded groups and media censorship,

For example, although the book talks about the hunger strike of Anna Hazare and the trial of Afzal Guru, little background information about them is provided. Therefore, it was a bit hard to follow their stories since the book jumped straight to the point. It would be better if the book gave more focus on the other chapters after the first. In addition, the book needed to be more cohesive and make it clear how each chapter relates to the other chapters, and how it ultimately relates to Ms. Roy’s main topic of capitalism, as doing so would allow readers to keep up with the story and give them a better idea of the message she is trying to convey. Many readers, particularly non-Indians such as myself, may struggle to identify with the issues Ms. Roy presented, due to the lack of background information on the events detailed in the book. It is entirely possible that the Indian readers will have a different point-of-view on the events Ms. Roy presents, and without the proper research on the issues of India, readers may struggle to follow and understand the message Ms. Roy is trying to articulate in her book, and the book could fail to resonate with the non-Indian readers and have its message be misinterpreted by