What a downer

I finished re-reading the God of Small Things. I recommend anyone who's read it once to read it again. Once you know the plot, the beginning is much easier (less impossible) to understand. But it's even more of a downer the second time....

This passage I like:

"It was he who had introduced them to Raudra Bhima--crazed, bloodthirsty Bhima in search of death and vengeance. He is searching for the beast that lives in him, Comrade Pillai had told them--frioghtened, wide-eyed children--when the ordinarily good-natured Bhima began to bay and snarl.

Which beast in particular, Comrade Pillai didn't say. Searching for the Man who lives in him was perhaps what he really meant, because certainly no beast has essayed the boundless, infinitely inventive art of human hatred. No beast can match its range and power."