In 2001, Arundhati is again charged with contempt of court for writing deemed anti-India by the authorities. American Islamophobia in the wake of the 9/11 attacks sweeps the world like wildfire, and the Hindu nationalists in India are happy to join in. Since Arundhati’s writing criticizes sectarian violence and Hindu nationalism in particular, she is often the target of criticism. She writes a piece that contextualizes the 9/11 attacks within the broader scope of western intervention in eastern politics, and ends up especially reviled by members of the government and Hindu nationalists, both those in politics and ordinary Indians.

Her mother follows her writing closely and, although she is not always kind in their interactions, is clearly proud of her daughter. She asks Arundhati to come speak with the students at her school about her writing and her political positions. At this same time, Micky Roy disappears. Arundhati finds him and pays for an eight-week rehab program. He does quit drinking and, after he leaves rehab, again goes to live with his sister.

Arundhati is found guilty of contempt of court and sentenced to pay a fine and serve one day in jail. If she fails to pay the fine, the sentence will be increased to six months.

During her day in jail she meets a Kashmiri woman accused of being part of a terrorist attack on India’s parliament. She is sure that this woman is innocent and tries to help her. The attack was terrible, but its scale was small, Arundhati thinks, and it is being used to justify an increasing number of killings of innocent Muslim men. Tit-for-tat violence has become commonplace, and Hindu nationalists murder Muslims with impunity, knowing that they have governmental support for their crimes. One of India’s rising stars at this time, a Hindu nationalist himself, is Narenda Modi, who will one day become India’s prime minister.

Kashmir remains the site of India’s worst Islamophobic violence. As it is the only Muslim-majority province, it is the sole place in India that truly mounts a resistance to the Hindu nationalist government and anti-Muslim legislation. The Kashmiri residents are a tightly knit, family-oriented group, and often when one man from a family is arrested for fighting back against governmental oppression, India’s corrupt military punishes the entire family violently. Arundhati is reviled by Hindu nationalists for her support of the Kashmiri people, but she cannot observe the violence that happens there and remain silent.

Arundhati is increasingly under fire for her public stance on Kashmir, Pakistan, and Islamophobic violence in India. She purchases an apartment of her own, which Pradip helps her decorate. His daughters, whom she considers partially her own, are now in their mid- and late-20s. They still live at home.

Her mother never comes to visit her at the apartment because Delhi’s air has become too toxic for someone with terrible asthma. Micky doesn’t visit either, but G. Isaac does. He is upset that she no longer lives with Pradip and finds their relationship too unorthodox, but she is still happy that he comes to see her.

Arundhati begins writing her second novel, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, in her new apartment. Its heroine is an intersex Shia Muslim who, raised as a boy, transitions as an adult and opens a guest house in a graveyard. The novel takes 10 years to write. She immerses herself in the writing process and is happy to have finally been inspired to tell another story.

Mrs. Roy’s health worsens. Her asthma causes infections that impact her blood oxygen levels so dramatically that each one has the potential to be fatal. She is hospitalized and put on a ventilator. Mickey Roy is also hospitalized. After a lifetime of substance abuse, his body is unable to withstand intestinal damage caused by a bad batch of bootleg alcohol.

Arundhati is in the hospital with Mickey while her brother accompanies their mother into a different hospital, but she makes the difficult choice to go see her mother when it seems that her mother is nearing death. Mickey dies, but Mrs. Roy makes a miraculous recovery. She is furious with Arundhati for putting her on a ventilator: Unbeknownst to Arundhati, Mrs. Roy once wrote her a letter asking not to be put on life support.

Mrs. Roy remains in critical condition for some time, and both Arundhati and LKC tend to her. She is sent home from the hospital, but her behavior becomes increasingly volatile, and she returns to the hospital. Eventually, she is sent home for good. She will live for 15 years after this attack, and Arundhati will be grateful that she never read her mother’s letter and didn’t know that she wasn’t supposed to put Mrs. Roy on a ventilator.

Arundhati receives a letter from the Naxalites, the Maoist party in India, to visit the Dandakaranya forest where a battle rages between a mining company, the government, and a paramilitary group and the local residents whose land has been deemed attractive for development. The article that she writes after visiting the Maoist guerilla group, “Walking with the Comrades,” garners as much criticism as her article about the dam had, and Arundhati is once again the target of widespread scorn.

The Naxalites are unsuccessful in their fight, and in 2014 Narendra Modi is sworn in as prime minister. He makes a point to travel to Delhi after the election in a jet belonging to a prominent mining company. Arundhati reflects that Hindu nationalism has now joined forces with “corporate capitalism” and that a new era has begun in India (295).

Arundhati writes another essay, about an incarcerated intellectual, that once again catapults her into the spotlight and results in calls for violence against her. Although this man will eventually be exonerated, because he is a Muslim, Arundhati is fiercely criticized for defending him. The political violence in India once again reaches a record high, and again Arundhati is chagrined to see more widespread violence against innocent people. The calls for violent punishment or her arrest increase just as Arundhati finishes The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. She flees the country for her safety, but returns almost immediately after. Although she is ashamed of her country, she knows that she is a part of it and that she must remain there.

Not long after The Ministry of Utmost Happiness’s publication, a local official calls for Arundhati to be tied to an army vehicle and used as a human shield. Since this punishment was once meted out to a Kashmiri man, a heated public debate ensues in which various factions argue about whether or not this official had the right to express such a sentiment.

Modi’s government continues its nationalistic crusade against Indian Muslims, and Arundhati’s hope that her country’s violence will abate dwindles. Mrs. Roy’s health declines further. She hands over operations of the school to a former student and spends less and less time with people. Even her house falls into a state of disrepair, but nothing can be done about the cracks in the concrete or the termite-riddled wood because Mrs. Roy will not tolerate noise, and could not breathe the dust that construction would generate.

Mrs. Roy now has round-the-clock care from a team of women. Her health continues to decline, and although the school is running smoothly, Mrs. Roy is agitated and upset because she is no longer at its helm. When Covid-19 hits India, Arundhati is stuck in Delhi and cannot go to see her mother. She is sure that Mrs. Roy will succumb to the virus, but she miraculously does not catch it. She remains as intractable as ever, and she is often unkind to Arundhati in spite of Arundhati’s kindness towards her.

When Arundhati receives a text from Mrs. Roy expressing love for her, she knows that her mother is near death. Arundhati goes to see her mother, and they share one final meal together before Mrs. Roy dies. Her death is peaceful: She bathes, puts on a fresh set of clothing, lies down on her bed, and she is gone.

She wanted to be cremated, and Arundhati and her brother honor her wishes. Her memorial is large, and although Arundhati knew that her mother was influential, she is surprised by how many people attend. Arundhati had wanted to be distanced from her mother’s estate: She was worried that if she became part-owner of any of it, the school would be targeted. However, upon finding out that she now owns her mother’s house, she decides to repair it. She enlists the help of an old friend from architecture school, and they spend a year restoring the home to its former glory.

Arundhati remains consumed by grief, but in her mind’s eye she can see her mother walking the earth and knows that she is no longer suffering.