Do you think the events of the novel were inevitable, or did a bunch of bad things just happen to take place at the same time?

I think this speaks to how lives are shaped and changed over time. One of the refrains Roy uses in The God of Small Things is, "Things can change in a day." This phrase encapsulates the tumultuousness of the characters' lives; when change happens to them, it is usually on a large and enduring scale. Specifially, the story's three major deaths-Sophie's, Velutha's, and Ammu's-mark major points of change for all the characters. These deaths are focal points for the story-they are bizarre, sudden occurrences that suggest the randomness of life in general and the notion that things as we know them are always in transition. Although the family would like to think that their individual secrets and desires can be preserved just as easily as pickles and jams, in fact life goes on developing whether it is acknowledged or not. Other major points of change in the novel are Estha's leaving Ayemenem to live with Babu, Estha's molestation by the Orangedrink Lemondrink man, the first time that Ammu realizes her attraction to Velutha, and the first time they meet by the river and make love.