Reviews

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth

natashaeb's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny informative lighthearted reflective sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

ameserole's review against another edition

rtc

rangerxana's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

cseibs's review against another edition

4.0

Finally! To have finished a book this long I had to have liked it. Yes, it is a soap opera with a little too much politics and cricket and not enough poor people, but it doesn't pretend to be anything more than that. And it is wonderful at being what it is - a good, engrossing, enjoyable read.

bluestjuice's review against another edition

3.0

It seems like I've been reading this so long that I've been absorbed into it - I hardly know any more whether I liked it or not, only that I had to finish it in order to find out what happened. It's massive and multi-layered, and I admit to having been more wooed by the character dramas than the political landscape - the background the politics provided was important, but I could have done with less detail. I cruised through the last 200 pages but now feel somewhat let down - I'm not sure I don't understand the way the different plotlines were resolved, but I didn't really enjoy the ending and I'm not sure what the author was trying to say through it. I guess my feelings on this novel are ambivalent.

jacki_f's review against another edition

5.0

A Suitable Boy has been on my "must read" list for many years - finally I have got round to it. For the past five weeks I have been immersed in the fictional town of Brahmpur, India. It is a long book (Wikipedia helpfully tells me that it's one of the longest novels ever written), but for the most part it was easy to read and it held my attention throughout.

The book opens with a family wedding which unites the Mehra and Kapoor families. Lata Mehra is the younger sister of the bride and it's her mother's determination to find "a suitable boy" for her daughter to marry that will become one of the main storylines of the novel. The scope widens though, firstly to encompass the other members of the Mehra and Kapoor families, and then their friends and colleagues and then wider still to cover the events of the time that influence their lives. In this way the book manages to be simultaneously both intimate and epic and to take in the broad canvas of 1950s India: both Muslims and Hindus, politicians and prostitutes, city-dwellers and villagers, traditional and modern ways. There is a broad cast of characters and occasionally it can be confusing but family trees at the beginning of the book help you to keep track of who's who.

I love books that are set in India: two of my favourites have been A Fine Balance and Shantaram. This wonderful book has leapt into my all time top 10. It's hard to summarize it better than the quote from the Times which features on the cover of the English edition: "Make time for it. It will keep you company for the rest of your life".

habiba_r's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

An amazing epic saga. It was in turns, sentimental (in that very South Asian manner), funny, emotional, nail-biting and ponderous. I found myself caring for the characters in only the way one can when you read a saga and the people contained within stay with you so long (or perhaps it is you who are staying with them). It would be reductive to say that this is merely the story of finding 'a suitable boy', but that the search is a conduit through which the story weaves and touches many lives. It reminded me of Austen's wit at times and of her works, I would compare it with Pride and Prejudice most. And other times, I was reminded of the expanse and deftness that Tolstoy has with exploring human psychology, particularly in the face of a specific political and social climate (in this case newly independent India) as well as in the face of universal human experiences. 

Look, just take my word for it that even the side characters are worth reading about!

essjay1's review against another edition

4.0

I read this more than 20 years ago, and recall loving it.

rck6's review against another edition

fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

kahkmyers's review against another edition

reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75