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natoasty's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Sexual assault, Suicide, and Abortion
theimportanceofbooks's review against another edition
5.0
It took me two years to finish this book! Partly because I am a slow reader and have lots of books on the go at once, but partly because I purposefully wanted to savour the experience!
This book has everything, romance, politics, history, family, friendship, betrayal, lust...
It is truly a unique reading experience and worth all the pages and the pain of carrying such a heavy book round with you everywhere.
This book has everything, romance, politics, history, family, friendship, betrayal, lust...
It is truly a unique reading experience and worth all the pages and the pain of carrying such a heavy book round with you everywhere.
liaandersson's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Islamophobia, Violence, Classism, Grief, Racism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Dementia, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Medical content, Mental illness, Gore, and Hate crime
Minor: Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Drug use, Abortion, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicide, and Pedophilia
_tourist's review against another edition
a wonderful book. a 1400 page temperance pamphlet.
terrypaulpearce's review against another edition
5.0
I'm very much in love with this book. About the highest praise I could hope to speak of a 1,500 page monster is that i didn't want it to end, and it's true. The book has everything; it's one of those where you finish it and don't want to actually put it down, so you go back over the quotes on the jacket and at the front without the word 'hyperbole' entering your head even once.
To paraphrase one of them, this a long, slow, sweet paean to life, to family, to love. It meanders, it rambles, but it does so like a beautiful stream curving through simple yet breathtaking countryside. For long stretches, nothing happens except people walking in and out of rooms and talking to each other. At other times, the drama is intense and momentous events, for the characters and, in the backdrop, the country, come thick and fast on the back of one another.
At the heart of it is the keenness of Seth's observation. I lost count of the number of times a line here or there, usually simple, not florid, made me grin from ear to ear, or laugh out loud, through sheer recognition. This man watches, and he sees. This book is about what it is to be human. And if that sounds like an overly grand endeavour, what backs its bid in spades is its humility. It talks about life not through grand and direct statements, but in a way that reminds us that life is made up of tiny parts like me and you and all the characters here, some of whom may feel themselves insignificant. This book reminds us that none of them, or us, are.
It succeeds on so many levels; there are so many threads woven through it. You grow to care about so many of the characters: dissolute, volatile Maan trying to work out what he can be; overbearing, over-emotional matriarch Rupa who adores schmaltz and somehow manages to make it deep; desperately egalitarian Rasheed struggling in a deeply unfair world; earnest and cocksure yet somehow humble Haresh; delightful child prodigy Bhaskar who unnerves many of the adults. We often leave a character for a hundred pages at a time, but when we return we are always pleased to find out how things fare with him or her, even if the answer is not so well.
And there ultimately, in how it deals with loss and tragedy, lies what for me will echo longest about the book. I have no intention of giving away the nature and scope of the dark moments for any of the characters, but the way they are handled reminds us that life is fragile, and precious, and unfair, but still, at the end of it all, it goes on, and the end of every cycle happens as new ones are beginning all around. The overwhelming note that resounds after the end is one of hope, and of appreciation, and I feel I appreciate life that little bit more for having read it.
What more can a reader ask?
To paraphrase one of them, this a long, slow, sweet paean to life, to family, to love. It meanders, it rambles, but it does so like a beautiful stream curving through simple yet breathtaking countryside. For long stretches, nothing happens except people walking in and out of rooms and talking to each other. At other times, the drama is intense and momentous events, for the characters and, in the backdrop, the country, come thick and fast on the back of one another.
At the heart of it is the keenness of Seth's observation. I lost count of the number of times a line here or there, usually simple, not florid, made me grin from ear to ear, or laugh out loud, through sheer recognition. This man watches, and he sees. This book is about what it is to be human. And if that sounds like an overly grand endeavour, what backs its bid in spades is its humility. It talks about life not through grand and direct statements, but in a way that reminds us that life is made up of tiny parts like me and you and all the characters here, some of whom may feel themselves insignificant. This book reminds us that none of them, or us, are.
It succeeds on so many levels; there are so many threads woven through it. You grow to care about so many of the characters: dissolute, volatile Maan trying to work out what he can be; overbearing, over-emotional matriarch Rupa who adores schmaltz and somehow manages to make it deep; desperately egalitarian Rasheed struggling in a deeply unfair world; earnest and cocksure yet somehow humble Haresh; delightful child prodigy Bhaskar who unnerves many of the adults. We often leave a character for a hundred pages at a time, but when we return we are always pleased to find out how things fare with him or her, even if the answer is not so well.
And there ultimately, in how it deals with loss and tragedy, lies what for me will echo longest about the book. I have no intention of giving away the nature and scope of the dark moments for any of the characters, but the way they are handled reminds us that life is fragile, and precious, and unfair, but still, at the end of it all, it goes on, and the end of every cycle happens as new ones are beginning all around. The overwhelming note that resounds after the end is one of hope, and of appreciation, and I feel I appreciate life that little bit more for having read it.
What more can a reader ask?
scarletohhara's review against another edition
3.0
I must say am quite disappointed at who 'The Suitable Boy' is, coz he certainly is not, at least per what everyone around the book feels. I am also disappointed at what I felt are some loose ends. I even found most of the characters annoying though believable. I , however, did like the fact that the characters on this book are way ahead of their times, considering the era the book is set in. That, and the fact, that the book is a joy for reading, are the only redeeming facts for this book. Certainly not worth reading the entire ~1400 pages for that, if you ask me.
mldias's review against another edition
5.0
While I need to let this book percolate a bit in my mind, I want to write a review while the details are still fresh.
What can I say about a novel of such epic proportions? For 1349 pages, we follow the Kapoors, Chatterjis, Mehras, and Khans--among others--through a stormy era in India's recent past. We see how the all-encompassing sociopolitical unrest in 1950s India trickles down into the familial microcosms--and how the seemingly petty family dramas trickle up into the political arena. This is an adversarial time on all fronts. The Hindus and Muslims clash regularly (and sometimes violently), the spectre of Pakistan looms large on the horizon, socialism has taken root and challenged the Congressional status quo, and legal disputes over land ownership abound.
At the heart of this story is Rupa Mehra and her quest to procure a "suitable boy" for her daughter, Lata. It is up to the reader to determine which of her three suitors is the most "suitable", and whether or not she marries the right one. Perhaps no such suitor exists. The narrative builds the passionate, stormy romance between Lata and the Kabir over a span of over 1300 pages, with intermittent scenes to prop up her courtships with Amit and Haresh. However, it is Kabir who seeps into her unconscious, appearing not only in her waking thoughts, but in dreams as well. Unfortunately, their romance proves to be an ill-fated one--not only does an unfortunate misunderstanding drive a wedge between them for much of the story, but, ultimately, Lata cannot turn her back on her family (particularly her old-fashioned, melodramatic mother) to marry a Muslim man.
Also of interest is the homoerotic friendship between Maan and Firoz. What might have ended tragically, given the heat-of-the-moment stabbing incident, ends somewhat ambiguously and not altogether unhappily.
I give this book five stars for intricacy of plot and four stars for characterization. Lata's final choice (and, more importantly, her decision to follow through with it) left me feeling a bit baffled--and, admittedly, a bit cheated. However, even the disappointing ending to the suitor saga does not take away from just how stunning this narrative was.
There have been a few false starts in terms of TV/film adaptations. If this novel ever makes it to the big screen, or even the TV screen, it would be interesting to see how a screenwriter would condense such an intricate and densely populated story.
What can I say about a novel of such epic proportions? For 1349 pages, we follow the Kapoors, Chatterjis, Mehras, and Khans--among others--through a stormy era in India's recent past. We see how the all-encompassing sociopolitical unrest in 1950s India trickles down into the familial microcosms--and how the seemingly petty family dramas trickle up into the political arena. This is an adversarial time on all fronts. The Hindus and Muslims clash regularly (and sometimes violently), the spectre of Pakistan looms large on the horizon, socialism has taken root and challenged the Congressional status quo, and legal disputes over land ownership abound.
At the heart of this story is Rupa Mehra and her quest to procure a "suitable boy" for her daughter, Lata. It is up to the reader to determine which of her three suitors is the most "suitable", and whether or not she marries the right one. Perhaps no such suitor exists. The narrative builds the passionate, stormy romance between Lata and the Kabir over a span of over 1300 pages, with intermittent scenes to prop up her courtships with Amit and Haresh. However, it is Kabir who seeps into her unconscious, appearing not only in her waking thoughts, but in dreams as well. Unfortunately, their romance proves to be an ill-fated one--not only does an unfortunate misunderstanding drive a wedge between them for much of the story, but, ultimately, Lata cannot turn her back on her family (particularly her old-fashioned, melodramatic mother) to marry a Muslim man.
Also of interest is the homoerotic friendship between Maan and Firoz. What might have ended tragically, given the heat-of-the-moment stabbing incident, ends somewhat ambiguously and not altogether unhappily.
I give this book five stars for intricacy of plot and four stars for characterization. Lata's final choice (and, more importantly, her decision to follow through with it) left me feeling a bit baffled--and, admittedly, a bit cheated. However, even the disappointing ending to the suitor saga does not take away from just how stunning this narrative was.
There have been a few false starts in terms of TV/film adaptations. If this novel ever makes it to the big screen, or even the TV screen, it would be interesting to see how a screenwriter would condense such an intricate and densely populated story.
mattcd216's review against another edition
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
sharanyasarathy's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 - could have been 4 but the length, ending, and absolute abandonment of certain key plot points / character arcs incensed me