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4.11 AVERAGE
4.11 AVERAGE
informative
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Didn't actually finish this book, our bookclub decided it wasn't worth the effort to finish it. I got 137 pages in (out of 1349).
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I read Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy as a "Big Book" reading selection for a book club I belong to on goodreads. It is not a book I would normally choose for recreational reading. Just the mere size of the thing, not to mention the setting would turn me off in search of something "lighter", ha. But I am glad I took the time with this novel. Was it the best thing I ever read? No. There was really nothing in this book's story that hasn't been examined many times in other, much shorter, books. But, I must say, what at first turned me off about this novel, the sheer size, the setting in India in the 1950's, turned out to be the very thing that was this novels ultimate triumph. A Suitable Boy utterly took over my life for weeks, mentally transported me to a foreign place and time inhabited by characters who became both very familiar and ultimately familial. I grew to really care, to become emotionally invested in the story. I traveled to India for an extended stay and really grew to like it there. What more can you ask from a book?
Long and complex but fascinating and very readable
challenging
informative
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-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
This was a truly beautiful book, but just way too long.
This book was so much more than the story of a search for a suitable husband for Lata, which I thought it would be from the start of the book. I learned a lot about the religious and political tensions in post-independence India and, whilst sometimes the descriptions and detail felt a bit too much, overall it added depth and understanding to the core narrative. The ending felt disappointing in some ways, and yet, had the story finished the way I'd hoped, it would have perhaps been less true to life and maybe more disastrous in the long term. It took me longer to read this book than I would have liked, as I did get bogged down in some of the descriptive passages, but it's a good read that does more than merely entertain.
lighthearted
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No