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ungoliant1234 's review for:
A Suitable Boy
by Vikram Seth
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this as a part of a college course, which did help. It is not uncommon for me to lose interest halfway through a book as long as this, but reading it section-wise and spacing out my reading did help keep the book fresh.
The highlight is Seth’s humour and exceptionally engaging dialogues. It is truly a delight to read the interactions between different characters (the Chatterjees stand out). A Suitable Boy is also extremely readable and doesn’t feel excessively slow at any point.
That said, there isn’t anything that particularly stands out here- which for a book as long as this is a massive flaw. The characters are well written, but not exceptional; the plot is engaging, but verges on feeling like a soap opera; and while Seth does comment on religious and caste based tension, the commentary is fairly obvious.
A big issue I had was with the ending and specifically with the suitor Lata chose. I understand that Seth was trying a realist approach, but when so much of the book is so over-the-top and like a soap opera (Maan’s storyline stands out here), an attempt to ground it at the end just feels very frustrating. Seth introduces lot of plot lines and characters, and while he does occasionally mention them and bring them back into the plot, their plot lines don’t really converge or conclude (so their reappearances feel more like cameos than having some intent). A lot of great charters are ignored, some compelling plot lines are dropped or just waved off.
Again, a very readable big book but not a very memorable or striking one.
The highlight is Seth’s humour and exceptionally engaging dialogues. It is truly a delight to read the interactions between different characters (the Chatterjees stand out). A Suitable Boy is also extremely readable and doesn’t feel excessively slow at any point.
That said, there isn’t anything that particularly stands out here- which for a book as long as this is a massive flaw. The characters are well written, but not exceptional; the plot is engaging, but verges on feeling like a soap opera; and while Seth does comment on religious and caste based tension, the commentary is fairly obvious.
A big issue I had was with the ending and specifically with the suitor Lata chose. I understand that Seth was trying a realist approach, but when so much of the book is so over-the-top and like a soap opera (Maan’s storyline stands out here), an attempt to ground it at the end just feels very frustrating. Seth introduces lot of plot lines and characters, and while he does occasionally mention them and bring them back into the plot, their plot lines don’t really converge or conclude (so their reappearances feel more like cameos than having some intent). A lot of great charters are ignored, some compelling plot lines are dropped or just waved off.
Again, a very readable big book but not a very memorable or striking one.