A review by nickartrip102
A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth

5.0

I bought this book as a birthday gift to myself because it was on my list of "important books to read." Reading (and finishing!) this book was not easy and I ended up utilizing my physical copy, my Kindle, and the Kindle app on my phone (and tried to update my progress on GR.) In the end it was well worth it! Seth offers a vivid and sometimes excruciatingly detailed account of India in the 1950s that encompasses the social, political, cultural and personal. There was quite a learning curve for someone not overly familiar with Indian culture and politics, but that was something I enjoyed most about this book: it forced me to broaden my horizons and investigate different points of view and to learn. Google was a necessary reading partner.

Seth leaves no stone unturned as he unravels a thread of humanity that unites each character introduced and their role in the central plot. Around the 700 page mark I knew the choice Lata would make but I also wanted to see how the story would unfold. 700 pages later I was glad that I did. A Suitable Boy always felt like a beast that I would never be able to tackle but I am so pleased that I powered through. I have seen lots of reviews suggesting it would be better if Seth had cut portions of the novel but I strongly disagree. Each section, each character felt like a necessary narrative thread that created a rich (perhaps at times too rich) experience. I am now prepared to be among the crowd of readers begging for A Suitable Girl!

Be warned this book will fill you with a desire to come up with couplet after couplet.