Book Review- 'A Suitable Boy"

"A Suitable Boy" by Vikram Seth

It is one of the longest novels I have ever read, which contains more than 1300 pages. But author never leaves any loose string in between to let you unhold the grip on it. It’s worth reading if anybody wants to have an insight into the post independent India.

The story is set in a fictional place Brahmpur and also travels through other cities like Delhi, Calcatta etc. The Tale begins from a marriage with the search of a suitable match for Mrs Rupa Mehra’s daughter Lata and ends on her marriage. The Mehra family is closely interwoven in story with three other families to name them- Kapoors, Chatterjees and Khans. Each family showcases particular class, mannerism and characteristics.  Most of the characters represent elite society. Along with this main theme other themes also run side by side throwing glimpse of all social and historical aspects of country during the period of 1951-52 such as- the trails of British influence left behind, contemporary political conflicts, law system, abolition of zamindari,  education system, class and caste system, partition etc.

Though the novel deals with serious themes having somber tone, it is not without a tinge of humour which makes the lengthy reading enjoyable. It is a sort of social and political satire. The language differs according to the background of characters which is really polished and refined showing the deep knowledge of writer about every walk of life. Vikram Seth is not mere prose writer but also has composed many poems. He has authored his famous novel ‘Golden Gate’ in verse. This novel also has chunks of his poetics in the form of rhyming couplets. I would like to share an extract from someone's review to give a panorama of the book in quite terse clauses:

"the book includes everything from straight-up action to long brooding descriptions, from fast-paced dialogue to moody soliloquies, from lovely portrayals of India and its landmarks to involving emotional moments." 

I read this novel two years back and still remember its peculiarities. Though I can’t recall the names of all the characters now, but one thing I can assure that while reading you become so familiar with the characters that you start feeling intimacy with them and are propelled to complete this big book. I have also heard that this novel has been split into volumes to render it easy to handle. Anyways, Vikram Seth is now paving the way to its sequel 'A Suitable Girl',which is expected to be published till 2013. I hope this novel won't be that longer but will arouse the similar interest in readers with its content.