Goo gracious, Mr. Seth! This book was so wordy, it probably could have been cut in half. I understand that this author is also a poet, and that poetry may play a huge part in the Indian cultures, but it seemed unnecessary in most instances in this book. I had a difficult time staying interested in the political aspects of this book. There are way too many political parties to keep up with, and I found it tiresome to read about them. This book needs a glossary for all the words, titles, and places included in the story. People were referred to as two, three, and sometimes four titles, and it was hard to understand who the subjects/participants of conversations were, at times.

I liked the overall story of Lata, but was disappointed in the end. She, Haresh, and Kabir were the only three characters that I even formed a tiny bit of attachment to.

If I hadn't promised myself to finish this book, I would have put it down after about 300 pages.

This is quite simply a masterpiece, and an ode to life. The writing is beautiful. The many, many characters are so fully fleshed out, and after 1500 pages, feel like old friends. That Seth covers so much, and with such aplomb, beggars belief.
I will be thinking about this book for a long time yet.

A friend of mine nagged me for months to read this book. She swore it would change my life and I would love it.
I tried. I really did.
I had to really oush myself to pick it up, which is unusuaul for me as I am great book lover. When I did read it, I was constantly referring to the family tree just trying to figure who on earth was who. I found myself skipping large sections because I really felt that a page and a half dedicated to describing a tree branch was a tad excessive. In the end I put in 4 solid months of effort and I got just over half way through. I snapped and put it down. I have never done that before.
I didn't hate it. Every so often it was very interesting. But mostly it just felt like Vikram Seth loved the sound of his own voice and simply could not bring himself to stop writing what could have been a really good book.

This is probably the longest book I've ever read at just under 1500 pages and I'm glad to finally finish it. After my experience with this, I have a newfound appreciation for people who can read and finish Proust, because I kept getting frustrated with my progress reading this book.

A Suitable Boy is set in India in the 50s and focuses on 4 families; the Kapoors, The Mehras, The Khans and The Chatterjis. As the title suggests, the book is about a mother looking for a suitable boy for her daughter but it's not limited to that only; he discusses a lot about Indian Culture, Politics at the time when Jawaharlal Nehru was Prime Minister, The Partition, The Hindu/Muslim feud is brought out very well which explains why the Partition happened.

I think he created a strong and memorable set of characters particularly for the 4 main families and I kept reading just to find out how their stories would pan out. Some of the characters that stood out to me were; Mrs Rupa Mehra, Arun, the Chatterjis, Lata and her suitors and Maan.

I do think he was very heavy handed with politics and religion. At some point, it started sounding less like a novel and more like a history/religion lesson. Lengthy dialogues in parliament discussing the Zamindari Bill, and lengthy explanations about various Indian Holidays/Deities-you could tell how much research went into this because of the level of detail. The author is a poet so there's a lot of poetry as well. I ended up skimming through some of these parts.

I know people weren't happy with Lata's choice in the end-I wasn't happy too but in a way I understood her.

I enjoyed picking this book up again and again...and again. It took five months to read and I was sad to have it end. The writing never stood out for me, nor the plot, but I loved it. Hard to explain. I feel like I’m parting with family right now.

Jeg må indrømme, at jeg ikke forelskede mig i den her bog, trods dens mange fine kvaliteter.

I loved this book.

That said, love aside, I cannot realistically give 5*. I turned the last page of this book over a year after I turned the first. For me, to give 5* doesn't necessarily mean that the book was a 'page-turner' (how I hate that term!), but I do think it requires some level of continuous interest that I lacked here.

It was those darned zamindari abolition act sections! At points I really did think they may be the death of me!

The rest of the novel was vibrant, layered, and thoughtful. The book's length allowed me to know the characters. Not just Lata or Maan, but Rasheed, Meenakshi, Bhaskar, Tasneem...

World building at its finest, and I'd recommend as long as you feel tough enough for a little endurance along the way.

I thought the ending was perfect.

Spoiler

Not a happy ending, but a perfect ending. I'm sure Lata's final decision was a disappointment to many, but that was the point, right? The choices we make in life often concern so much more than just ourselves, and the truth is, sometimes the costs of a decision outweigh love.

As the book progressed, I found myself realising that there was no choice for Lata that would make me happy. Any of the three suitors came with significant flaws. For it to have been Amit would not have satisfied me. As Lata herself reasoned, she was unsuited for a life as a poet's wife.

For it to have been Kabir would have been unrealistic - either it would come at the cost of her family, or they would have miraculously come around, which would have been entirely unbelievable. Of course, the fact that this 'problem' still exists is it's own tragedy. Lata deserved better than to settle for Haresh's stability.

The ending was perfect because it was unsatisfying! As unsatisfying as real life often is :)