This book, in paperback, is physically hard to read. It's about 4 inches thick, so I'm having trouble toting it along with me to read, and actually holding it up in bed. So it's not getting read. I hope to get through it...
Update 10/13: I finished 2 out of 3 of the books of this novel, picked up a book club book, and never got back to the 3rd book. It was really good, and I learned a lot about Indian culture. Some of the characters were great, the writing was very good. But it just kept going and going. Now, it's been months and I'm sure I've forgotten too much.

Door-stopper of a story about a family. I remember that I enjoyed this book, and despite the length, didn't find this a slow read.

Loved it! The characterization was great. It read like an Indian Jane Austen novel. Beautifully written.

Marking as read just to get it off my shelf, but really on hold until I have a few centuries to finish it.

Vikram Seth reveals the intricate world of post-WWII, post-independence India. His characters come to life as the novel wends on. Twists and turns in the many plots are plausable, and life-like. He interweaves politics and personal issues with great skill.

Oh my goodness, I can't believe I actually finished this behemoth of a book! Not that it was a chore, far from it. It was well worth the time put into it. And it was a LOT.

This book was an absolute delight because of the characters. Everyone was so vivid, so alive, and just SO CUTE (even when they're being mean). I had to stay sharp, because there were a LOT of characters to keep track of - every family had 4 or 5 children, there were remarriages, deaths, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, and it got complicated at times. Since I had the ebook it wasn't easy for me to flip to the front where the family tree illustration was (that would have helped).

Advice - read it all in one go. If you stop and take a break, you'll forget the minor characters and small plot events that have a tendency to become important later.

Against it - there's a lot of details about festivals and politics I found to be unnecessary. It made things complicated without adding much to the plot.

That said, I thoroughly enjoyed this book! Recommended for people who love colourful characters, India, and complicated family/life situations.

I think the best testament I can give to Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy is the fact that even after reading over 1500 pages, I still want to read more. Honestly did not want it to end. I feel that the setting and characters may be a bit dated and not an authentic representation of the idea of "India", but the characters and plot was in itself amazing so as to be ageless. I doubt I will ever read this again, but the feeling it aroused will remain in my memory for a long time.

(Contains spoilers!)

I must confess, it was a pretty tough reading for me, especially after a prolonged reading hiatus. However, I persevered with all my will power and was so relieved when I was finally done!
Although the novel isn't all that tedious, I found it hard to wade through the profound (at times, excruciatingly boring) details of each and every character and event.
I liked Lata's story and was kind of rooting for her to make some rebellious move but alas!
Had a great urge to skip through the political tugs of war but decided to power through.
The end seemed pretty anti-climactic to me, although now that I think of it, the characters could not help but fall into whatever traps they had prepared for themselves or those prepared by their families. One thing that struck me the most was definitely the similarities between the India of that time to the Pakistan of today. Almost 70 years later, and we are still stuck in the same loop of power-hungry politicians of the 1950s, seeking to further their own selfish causes. Wishing for a progress in this respect might seem childish, but I was disappointed how the failures of the past still resonate in modern Pakistan.

Moreover, it was quite a coincidence that I got around to reading this novel quite near to the publication of its sequel. Although I am not sure I will read the sequel anytime soon after it is published, I still haven't digested much of the Suitable Boy as it is!

This book had been on my to-read list since 2015 and though that's not the oldest on that list it felt time to read. But I have to say that when I took it off the hold-shelf at the library I nearly put it straight back into the Returns slot. I've had non-fiction books of this page length and weight, but never before have I read a novel that's 1349 pages long! Still, I knew I'd really enjoyed another by this author so I decided to give it a go. When I got home I figured out how many pages I had to read each day in order to get it back to the library by due date, and set to.

So, what did I think of it? I really enjoyed the characters and their unfolding stories. I didn't enjoy all the politics - I realise the political and social situations are integral to the storyline, but I would have preferred those segments to be much shorter. Still, a full and fascinating story in a dynamic time in India.

Too long and a slow read. Enjoyed the history of India in the 50's. Too many characters to keep track of. I did like An Equal Music by Vikram Seth.