Book info

• Title A Suitable Boy
• Author Vikram Seth
• Year 1993
• Genre Historical

A modern classic, this epic tale of families, romance and political intrigue, set in India, never loses its power to delight and enchant readers. At its core, A Suitable Boy is a love story: the tale of Lata - and her mother's - attempts to find her a suitable husband, through love or through exacting maternal appraisal. At the same time, it is the story of India, newly independent and struggling through a time of crisis as a sixth of the world's population faces its first great general election and the chance to map its own destiny.

Thoughts

I’ll be honest and admit, I didn’t get to the end of this. It wasn’t bad, it just didn’t grab my attention the way I hope a book does. I wouldn’t usually review a book I don’t finish but this one was part of my Big Read to do list so I tried to keep pushing on as long as possible. I’ve been picking this up and putting it down for months, which is never a good sign.

I thought the dynamics between the families were interesting, and the love quadrangle with Lata was the one thing that kept me trying to read on. But the ins and outs of the political world and the shoe factory, well, it just didn’t do it for me.

Rating: Unrated