Sign in with Facebook
Rajat Ubhaykar's Reviews > A Suitable Boy
A Suitable Boy (A Bridge of Leaves, #1)
by
by
Rajat Ubhaykar's review
bookshelves: favorites, historical-fiction, must-read-at-least-once, history, india
May 16, 2015
bookshelves: favorites, historical-fiction, must-read-at-least-once, history, india
I don't even know where to begin gushing about this one, so panoramic is its scope and so delightful its literary charms. Vikram Seth's 800,000 word magnum opus is lengthier than War and Peace and more compulsively readable than a well-paced soap opera. It is an event in one's life. I call it a soap opera, because fundamentally, the plot is a family drama, revolving around the wooers of its principal character, Lata Mehra.
Set in the early 1950s and written with a forceful simplicity akin to R K Narayan, it covers 18 months in the entwined lives of four families - the Mehras, Kapoors, Chatterjis, and Khans - and through these characters proffers an intricate peek into a most fascinating (and neglected) period in Indian history. It is an uncertain era; the subcontinent has been Partitioned on religious grounds and India is making its wobbly transition from feudalism to democracy. The First Great General Elections are to be held in 1952 and the central legislative event is the abolition of the oppressive zamindari system, and with it, an entire way of life: courtesans, Hindustani classical musicians and purana khidmatgars. Caste is beginning to make itself felt in electoral calculations, and Nehru remains a force to be reckoned with. On this level, A Suitable Boy is painstakingly researched historical fiction. Seth writes with a level of detail that is unreal. As one reviewer notes, "he writes with the omniscience and authority of a large, orderly committee of experts on Indian politics, law, medicine, crowd psychology, urban and rural social customs, dress, cuisine, horticulture, funerary rites, cricket and even the technicalities of shoe manufacture."
A Suitable Boy is undoubtedly one of the biggest achievements of world literature and will remain one of my all-time favourites. I feel lucky to have read it at this point in time since I can't wait for its sequel coming out next year, the appropriately titled A Suitable Girl.
EDIT: It's been over four years since I wrote this review. Seth still hasn't finished A Suitable Girl, though I'm pretty sure it's going to be worth the wait.
Set in the early 1950s and written with a forceful simplicity akin to R K Narayan, it covers 18 months in the entwined lives of four families - the Mehras, Kapoors, Chatterjis, and Khans - and through these characters proffers an intricate peek into a most fascinating (and neglected) period in Indian history. It is an uncertain era; the subcontinent has been Partitioned on religious grounds and India is making its wobbly transition from feudalism to democracy. The First Great General Elections are to be held in 1952 and the central legislative event is the abolition of the oppressive zamindari system, and with it, an entire way of life: courtesans, Hindustani classical musicians and purana khidmatgars. Caste is beginning to make itself felt in electoral calculations, and Nehru remains a force to be reckoned with. On this level, A Suitable Boy is painstakingly researched historical fiction. Seth writes with a level of detail that is unreal. As one reviewer notes, "he writes with the omniscience and authority of a large, orderly committee of experts on Indian politics, law, medicine, crowd psychology, urban and rural social customs, dress, cuisine, horticulture, funerary rites, cricket and even the technicalities of shoe manufacture."
A Suitable Boy is undoubtedly one of the biggest achievements of world literature and will remain one of my all-time favourites. I feel lucky to have read it at this point in time since I can't wait for its sequel coming out next year, the appropriately titled A Suitable Girl.
EDIT: It's been over four years since I wrote this review. Seth still hasn't finished A Suitable Girl, though I'm pretty sure it's going to be worth the wait.
Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read
A Suitable Boy.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
May 16, 2015
– Shelved as:
to-read
May 16, 2015
– Shelved
August 14, 2016
–
Started Reading
August 30, 2016
– Shelved as:
favorites
August 30, 2016
– Shelved as:
historical-fiction
August 30, 2016
– Shelved as:
must-read-at-least-once
August 30, 2016
– Shelved as:
history
August 30, 2016
– Shelved as:
india
August 30, 2016
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-9 of 9 (9 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Aayush
(new)
-
added it
Aug 31, 2016 07:59PM
I guess, I got my yet another to read goal.
reply
|
flag
Aayush wrote: "I guess, I got my yet another to read goal."Oh this one is completely worth it.
Luv the review Rajat, I'll start this one next
Very impressive -- the book, your review, and the fact that you were undaunted by its length!
Great review! Funny, whenever anyone asks me about War and Peace, I equate it to a soap opera of sorts. That sounds a little demeaning, but in a way it is - a saga of people’s lives- like the Soaps.
I read a book that was similar to it in content and tone and I couldnt stop marvelling at the author - Sujit Saraf.I was reminded of this book and I am wondering how it was possible for one man to write “A Suitable Boy”. Ye committee wala quote (in your review) is too good !
Arvind wrote: "I read a book that was similar to it in content and tone and I couldnt stop marvelling at the author - Sujit Saraf.I was reminded of this book and I am wondering how it was possible for one man to..."
Thanks Arvind! And oh yes, Sujit Saraf is one of the most criminally underrated authors in India. Do read his Harilal & Sons, if you haven't. I enjoyed it immensely!
A fitting review, Rajat. I remember someone asking me on seeing the size of the book whether I was reading the Bible. It is indeed nothing less than a sacred literary text, whose grand details merge into a simple narrative. I devoured Seth's other books after reading this. No wonder it took Seth nearly a decade and thousands of miles of travel to finish it. The book has one of my favorite quotes, which comes from Lata's lover from a different religion: “And an equation is the same whether it's written in red or green ink.”
Kshitiz wrote: "A fitting review, Rajat. I remember someone asking me on seeing the size of the book whether I was reading the Bible. It is indeed nothing less than a sacred literary text, whose grand details merg..."Thank you, Kshitiz! Seth is undoubtedly one of the greatest writers India has ever produced. Just wish he would hurry up with A Suitable Girl. It's been so long in the making!
