2nd Quarter Group Read of A Suitable Boy

Welcome to the 2nd Quarter Group Read of A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth. Originally published in 1993 and, at 1,349 plus pages, one of the longest novels ever published in the English language as a single volume. We haven't planned specifics yet, but as everyone has a different amount of time available and reads at different speeds, these three months should give everyone enough time to feel comfortable with the read.

Awards Won by A Suitable Boy

WH Smith Literary Award (1994)

Waterstones top 25 books of the last 25 years (2007, No 23)

Waterstones Books of the Century (1997, No 50)

Commonwealth Writers' Prize (Overall Best Book, 1994)

BBC's Big Read (Best loved novel, 2003, No 55)

Irish Times International Fiction Prize Shortlist (1994)

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (2006/2008/2010/2012 Edition)

Guardian 1000 (Family and self)

The Modern Library: the 200 best novels in English since 1950 (1990s)

Orange Prize for Fiction's "50 Essential Reads by Contemporary Authors"

Torchlight List (#191)

Daily Telegraph's 100 Books of the Century, 1900-1999

BookDepository's 100 Best Books Ever

About the Author



Born June 20, 1952, Vikram Seth is an Indian novelist and poet. He has received several awards for his writing. A sequel to A Suitable Boy is planned but according to Amazon won't be available until June 2018.

Please feel free to drop by with comments and encouragements.

I have my massive book ready. I have loosely planned upon dividing the book into three sections and reading a section per month. Anyone else have any ideas on reading plans?

I probably won't join in the actual reading, as I still have so many TBRs to get read, but I have starred the thread and will lurk in the shadows. A Suitable Boy is one of my all-time favourite books, so I'm looking forward to be reminded of the story and characters (nearly every one of whom I found I really cared and rooted for as I was reading).

>1 DeltaQueen50: Thanks for starting this thread!

I have a three-volume paperback set, and I plan to read one volume per month. In case others want ideas on how to divide up the reading, this is how my edition is split up:

Volume 1: Parts 1-7, 678 pages
Volume 2: Parts 8-13, 621 pages
Volume 3: Parts 14-19, 549 pages

>1 DeltaQueen50: Also thanks from me for starting the thread. I'm also planning on reading it over the three months. I have one huge 1474pg used paperback.

>4 mathgirl40: That looks doable.

I also have the massive paperback and I will divide my reading into the sections that Paulina provided. The biggest problem is going to be holding this sucker!

If we are all going to read the same sections each month, we don't have to worry too much about spoilers and can discuss each section as we go.

Count me in!

I have the book and will try to keep up with your 3 month schedule. Should be fun.

I requested the book from the library. I hope I can keep up. I'll probably have to turn it in and re-request a few times. I tried to find it on Kindle but I couldn't.

I loved this book so much when I first read it - but that was 17 years ago. Time for a reread. Also, the promised sequel has been dangled in front of me for a few years now. I'm not holding my breath, but it would be good to have ASB fresh in my mind when it is released.

I've only read a very few pages and already enjoying it.

My plan was to read 20 pages a day, but I haven't been able to do that, but so far the first 40 pages have captured me.

I've read about 150 pages so far. I'd first read this novel decades ago and I'd forgotten how rich in characters it is. There are so many that are introduced in just the first part, but Seth does a great job of giving each of them a distinct personality.

>13 mathgirl40: That's what I remember too - I cared about every single one of the characters, even the minor ones, because they are drawn so richly right from the start.

How is everyone doing with this book? I'm on track, having read about two-thirds of the first volume so far.

There are two things that have come to mind as I've been reading. First, I really should brush up on the historical events of that era, including Partition and the abolition of the Zamindari system.

Second, after reading last year Vikram Seth's An Equal Music, which focuses on Western classical music and musicians, I'm paying more attention to the parts in A Suitable Boy concerning Indian music and other art forms.

The first time I'd read A Suitable Boy, many years ago, I was so wrapped up in the family-saga aspects of the book that I didn't appreciate these other themes as much.

I am just finishing Part Five and want to get to the end of Part Seven this month. I am totally caught up in the story of the various families, but I can see that a second read would allow one to focus on the political and historical events more. I have read a little about the Partition and so wasn't surprised at the animosity between the Hindus and the Muslims. Author Khushwant Singh explores some of these themes in his books and I learned that over ten million people were displaced during Partition with 1 million plus people killed.

I have reached Part Seven and am reading 18 to 20 pages a day, sometimes a little more. The book is fascinating so far. I read Midnight's Children by Salman Rushdie which deals with India's independence from British rule and also partition so I had a little background before I started this book. Plus I just looked at my list of books on LT, mainly fiction, dealing with India and I have read 20 books or so. I would say I have a strong interest in that country, but can't claim to be any kind of expert. So much to learn.

I've just got back into reading this and I'm trying to read 50+ pages each day. I read Sacred Games last month and that covers a lot of modern Indian history with several interesting back stories.

Many years ago I read both Midnight's Children and Freedom at Midnight, one after the other. They've been my main source of knowledge of India's history of partition.

I've reached the end of Part 7 and I am fully engaged with this book. I love all the various characters, but I have to say that I enjoy reading about the Chatterjis family the most with their breakfast parliaments and their rhyming couplets.

Yes, I like the Chatterjis family also. I am in the middle of Part 8 with Maan Kapoor pining for Saeeda Bai. He is certainly smitten with her.

I've just finished Part 7 and I too love those rhyming couplets!

I've finally started the book, which I've been looking forward to rereading. It's too large to be a book I carry around with me, so it will have to live at home and be the book I read in the evening.

I'm astonished at how skilled a writer Seth is. The first three paragraphs manage to establish setting and time, along with introducing two of the characters and giving a sense of their personalities. All done with a bit of dialog and a brief reflection.

Incidentally, I looked up "tissue-patola" and found a site ( readingasuitableboy.blogspot.com ) where each unfamiliar term is explained. I'm finding it useful.

I've had to put this on the back burner again though still hope to be at Part 13 by end of month, I get out too many library books that need to be read.
Just came in to say that I noticed in the bookshops a new title for the film tie-in to Freedom at Midnight, it's now Viceroy's House and you can see a film trailer here: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4977530/
Covers the last days of British rule in India and into the partitian. I'll go see it this week.

I'm at Part 12. The story was so interesting the last two days I could hardly stop reading. Can't reveal the story but the juxtaposition of the Zamindari vote, the festival Pul Mela centered around the Ganges River, and the ongoing suitable boy for Lata makes for exciting reading.

I've read to the end of Part Thirteen and I am looking forward to finishing the book next month. I read it with my breakfast everyday and have been really enjoying the story.

>25 DeltaQueen50: I've started Part Thirteen and am on track to finishing it by the end of this month. I too have been reading a little every morning before work.

I'm enjoying these middle chapters, particularly the one about the Pul Mela stampede, which I found very moving. I also like Mrs Rupa Mehra's search for the suitable boy (along with her attempts to get rid of the unsuitable ones). These passages have a definite Jane Austen flavour to them.

>26 mathgirl40: I've have also thought that Mrs. Rupa Mehra's quest for a suitable boy brought Jane Austen to mind!

I've finished my edition's volume 2, which ends with Part 13, and I'm looking forward to reading the final volume in June! I must celebrate our group's progress so far with a poor imitation of a Chatterji couplet:

When reading this tome so dense,
Best to do with LT friends!

After a couple of weeks break, I have started in with my breakfast reads of A Suitable Boy again. I am starting in with Part 14 and looking forward to getting reacquainted with all the characters.

>28 mathgirl40: I started off enjoying the Chatterji couplets but have to admit to finding those two girls M & K a tad annoying by the end of Part 13.
I'll be taking a week's break to do my Poldark read and then get back to finishing the book.
I saw the film, Viceroy's House, today finally and while it isn't a sweeping masterpiece does give a bit of an overview of the politics behind the partition.

Finished the book this morning, loved this last third of the book. Did she make the right decision? I think so.

>31 avatiakh: Congrats on finishing up this chunkster, Kerry. I just started Section 16 this morning. My granddaughter checks to see how far I have gotten whenever she comes to visit, she is amazed at how thick this book is. Actually, though I think I am going to miss this story when I am finished.

I finished A Suitable Boy and I am going to miss reading about these characters. A 5 star read for me.

I'm going to finish this but I probably won't be able to do so until August. I'll post my thoughts as I get through each volume.

>31 avatiakh: >33 DeltaQueen50: Congratulations on finishing! I'm still on Part 15, but on track for finishing by the end of the month.

>34 luvamystery65: I'd love to hear your thoughts about each volume!

>35 mathgirl40: I'll definitely post my thoughts.

I finished the book yesterday and here are my thoughts:

A fascinating read following 4 extended families through an especially turbulent time in India's history. Do I think Lata made the right decision? No I don't and I think we will hear more of the boy who wasn't chosen if Seth ever gets around to finishing A Suitable Girl. I'm going to miss following these families. I felt the novel ended on an especially melancholy note which indicates to me that Seth has a lot more to say about these families.

I think Lata was too quick to decide on marriage. I would have preferred it if she decided to say no to all three but I do realize this was the 1950's and women didn't really have many options - a good marriage was the goal of most women. I think I read somewhere that A Suitable Girl was going to be set in the 1980's or early 1990's and I hope most of these characters turn up in in the book as I would love to know what happened to them.

I was happy with the choice she made, it was based on her intellect more than her heart, but he was the one who she felt would be the most 'suitable.' Arranged marriages at that time were the most common and she had the example of her sister. She wasn't after love in the end, in fact she was a little scared of choosing passion, as well an inter faith marriage could have eventually been plagued by problems between the families.

I'm also looking forward to the sequel and hope to see some of these characters again.

>37 dallenbaugh: Congratulations on finishing!

I'm not quite done yet but I'm in the home stretch. After I finished the intense and heartbreaking Part 17, I had to take a couple of days off to recover! Once I finish the book, then I'll join in with my thoughts on Lata's decision. Having read the book before, I know what that decision is, but perhaps this time around, I'll feel differently about it.

I finally finished my reread of this wonderful book!

I think Lata made a good decision. She chose the safe and practical but not distasteful choice instead of the more risky and potentially exciting one. As a risk-averse person myself, I can understand her reasons. I too am very eager to hear whether Seth has more to say about these characters in A Suitable Girl.

I thought that readers of this book might find the following New York Times article interesting:
India Elects President From Caste Once Known as 'Untouchables'

Interesting. I wonder how close Seth is to finishing A Suitable Girl.

I thought I'd revisit this thread and mention that I saw the film Viceroy's House today. I think that those of you who enjoyed A Suitable Boy would probably like the movie, and as mentioned by >30 avatiakh:, it provides an overview of the politics surrounding the Partition of India. I thought the acting was excellent, but I'm not sure how closely the characters truly resembled their real-life counterparts.