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norimee's review against another edition
2 stars, because it is well written and shows a plethora of well rounded characters and a view into an important time in Indian History.
BUT: what really made my blood boil and wanted me to give it even negative stars is how the author handled telling the story ark of Saeeda Bai and Tasneem. The way he just didn't give any importance to the violence against women in his story.When Maan attacked first Saeeda Bai and then Firoz, him strangling her nearly to death and her persistent injury and the effects on her voice (her livelihood) is only mentioned in passing. There is no remorse or guilt described in Maan, while the guilt and worry for Firoz nearly eats him up and is described in detail. Not even at their next meeting, the only focus is on how he might have fallen out of love with her and no word about what he had done to her and what she had actually done for him in pretending it never happened and lying for his sake to the police. But even worse was how Seth wrote about the issue with Tasneem. The big scandal being that she was the Nawab Sahib's illegitimate daughter and Feroz's half sister while the fact that Feroz's father actually FUCKING RAPED 15 YEAR OLD SAEEDA BAI AND GOT HER PREGNANT is only mentioned in passing. If there wouldn’t be a child, this would literally not have been an issue. No reason to feel bad about or for any of the characters to acknowledge it, after they learned about it. The widely respected Nawab Sahib drunkenly raped a 15 year old child and 15 years later Maan Kapoor nearly strangled her to death out of jealousy.
These facts shouldn't be treated so nonchalantly as if that's a normal part of life and the way you just treat women. Normalising violence against women is not okay today and it wasn’t okay in 1993 when this book was published.
BUT: what really made my blood boil and wanted me to give it even negative stars is how the author handled telling the story ark of Saeeda Bai and Tasneem. The way he just didn't give any importance to the violence against women in his story.
These facts shouldn't be treated so nonchalantly as if that's a normal part of life and the way you just treat women. Normalising violence against women is not okay today and it wasn’t okay in 1993 when this book was published.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, Suicide, Rape, Misogyny, and Death of parent
liaandersson's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Islamophobia, Violence, Classism, Grief, Racism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Dementia, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Medical content, Mental illness, Gore, and Hate crime
Minor: Incest, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Drug use, Abortion, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicide, and Pedophilia
amyvl93's review against another edition
challenging
informative
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Honestly think finishing this book may rank in my 2023 achievements. A Suitable Boy is one of the longest novels in the English language, clocking in at just under 1500 pages and, to be brutally honest, really, really doesn't need to be.
Set in 1951 and 1952 in post-colonial and post-Partition India, A Suitable Boy technically follows the story of Lata, a young female student whose mother is set on finding 'a suitable boy' for her to marry. Alongside Lata's search to find a husband we also dip into the life of her brother-in-law Pran's attempts to modernise the curriculum at the university, his brother Maan's romantic entaglement with the courtesan Saaeda Bai, his father Mahesh's career in Indian politics during an especially turbulent time along with Lata's other in-laws the Chatterji's irrevent and snobby lives in Calcutta and Maan's family friends the Khans, grappling with being both Muslim and landowners at a time of significant change for both these groups. We also get detailed sidebars from musicians, tutors along with local and national politicians.
It is a truly sprawling narrative and there's much to enjoy here. Seth's prose is - usually - entertaining and humerous, especially when it comes to following the lives of his characters. When we're with Lata and her slightly ridiculous mother (think Mrs Bennet from Pride & Prejudice), the chaotic Chatterjis and generally exploring relationships; this feels very well drawn. These characters feel vibrant and their homes seemingly leap off the page. However, other characterisation is not as solid, surprisingly Lata's love interests all come across as fairly flat, and largely defined by one characteristic (Muslim, Poet, Shoemaker respectively). Given that this is the plot hook, I did expect to be slightly more interested in these characters and in Lata's ultimate choice.
Whilst the characterisation is generally strong, I felt that this novel felt at its most bloated when Seth attempts to zoom out and provide wider context; or goes on random side quests with minor characters to give us, for instance, detailed views of a local music scene, spirituality or the history of shoemaker in India. I feel that Seth was probably trying to draw comparisons with authors like Tolstoy but I just found these sections an absolute slog. Indeed, I was rarely motivated to pick up this book because I wanted to know what happened, but because I just wanted to finish the thing. It did feel to me that Seth's points could have been made with far less detail, and I wish he'd had an editor who'd trimmed some of this excess. The decades he's spent writing A Suitable Girl makes me think this won't have changed.
It's undeniable that this novel provides a detailed insight to life in India in the 1950s, to a society that is trying to work out what its identity is after colonial rule and hints at the rifts that form part of Indian society today. I would say it is worth a read if you want to get this detailed, detailed insight.
Set in 1951 and 1952 in post-colonial and post-Partition India, A Suitable Boy technically follows the story of Lata, a young female student whose mother is set on finding 'a suitable boy' for her to marry. Alongside Lata's search to find a husband we also dip into the life of her brother-in-law Pran's attempts to modernise the curriculum at the university, his brother Maan's romantic entaglement with the courtesan Saaeda Bai, his father Mahesh's career in Indian politics during an especially turbulent time along with Lata's other in-laws the Chatterji's irrevent and snobby lives in Calcutta and Maan's family friends the Khans, grappling with being both Muslim and landowners at a time of significant change for both these groups. We also get detailed sidebars from musicians, tutors along with local and national politicians.
It is a truly sprawling narrative and there's much to enjoy here. Seth's prose is - usually - entertaining and humerous, especially when it comes to following the lives of his characters. When we're with Lata and her slightly ridiculous mother (think Mrs Bennet from Pride & Prejudice), the chaotic Chatterjis and generally exploring relationships; this feels very well drawn. These characters feel vibrant and their homes seemingly leap off the page. However, other characterisation is not as solid, surprisingly Lata's love interests all come across as fairly flat, and largely defined by one characteristic (Muslim, Poet, Shoemaker respectively). Given that this is the plot hook, I did expect to be slightly more interested in these characters and in Lata's ultimate choice.
Whilst the characterisation is generally strong, I felt that this novel felt at its most bloated when Seth attempts to zoom out and provide wider context; or goes on random side quests with minor characters to give us, for instance, detailed views of a local music scene, spirituality or the history of shoemaker in India. I feel that Seth was probably trying to draw comparisons with authors like Tolstoy but I just found these sections an absolute slog. Indeed, I was rarely motivated to pick up this book because I wanted to know what happened, but because I just wanted to finish the thing. It did feel to me that Seth's points could have been made with far less detail, and I wish he'd had an editor who'd trimmed some of this excess. The decades he's spent writing A Suitable Girl makes me think this won't have changed.
It's undeniable that this novel provides a detailed insight to life in India in the 1950s, to a society that is trying to work out what its identity is after colonial rule and hints at the rifts that form part of Indian society today. I would say it is worth a read if you want to get this detailed, detailed insight.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Classism, Sexual assault, Colonisation, and Islamophobia
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
oddreads_nicolestins's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I loved this book.
In-depth review: https://oddreads.substack.com/p/full-book-review-a-suitable-boy-by
In-depth review: https://oddreads.substack.com/p/full-book-review-a-suitable-boy-by
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Stalking, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Grief, Sexism, Blood, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Incest, Hate crime, and Islamophobia
Minor: Transphobia, Xenophobia, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Abortion, and Adult/minor relationship
sherbertwells's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Four families in the fictional Indian city of Brahmpur juggle familial expectations, post-partition politics, and their own desires in the search for suitable matches. After spending 1350 pages with Seth’s sparkling, multifaceted characters, I cannot help but long for a few more pages.
“Every man’s love life is interesting. If he doesn’t have one that’s interesting. If he has one, that’s interesting. And if he has two, that’s twice as interesting” (516)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Medical content, Violence, and Islamophobia
Moderate: Suicide, Hate crime, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Colonisation
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