Anna's Reviews > A Suitable Boy
A Suitable Boy
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Anna's review
bookshelves: rec-a-1001, ga-fiction, in-english, ed-paper, on-shelf-2017, ed-audio, 2021, rec-aw-commonwealth, ge-other-peoples-worlds, re-asia, a-indian
Jul 18, 2021
bookshelves: rec-a-1001, ga-fiction, in-english, ed-paper, on-shelf-2017, ed-audio, 2021, rec-aw-commonwealth, ge-other-peoples-worlds, re-asia, a-indian
Over 1500 pages - and finally finished! I was looking forward to it in a way, but at the same time, not really, not any more. It took me a while to adjust to the multitude of characters and plots. I wondered occasionally if perhaps both the author and the editor forgot what this work was supposed to be about, but now, having spent a sizable portion of my time of the last two months among the clans of Mehras, Chatterjis, Kapoors and Khans, watching them in private and in official capacities, in politics, business and at home, in sickness and in health, in friendship, joy, love and sorrow - I feel something of a mixture of awe and abandonment.
As the title suggests it is a story of the search for a suitable boy, but perhaps in a truly Indian fashion it is much more than that. It is a saga of India, and Indian society with all its intricate detail, at the time of one mothers search for a suitable husband for her daughter. A perfect description of what it is like, is in the following words of one of the characters:
‘What is it like to write a novel?’ asked Lata.
‘I don’t know exactly,’ said Amit. ‘This is my first novel, and I’m in the process of finding out. At the moment it feels like a banyan tree’
‘I see,’ said Lata although she didn’t.
‘What I mean is,’ continued Amit, ‘it sprouts, and grows, and spreads and drops down branches that become trunks or intertwine with other branches. Sometimes the main trunk dies, and the structure is held up by the supporting trunks. When you go to the Botanical Garden you’ll see what I mean. It has its own life - but so do the snakes and birds and bees and lizards and termites that live in it and on it and off it. But then it is also like the Ganges in its upper, middle and lower courses - including its delta - of course.’
…. Only one thing remains - here is a banyan tree…
As the title suggests it is a story of the search for a suitable boy, but perhaps in a truly Indian fashion it is much more than that. It is a saga of India, and Indian society with all its intricate detail, at the time of one mothers search for a suitable husband for her daughter. A perfect description of what it is like, is in the following words of one of the characters:
‘What is it like to write a novel?’ asked Lata.
‘I don’t know exactly,’ said Amit. ‘This is my first novel, and I’m in the process of finding out. At the moment it feels like a banyan tree’
‘I see,’ said Lata although she didn’t.
‘What I mean is,’ continued Amit, ‘it sprouts, and grows, and spreads and drops down branches that become trunks or intertwine with other branches. Sometimes the main trunk dies, and the structure is held up by the supporting trunks. When you go to the Botanical Garden you’ll see what I mean. It has its own life - but so do the snakes and birds and bees and lizards and termites that live in it and on it and off it. But then it is also like the Ganges in its upper, middle and lower courses - including its delta - of course.’
…. Only one thing remains - here is a banyan tree…
![Banyan tree](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1626597325i/31651520._SX540_.jpg)
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Reading Progress
February 16, 2017
– Shelved
February 16, 2017
– Shelved as:
rec-a-1001
February 16, 2017
– Shelved as:
own-unread
December 4, 2018
– Shelved as:
to-read
December 26, 2018
– Shelved as:
ga-fiction
February 27, 2019
– Shelved as:
in-english
April 18, 2019
– Shelved as:
ed-paper
December 30, 2019
– Shelved as:
here-and-waiting
December 30, 2019
– Shelved as:
on-shelf-2017
April 19, 2021
– Shelved as:
to-read
May 16, 2021
–
Started Reading
May 16, 2021
– Shelved as:
ed-audio
July 18, 2021
– Shelved as:
2021
July 18, 2021
– Shelved as:
rec-aw-commonwealth
July 18, 2021
– Shelved as:
ge-other-peoples-worlds
July 18, 2021
– Shelved as:
re-asia
July 18, 2021
–
Finished Reading
December 5, 2022
– Shelved as:
a-indian
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Peter
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rated it 4 stars
Jul 18, 2021 09:31AM
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![Anna](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1488562610p1/41878643.jpg)
Thank you for your comment by the way Michael!
![Anna](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1488562610p1/41878643.jpg)
Thank you Ian! I am grateful to Vikram Seth for providing the analogy - I would’ve never been able to find one that is this fitting, by myself :-)
![Anna](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1488562610p1/41878643.jpg)
Thank you Nat - it is certainly my this year’s longest “project” but very enjoyable for the most part (there is still one or two trunks that I would have liked to discreetly chop off if I could, without telling anyone...)
![Anna](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1488562610p1/41878643.jpg)