John Anthony's Reviews > A Suitable Boy

I can’t believe that I’ve finished reading this – almost 1500 pages of it. I’ve been daunted by this 3” of book for years but finally I can now look the paper doorstep in the eye/spine and smile. But my life now seems so flat, so quiet, so dull (and cold!) after being in India for so long. Time there certainly didn’t drag!

The British have been gone 3 or 4 years at the outset of the book. The continent has been partitioned and the resulting fledgeling independent states of India and Pakistan are simmering away like two pressure cookers.

For the last few weeks I’ve divided my time largely between Brahmpur, Calcutta and Delhi but I’ve spent time in the sticks too, with all that that entails. I’ve enjoyed my time with various families (well, most of the time) and followed the national and local political scenes closely. I saw the lovely Savita married to a very suitable boy Pran. Then the fun starts all over again with her sister, Lata, as their Ma begins the quest for a suitable partner for her too. Lata is very special and will always have a place in my heart.

Reading this I was reminded of that deliciously camp Bollywood movie, Bride and Prejudice (?)loosely based on Miss Austen’s novel. Plenty of drama, laughter, tears in all three. The story lines in A Suitable Boy are strong, the characters brilliantly drawn, worthy of Jane with even a nod at times to an Indian version of Charlie Dickens. I could easily imagine this mighty tome being written and serialised weekly as was Dickens’ wont.

But, back to Jane again and Pride and Prejudice. The title she gave to her book would work equally well for Vikram Seth’s creation.

I could ramble further but I won’t. Please read this book if you haven’t done so already. It is well worthy of 5 ***** -a mixture of scarlet and gold. But I’m feeling a tad mean about all those Hindu festivals and all the hocus pocus of ceremony/superstition I endured and now feel I must get to grips with.