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A Suitable Boy -Vikram Seth

**spoiler alert**

While I need to let this book percolate a bit in my mind, I want to write a review while the details are still fresh.

What can I say about a novel of such epic proportions? For 1349 pages, we follow the Kapoors, Chatterjis, Mehras, and Khans–among others–through a stormy era in India’s recent past. We see how the all-encompassing sociopolitical unrest in 1950s India trickles down into the familial microcosms–and how the seemingly petty family dramas trickle up into the political arena. This is an adversarial time on all fronts. The Hindus and Muslims clash regularly (and sometimes violently), the spectre of Pakistan looms large on the horizon, socialism has taken root and challenged the Congressional status quo, and legal disputes over land ownership abound.

At the heart of this story is Rupa Mehra and her quest to procure a “suitable boy” for her daughter, Lata. It is up to the reader to determine which of her three suitors is the most “suitable”, and whether or not she marries the right one. Perhaps no such suitor exists. The narrative builds the passionate, stormy romance between Lata and the Kabir over a span of over 1300 pages, with intermittent scenes to prop up her courtships with Amit and Haresh. However, it is Kabir who seeps into her unconscious, appearing not only in her waking thoughts, but in dreams as well. Unfortunately, their romance proves to be an ill-fated one–not only does an unfortunate misunderstanding drive a wedge between them for much of the story, but, ultimately, Lata cannot turn her back on her family (particularly her old-fashioned, melodramatic mother) to marry a Muslim man.

Also of interest is the homoerotic friendship between Maan and Firoz. What might have ended tragically, given the heat-of-the-moment stabbing incident, ends somewhat ambiguously and not altogether unhappily.

I give this book five stars for intricacy of plot and four stars for characterization. Lata’s final choice (and, more importantly, her decision to follow through with it) left me feeling a bit baffled–and, admittedly, a bit cheated. However, even the disappointing ending to the suitor saga does not take away from just how stunning this narrative was.

There have been a few false starts in terms of TV/film adaptations. If this novel ever makes it to the big screen, or even the TV screen, it would be interesting to see how a screenwriter would condense such an intricate and densely populated story.