Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy: A Reader's Guide

Continuum Contemporaries

by Angela Atkins

Continuum Contemporaries will be a wonderful source of ideas and inspiration for members of book clubs and readings groups, as well as for literature students.The aim of the series is to give readers accessible and informative introductions to 30 of the most popular, most acclaimed, and most influential novels of recent years. A team of contemporary fiction scholars from both sides of the Atlantic has been assembled to provide a thorough and readable analysis of each of the novels in question. The books in the series will all follow the same structure: a biography of the novelist, including other works, influences, and, in some cases, an interview; a full-length study of the novel, drawing out the most important themes and ideas; a summary of how the novel was received upon publication; a summary of how the novel has performed since publication, including film or TV adaptations, literary prizes, etc.; a wide range of suggestions for further reading, including websites and discussion forums; and a list of questions for reading groups to discuss.

88 pages, Paperback

First published May 4, 2002

Reviews

[Chrissy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I look forward to reading A Suitable Boy in the summer when I have more time. This book was an excellent overview to better understand it.

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was helpful when reading the novel, but overall, I found the internet and Wikipedia to be just as helpful. Atkins book would have been more useful if it had contained a glossary of the untranslated words. She addresses their use and discusses how they are mostly explained in the story, but I found that it enhanced my understanding to look them up rather than accept a vague understanding based on context. A small example, all through the book characters are drinking "sherbet", which to me is a non-dairy ice cream or sorbet. The description of someone drinking an almond and saffron flavored sherbet sounded disgusting, but when I looked it up, it is more of a soda or fruit drink than the melted glop I was envisioning!