A Suitable Boy, Vol. 3

by Vikram Seth

The story that began with a wedding ends with a wedding, as the complex web of character and plot is pulled together in its final resolution.

Genres: Fiction, India, Historical Fiction, Indian Literature

549 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Vikram Seth is an Indian poet, novelist, travel writer, librettist, children's writer, biographer and memoirist.

During the course of his doctorate studies at Stanford, he did his field work in China and translated Hindi and Chinese poetry into English. He returned to Delhi via Xinjiang and Tibet which led to a travel narrative From Heaven Lake: Travels Through Sinkiang and Tibet (1983) which won the Thomas Cook Travel Book Award.

The Golden Gate: A Novel in Verse (1986) was his first novel describing the experiences of a group of friends who live in California. A Suitable Boy (1993), an epic of Indian life set in the 1950s, got him the WH Smith Literary Award and the Commonwealth Writers Prize.

His poetry includes The Humble Administrator's Garden (1985) and All You Who Sleep Tonight (1990). His Beastly Tales from Here and There (1992) is children's book consisting of ten stories in verse about animals.

In 2005, he published Two Lives, a family memoir written at the suggestion of his mother, which focuses on the lives of his great-uncle (Shanti Behari Seth) and German-Jewish great aunt (Henny Caro) who met in Berlin in the early 1930s while Shanti was a student there and with whom Seth stayed extensively on going to England at age 17 for school. As with From Heaven Lake, Two Lives contains much autobiography.

An unusually forthcoming writer whose published material is replete with un- or thinly-disguised details as to the personal lives of himself and his intimates related in a highly engaging narrative voice, Seth has said that he is somewhat perplexed that his readers often in consequence presume to an unwelcome degree of personal familiarity with him.

Reviews

[Natasa · Rating 5 out of 5]

The well-researched cultural background of 1950s India and well-balanced storyline with interesting, likable characters. The novel is masterful. There is a lot of characters and subplots in this book but Seth ties everything together - it does not even appear forced. 

[Sadhana · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was too long (the whole three part volume as one book). The details went on and on. It is incredibly imaginative and rich in telling, but i got bored and was sticking around only because I’d committed to it. Fun plots and stories though! Could be telling of the concentration capacity in post Instagram world but 1500 pages is too much for anyone.

The writing itself might even be a 4/5 but my reading experience was probably a 2 so averaging it to 3.

[Shreyashree · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read all three books in this series and will be posting my review concisely for the entire story. The plot of the story is set in post-partition India in three distinct locations: Brahmpur, Calcutta, and Rudhiya. Rupa Mehra, a widow has married off her eldest son to a promiscuous Meenakshi Chatterji belonging to a Bengali family of high court judges and her eldest daughter Savita to a political family of the Kapoors. Next in the line is Lata, a graduate university student, beautiful and indecisive about whom to choose from the myriad of suitors as a life partner. The plot explores several social issues like rifts and love between Hindu-Muslims post-partition, the tyranny of zamindars, and their fate after subsequent abolishment of the Zamindar Bill in 1951, the life of social outcasts like Saaeda Bai and their servitude towards the local elites and the English inclinations of the then Calcutta intellectuals. I love the way this book preaches communal harmony even in a period of heavy unrest. The technique of political story-telling wrapped in the gold foil of Lata's romantic journey to marrying a shoe-maker called Haresh is a treat to the senses of all readers. Above all, most importantly, and once again, the way he builds up and portrays the rainbow shades of the Hindu-Muslim relationship is astoundingly beautiful!

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Similar to Vol 2 I wish that some supporting characters' stories were told in shorter parts since we move from a less character- focused narrative style to one that is more geography- and politics-focused which, if your are looking for a love story, may disappoint. This aside, even with such a lengthy cast, each character's story is wrapped up with care and in satisfying ways, including the love story which started it all. Ultimately I don't think this is a love story so much as the love story is the stage set for a larger discourse about people's relationships with their passions.

[Moira McPartlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a massive read. A bit like eating an elephant, I took it one bite at a time. At no time did I get bored because the focus on the interlocking stories changed at the right times. This is more than a family saga. The insight into India's internal politics just after independence is fascinating.

[Jean St.Amand · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like in the first two books, I skipped LOTS of sections that were about politics. They didn't seem to be important in regard to the story. I thought the ending was a bit abrupt with Lata deciding who she wanted to marry and boom.....that was it, quick wedding, no drama, the book ended.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinary panaorama of India, its politics and social life in the first years of independence. It's a long, some might say very long, book but was never long-winded in my opinion. Seth tells his story (stories) with a masterful grip of the narration.

[Buckeyebet · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story sounds familiar as I have heard from Hindu friends in the past.

[Dominic Gibson · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a long time since I read it so I can't remember the storyline or the characters, but I loved it!

[Blathnaid Breslin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can’t believe I read over 1500 pages (longest novel in the English language!) just for Lata to choose [spoiler]…

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I've read! All three volumes kept me interested. It was sad that the book ended after 1400 somewhat pages. An interesting narrative about the many dimensions of diversity in Indian society in a historically and politically very important time during separation. A rainbow of many interesting live stories.....

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good conclusion to a wonderful book that tells the stories of interlinked families during India's birth. Wonderful.

[Tracey Fraser · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all time favourite books. Love it. Highly recommend.