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Sarah's review

A Suitable Boy: A Novel (Perennial Classics)
by Vikram Seth

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<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50365.A_Suitable_Boy_A_Novel?utm_medium=api&amp;utm_source=blog_review" style="float: left; padding-right: 20px"><img alt="A Suitable Boy: A Novel (Perennial Classics)" border="0" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/photo.goodreads.com/books/1170368733m/50365.jpg" /></a> <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50365.A_Suitable_Boy_A_Novel?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">A Suitable Boy: A Novel</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/28345.Vikram_Seth">Vikram Seth</a><br/><br/>
  <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1108550?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review"><h3>My review</h3></a>
  rating: 3 of 5 stars<br/>I am currently 1390 pages into this 1475 page monster.  It is an amazing portrait of the newly free India in the mid-1950s.  The detail of the culture, politics and religion is amazing, and the array of characters and intersecting stories is impressive as well.  My number one criticism throughout the book has been and continues to be that the characters are not very complex or believable.  But then, I am anxious to see what happens in the next 90 pages, so they are believable enough for me to be invested (it is either that or the thousand-odd pages I have already invested).  For example: Mrs. Mehra is almost always ridiculous, and Arun is always obnoxious.  Meenakshi is completely odious with no redeeming qualities, while Savita is completely good with no quirks or annoying qualities.  They are all almost stock characters, but I don't think that the purpose is symbolism or anything that lofty.  I just think it is a weakness of the author.  I know that there are a lot of characters to keep track of, but this aspect of the book annoys me, and it is a shame bc the book on the whole is impressive.    
<br/>
<br/>The other thing that annoys me is the terrible poetry that is interspersed throughout.  I think a lot of it is meant to be terrible (the Kuku couplets), and a lot of it is probably real poetry that hasn't translated well.  I feel like a lot of people would probably argue that the poetry is an indispensable part of the story, and in a lot of ways I agree.  In fact, I would love to talk to people about what they think the function of the ever-present rhyming is.  Right now I don't have the energy for a full analysis though.  
<br/>
<br/>So far, I think that this book and the work that must have gone into writing it is an incredibly impressive feat.  While I am not overly blown away by the style of writing (see my character critique above), I am appreciative of the work, and again, I am excited to see how the next 100 pages go.  It really has opened up a totally different and incomprehensible world to me, and that is no small accomplishment.  
  <br/><br/><a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/80444?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_review">View all my reviews.</a>

Sarah's review
rating:
recommended for: Those interested in other cultures, history. Those looking for a really satisfying read....

I am currently 1390 pages into this 1475 page monster. It is an amazing portrait of the newly free India in the mid-1950s. The detail of the culture, politics and religion is amazing, and the array of characters and intersecting stories is impressive as well. My number one criticism throughout the book has been and continues to be that the characters are not very complex or believable. But then, I am anxious to see what happens in the next 90 pages, so they are believable enough for me to be invested (it is either that or the thousand-odd pages I have already invested). For example: Mrs. Mehra is almost always ridiculous, and Arun is always obnoxious. Meenakshi is completely odious with no redeeming qualities, while Savita is completely good with no quirks or annoying qualities. They are all almost stock characters, but I don't think that the purpose is symbolism or anything that lofty. I just think it is a weakness of the author. I know that there are a lot of characters to k...more I am currently 1390 pages into this 1475 page monster. It is an amazing portrait of the newly free India in the mid-1950s. The detail of the culture, politics and religion is amazing, and the array of characters and intersecting stories is impressive as well. My number one criticism throughout the book has been and continues to be that the characters are not very complex or believable. But then, I am anxious to see what happens in the next 90 pages, so they are believable enough for me to be invested (it is either that or the thousand-odd pages I have already invested). For example: Mrs. Mehra is almost always ridiculous, and Arun is always obnoxious. Meenakshi is completely odious with no redeeming qualities, while Savita is completely good with no quirks or annoying qualities. They are all almost stock characters, but I don't think that the purpose is symbolism or anything that lofty. I just think it is a weakness of the author. I know that there are a lot of characters to keep track of, but this aspect of the book annoys me, and it is a shame bc the book on the whole is impressive.

The other thing that annoys me is the terrible poetry that is interspersed throughout. I think a lot of it is meant to be terrible (the Kuku couplets), and a lot of it is probably real poetry that hasn't translated well. I feel like a lot of people would probably argue that the poetry is an indispensable part of the story, and in a lot of ways I agree. In fact, I would love to talk to people about what they think the function of the ever-present rhyming is. Right now I don't have the energy for a full analysis though.

So far, I think that this book and the work that must have gone into writing it is an incredibly impressive feat. While I am not overly blown away by the style of writing (see my character critique above), I am appreciative of the work, and again, I am excited to see how the next 100 pages go. It really has opened up a totally different and incomprehensible world to me, and that is no small accomplishment. ...less

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message 1: by Kate

11/19/2007 06:17AM

weren't you reading this in peru? if it takes a lawyer this long to read i don't think i will finish it in my lifetime.