** spoiler alert ** ATTENTION: SMALL SPOILERS AT THE END!

This book literally had it all: love, intrigue, death, birth, lust, suspense, comedy, sibling rivalry, politics, religion, history, all with an overly dramatic mom. While I didn't give this five stars because I loved the book, I gave it five stars because of its complexity. This wasn't just a story, I was transferred to India circa 1951. It totally envelopes you in the story. While the backbone is Lata's quest for "a suitable boy" you become a member of the four families. It took me quite some time to finally get the families' names straight, who was with which family and married to whom, as there were some marriages that crossed between them. Even on the morning I finished this, I still paged back to the family trees.

There were so many different stories going on at the same time, but Seth smartly sprinkled them throughout the book. If you get bored, have no fear, you'll move on to something else soon enough. Each "chapter" or couplet as he had, usually had two stories that he seamlessly wove together, so much so it was a few pages in before I realized we had moved on to another part of the story.

His writing? Eh, was a bit disappointed. I adored "An Equal Music," and part of that was his lyrical writing. Heck, I even picked up the violin for about a year because I was so intrigued about the music quartet! This almost felt like it was translated to me, although I know it wasn't. Was stilted in parts, and not one of a finessed writer, although this may have been one of his first books.

The problem of having a book this long is it's like time, you start to forget what happened in the beginning. I felt that way halfway through, I had to keep reminding myself of certain things that happened to some of the characters.

To end, I'll put in two small spoilers. I was SO disappointed with the boy Lata marries. How I wanted her to end up with Kabir. Ah, unrequited love, and I'm always looking for that happy ending. Also, I felt that Vikram Seth was the poet, Amit=. There were a couple of things that lead me to think that.

A couple of friends asked me the other day should they read it. I wouldn't recommend a 1,000-plus page book, as something this long is truly an investment, even for someone who reads a lot. Do I think it was worth it? Whenever I am involved in a book, I always wonder what is happening with the characters when I close the cover, and I know I will wonder about these four families. Is Lata happy in her marriage? How is Maan doing? Is Parvati's baby born? I spent the past two months with these people, and for the most part, I liked them all. I'm not jumping up and down for joy (well, maybe because I can read something else!) that this book was so incredible, it was too complex and detailed for me to do that. But yes, it was worth it.