A Suitable Boy (A Bridge of Leaves, #1) in Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die

Jun 09, 2014 Kecia rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 1001-books, india

Anyone who follows my reviews knows that I do not like long novels. 350 pages and I'm typically ready to move on to the next one. At 1349 pages this chunkster sat on my bookshelf for a couple of years taunting me. It's about 8 inches thick and must weigh a couple of pounds. I did a little googing and it seems this is the 6th longest novel in the English language! Not my cup of tea. But with a 9 day break from work I decided that if I was ever going to read it, now was the time. I marked my calen Anyone who follows my reviews knows that I do not like long novels. 350 pages and I'm typically ready to move on to the next one. At 1349 pages this chunkster sat on my bookshelf for a couple of years taunting me. It's about 8 inches thick and must weigh a couple of pounds. I did a little googing and it seems this is the 6th longest novel in the English language! Not my cup of tea. But with a 9 day break from work I decided that if I was ever going to read it, now was the time. I marked my calendar for 150 pages per day and stayed on that schedule.

And to my great surprise I loved every minute of it! The story follows 4 families, three Hindu families connected by marriges and one Muslim family. But it doesn't stop there. It follows their friends, and servants, and neighbors, and collegues. And it doesn't stop there either...it follows the story of India just a few years after Partition. Seth takes us along as a very young India decides what kind of county it wants to be. It has politics and relegion. City dwellers and country folk. It has heart-stopping drama and quiet little moments. There is passionate love and the kind of love that grows slowly. Babies are born and the old pass on.

There are so many characters...maybe one for every Hindu diety...and so many interconnecting story lines that I never got bored. And even after 1300 pages the ending took me by surprise and even brought a lump to my throat. You see Lata and her family were trying to find a suitable boy for her to marry. Will she marry Kabir the Muslim man who makes her sweat, or Amit her friend and famous poet, or Haresh the bit goofy but steady and stable tradesman??? Let's just say I put my money on the wrong pick. I loved the chapter where the three guys actually meet and never know that they all have designs on Lata!

What surprised me more than anything is that as soon as I finished, I wanted to start reading it again. I wanted to stay with these characters. That's very rare for me. I understand that sequel is due out in spring 2015...dare I even think about it?

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Oct 28, 2007 Carole rated it really liked it

Extremely long, yet interesting, Indian soap opera about a mother's search for a husband for her somewhat independent daughter in 1950's India. ...more

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