Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant portrayal of characters and culture
Review: This book immediately created real people in my mind, in vivid, complex and intertwined relationships. Obligations conflicting with Indian society's expectations dominate the personal situations of the characters, and cleverly reflect the states of India and Pakistan undergoing change. Like real life, the complex names, personal motives, relationships and politics are not easy to define and describe, and the power and intrigue of the book would have been lost if Seth attempted to do so. One of the most riveting and enjoyable books I have read. I pined for more when it ended!
Rating: 
Summary: Terrific!
Review: I read this book about half a year ago and thought it was absolutely wonderful. The size of the book was daunting, but all in all it was a terrific experience. I read it soon after going to India on vacation and the small bit of knowledge I had really helped. I urge you, if you put this book aside or didn't like it, learn some history and read it again. It's awesome!
Rating:
Summary: An outstanding novel with superb characters.
Review: It is hard to put down this novel once you start. You become part of the character's lives.
Rating: 
Summary: I don't understand all the praise for this book
Review: I realized, about 900 pages into A Suitable Boy, why I wasn't enjoying it.1) It is horrendously overladen with distracting minutiae. 2) It requires a compendious knowledge of Indian historical, cultural and political context. The book could've been a vehicle to teach me about a lot of these things (as I had hope it would be), but it really isn't at all. After finishing it, I still don't know whether an SD is "higher up" than an MLA or if a Minister of Revenue is more influential than a Home Minister. And my greatest peeve... 3) There is no real conflict in the book. Yes, there are class/religion questions - most notably in the relationship between Lata and Kabir - but there were literally HUNDREDS of times in the book that I thought some interesting conflict could arise, only to be disappointed. For example, Firoz and Imitiaz are twins, yet Imitiaz is the elder, having been born first. Chance for sibling rivalry? It's mentioned twice and never explored. For another example, Arun is harsh to his brother Varun. Very little conflict is ever explored there either. For yet another example, Meenkashi gets pregnant by an affair. OOH, that could get juicy and embarassing. But she has a miscarriage and nothing more happens. And perhaps greatest of all, a lot is made of the Zamindiri Bill. If passed and affirmed, people would be thrown off their land and others would benefit. YET THIS NEVER HAPPENS. It gets teased, but nothing comes of it. And even when thing DO happen, you may not know why. Mahesh Kapoor suddenly quits the Congress Party and resigns his seat. Why? We don't really know. After about 1300 pages, one character stabs another. We aren't quite sure why. 4) This book is consumed with festivals, holidays and travel. This would be an interesting backdrop to things that are happening - dramatic tension, conflict, ANYTHING - but there is painfully little of that. 5) My edition was 1474 pages of slice of life. It begins with a wedding; it ends with a wedding. Other than Lata's choice of mate, there is no sense of narrative arc - the characters are essentially unchanged. 6) Seth spends page after page after page on characters and situations that seem unrelated to much of anything. New characters are introduced almost up to the final 10-15 pages. In short, it was a rambling wreck. I only finished it because I had so much time invested already. I consider it my Ironman Triathlon (or my Bataan Death March).
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful book, but readers should get help with some terms
Review: This novel is absolutely enthralling, the "main" plot alternates with subplots that are just as interesting and captivating. Not having a prior knowledge of Indian Culture, I did feel bad about not really grasping some of the events (like the subtleties of Saeeda Bai's choice of songs or the sequence of religious festivals). Maybe a glossary of some sort could be included in a future edition. The book sure made me want to know more! The characters themselves are universally appealing and linger on one's mind for a long time. I read it just after Arundhati Roy's "God of Small Things", a very different book in style, and the combination made me like each one of them better.
Rating:
Summary: Abandoned it!
Review: After getting about 300 pages into the 1350-page hardcover edition, I decided to abandon it. I found that I kept stalling on the various Indian names, places and vocabulary (which was not very clearly explained when used -- I had to figure out what an item/term meant by how the word was used). It was aggravating after a while. I'm sure I barely scratched the tip of the iceberg in appreciating this novel, but with so many other books out there and so little time to read, I had to move on, since it was laborious to get through even one chapter, let alone all 19 of them.
Rating:
Summary: Engrossing characters - great introduction to India
Review: After purchasing the book I postponed reading it for over a year - I was intimidated by its length. However within a few pages of finally starting I was entirely caught up in the lives of the characters, especially the wonderfull Mrs. Rupa Mehra. The book is written with a touch of humour; the descriptions of the ineffectual Varun bring a smile to my face as I write. Seth also manages to give an outsider a real flavour of India and has certainly stimulated my interest in learning more about this fascinating and complicated country. Highly recommended!
Rating:
Summary: Incomparable Prose
Review: I could not put this book down! 1,000 pages may seem daunting, but it is worth every word. Seth brings to life a nation, a family, and the struggle of one young woman to find a place within all of this for herself. The plot digressions are as consuming as the main theme of the story - and as enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Simply a moving novel
Review: A mystic journey through India. Vikram takes you into the lives of India as she was just after Independence. Truly moving and keeps you wanting to go on.
Rating:
Summary: Vikram Seth - Kudos!
Review: It took me a while to complete the book. I fell in love with Lata and Kubir, Maan and Firoz.
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