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Summary: One of my all-time favorite books!
Review: This book is a rare treat-the story, the characters, and the writing are flawless. I have read it 3 times in the past three years and am always sorry to come to the end, in spite of a length (1400 pages) that would be daunting in another book. Seth is one of the best writers in the English language today, with a style reminiscent of Jane Austen, although he tackles rather more complex political and social issues than Austen. This book is not only the best book about India that I have seen, but it is one of the best books I have ever read--it's certainly a modern "classic". I stocked up on several copies--it makes a wonderful gift for my favorite people. Needless to say, I'm waiting rather impatiently for Vikram Seth's next book!
Rating: 
Summary: Hard to get into, but worth it once you do
Review: As was the experience of an earlier reviewer, the first time I tried to read this book, I had a lot of difficulty getting into it and eventually gave up. A tropical island holiday last year gave me the opportunity to try again, and I'm glad I did. Its an Indian novel, so it has been compared it to Arundhati Roy's 'The God of Small Things', which does neither justice. I feel this book is far wider in scope, painting a richer picture of the external world inhabited by the central characters. They share beautiful use of Indian English - in some ways quaint, but powerfully expressive. It is slow to get started, perhaps the sheer size is forbidding, and drags out for a while during the chapters discussing the civil disturbances. Once you're into it, caught up in the decisions faced by Lata, getting to know her family, it becomes hard to put down.
Make the effort, it is worth it.
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Summary: I grieved the end of this book
Review: I know Seth's characters better than some members of my family--and families are ultimately the subject of this novel. I eagerly await more from Vikram Seth.
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Summary: A Suitable Boy is an excellent piece by Vikram Seth.
Review: The novel A Suitable Boy, by Vikram Seth, is a compelling yet sensitive view of the divided Indian society. Seth has a magnificent way of capturing the reader's interest and luring him or her until the end of the piece. Though this novel is renound for it's awesome length, it is easy to forget that it is nearly fourteen hundred pages, because it is very easy reading. The only flaw in Seth's work are the scenes involving the Zamindari Act, which was a major political battle that caused a lot of strife to many Indians of the 1950's. These scenes are somewhat slow, and drag on for whole chapters, while the reader yearns to hear of Lata and Kabir's star crossed love affair. Overall, this novel is an excellent work, and it is no wonder that it was on the New York Times best seller list for four weeks.
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Summary: Kabir Durrani, if this had not been a real world!
Review: While every one else has been feeling for Lata, strangely, I felt my heart go out for Kabir. I read this book when I had just fallen in love, and (not so) strangely with a Muslim, and I felt as if Seth had some how let me down. The novel is brilliant in its details and characterization, especially for people out side India. I am a Hindu, so I think I can some what relate to Lata, but it is Kabir, with whom I fell in love. If Lata had managed to do as love and not society dictated, it might have been better for people like me, die hard romantics. But then again, here lies the success of the author, that he made me think about Kabir and Lata for a long time after I put down the novel, which I must admit was difficult to do, even after finishing it. If I could have given more than 10......
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Summary: Its in the characters not the country
Review: While its' enjoyable to understand India through this book the real beauty of the book lies in Seth's development of the characters and how by the end of the book you think you feel like you just want to know more and more about them. Its similar in that way to Arundati Roy. Its' the characters rather than the Indian background that make both books excellent reading.
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Summary: A masterpiece
Review: I'm reading "A Suitable Boy" for the third time.In a few words,it's one of the best novels I've ever read and it is a masterpiece.Simple and magic!
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Summary: Perfection!
Review: "A Suitable Boy" is the best novel i have read in recent times. The character's are absolutely real. Lata, the centre figure in this epic leaves a lasting impression on one's mind. The book has made me arrive late at work, leave as early as possible and neglect my meals. It gave me even more satisfaction when i read it for the second time. Will Vikram Seth oblige his reader's with a sequel to this great novel?
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Summary: An excellent "small-surprise" novel for the relaxed reader
Review: The western reader must refrain from hope habituated by the western novel, and enjoy Mr. Seth's wonderful character descriptions and use of history. This book holds excellent writing and knowledge of the diverse cultures and rituals of India, with well-drawn characters recognisable anywhere, in any milieu. It weakens in the last chapters, as it can understandably become too much for any author to convey the dread weight of India as she is.
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Summary: Brilliant! Brilliant! Brilliant!
Review: Being an Indian of Hindu- Muslim parentage myself I loved and cherished the two cultures so beautifully intertwined across Seth's book. My heart was moved by the pathos of Seth's feelings for Indian culture- which is neither Hindu nor Muslim. It made me proud to be an Indian and also reinforced feelings- the Holi recital by the Moslem Saeeda Bai is so characteristic of all that is India- I wish more people could understand what Seth is trying ot get across here. The parting of Lata from her Kabir ( named on one of the great Secular Bhakti saints of India) is characteristic of the forced division of the Indian heart. But one can Thank God for the fact that India's soul still remains intact. I hope more Seths come out of this country which has generated so much beauty along with creating myself.
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