vikram seth

tacita

i went to the bookstore today in search of some tagore poetry and "a suitable boy." not until i saw the latter on the shelf next to the (MUCH slimmer) "an equal music" did i even recall i'd read seth's later novel, or that he was the author of this book that i so enjoyed. it was a stunningly elegant read with a "secret" not revealed until the end of the story. i hope i like "a suitable boy" as much! i won't enjoy CARRYING it much, as it's quite a hefty tome at just shy of 1500 pages - and the print rather small. may it not go the way of "war and peace," which i never did finish.

so who's read "a suitable boy" who will assure me it was a worthy use of $22?

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steven_ber

I've got the hardback edition sitting on my shelf, I've tried to get into the book twice but found it hard going, too many characters early into the book got me confused.

But I've heard it's one of the best books about India for a long time, so I'll try again with the book.

Do your bookshops allow you to read the first few pages?

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tacita

oh, my, yes. they allow us to take books into the on-premises cafe, takes notes from them, read them for as long as we like, and then reshelve them! i've taken travel notes like that on many occasions. people also often just settle onto the floor and have a good read. in fact, its practically encouraged. but this was a book i'd already committed to buying/reading.

coincidentally, the reason i never could get into war and peace for the very reason you ascribe to a suitable boy - too many characters at the outset, and i couldn't organize them in my mind. but if you want an easier seth read, do try an equal music. it's a jewel.

that first few critical pages...so important. first lines, actually. know this first line?: "i get the willies when i see closed doors." brilliant.

iwanttogoback

janice

try searching the forum, i'm sure there are quite a number of references to 'a suitable boy.'

i loved it, and everything by seth (not a lot unfortunately). i think steven is having problems because there are not enough train trips in it.

steven_ber

Yes, Train trips are an esential part of any good book, if the Bible had a good train trip in it's pages I might have read it, instead it just has a single reference to the sound of a good motorbike.

iwanttogoback

alright, i'll bite - 'the sound of a good motorbike in the bible?'

steven_ber

"The roar from his Triumph"

(David and Goliath I think)

wp7713

Janice,
Yes a wonderful read. I would arrive home from work, sit at my desk and read 50 to 70 pages before doing anything else. In a sense, I could not put it down, and so looked forward to reaching home in the evening as I would be transported back to India. It's also very funny in places. As I said, it's a wonderful read.

I read " War and Peace" on a long train trip, and then on arrival in Darjeeling.

Have you read Seth's " Golden Gate." ? It's a verse novel set in San Francisco.

iwanttogoback

and we have somewhat hijacked janice's thread. but you really do make me laugh steven.

tacita

quite alright. i'm enjoying the road trip on the triumph.

Nick-H

A Suitable Boy is a great book, I loved it ---and read it in India, coincidentally. I guess I would have been reading it while I was looking for an Indian wife!

An Equal Music (once I find an author I like I always go back for more) was also excellent.

Even though A Suitable Boy is set neither in the present day nor in the part of India in which I have settled, I still felt it told me a lot about Indian culture and ways.

...And surely someone can find a train reference in the bible?

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tacita

glad to hear it (and that you also enjoyed an equal music). i picked up "a suitable boy" in anticipation of visiting kolkata. now i have to get through it in the next 6 weeks or be willing to rip the binding apart to take along so much of it as i can't finish (which could well mean the whole, humongous thing, binding intact!)

completely off topic: has ANYONE, ANYWHERE besides me and those to whom i've recommended it read "the miracle life of edgar mint?" it's got nothing whatsoever to do with india, but i thought i'd ask. it's odd in the same genre - somehow - as "a confederacy of dunces."

steven_ber

Sorry, off topic again.....

A new signature?

capt_mahajan

Sounds like the biscuit bandits travelling on the roof of an Indian train

Digital Drifter

Completely OT but would a dentist reference do?

Open thy mouth and I shall fill it

(No idea which part of the Bible)

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