A Suitable Book
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If ever a book could bring to life another culture in another time, this is it. Loosely based on the search for the eponymous suitable boy for Lata, the spirited daughter of Mrs Rupa Mehra, the joy of this book is its wonderful characters and locations and, most of all, a sense of life and living in post-partition India.
This is a book in which to luxuriate; to ease yourself into the lives of the characters with whom you will journey over the 1400 pages of exquisite prose. The only reason to put this book down is to give your arms a rest!
I would unreservedly recommend this as my favourite book of the 2nd half of the 20th century. A book for lazy afternoons and long summer evenings. Spellbinding.
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Needlessly long with non directional plot
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This review will probably go against the grain but I bought this book on the premise that it was an award winning, must read and had not heard a bad thing said about the book. Being a bit of a book worm it didn't take as long to read as I initially thought it would, but I did find the story was more long winded than required. There was no discernable plot as the story just meandered through various sub plots that never quite ended satisfactorily. The abrupt ending did an injustice to the marathon reading effort it takes to work your way through it. Nevertheless, the amusing characters and rich use of language were enjoyable though overall I feel this was a pointless story with no plot development which I can't bring myself to recommend to anyone else.
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GREAT!
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This book was amazing! The start was a little slow but once you get into it and get familiar with the characters, you really start to enjoy it. I did skip a few pages here and there, (probably 5-10 in total) but it didnt take anything away from the story. Finishing the entire book feels like such an accomplishment but you begin to miss the characters and wish the book was longer.
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A Suitable Boy
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I found 'A Suitable Boy' to be a slow starter, but once you get going you'll be hooked. I found the first 300 hundred, or so, pages quite frustrating as I was waiting for something to happen, but then I settled into the story and realised that this was a meandering tale of family dynamics and the bonds of society. Once you realise that this book will not have huge shocks and intrigue the whole way through, but rather the gentle telling of lives and how they are intertwined with the odd moment of suspense or excitement, then you will become completely engrossed and compelled to return to this book at every given moment. The writing isn't stunningly beautiful (like In Arundhati Roys 'God Of Small Things', which I highly recommend if you enjoyed this) , but it's simplicity keeps you hooked to the story told, which may be more important in a book of this length. This is a big book and it will take some time to get through, but every moment is worthwhile and the journey is more important than the ending, so take your time and enjoy it. Well worth a read.
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Pure Genius
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A sublimely written book - spirited, nuanced characters revealing universal human truths and traits interacting gloriously in a specific and fascinating place and time.
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