A Suitable Boy is a novel by Vikram Seth, published in 1993. At 1,349 pages (1,488 pages softcover) and 591,552 words, the book is one of the longest novels ever published in a single volume in the English language.[1][2][3] A sequel, to be called A Suitable Girl, was due for publication in 2017
Plot summary
A Suitable Boy is set in a newly post-independence, post-partition India. The novel follows the story of four families over a period of 18 months, and centres on Mrs. Rupa Mehra's efforts to arrange the marriage of her younger daughter, Lata, to a "suitable boy". Lata is a 19-year-old university student who refuses to be influenced by her domineering mother or opinionated brother, Arun. Her story revolves around the choice she is forced to make between her suitors Kabir, Haresh, and Amit.
It begins in the fictional town of Brahmpur, located on the Ganges between Banares and Patna. Brahmpur, along with Calcutta, Delhi, Kanpur and other Indian cities, forms a colourful backdrop for the emerging stories.
Seth has stated that the biggest influence on writing A Suitable Boy was the five-volume 18th century Chinese novel The Story of the Stone by Cao Xueqin.[6]
The 1349-page novel alternately offers satirical and earnest examinations of national political issues in the period leading up to the first post-Independence national election of 1952, including Hindu–Muslim strife, the status of lower caste peoples such as the jatav, land reforms and the eclipse of the feudal princes and landlords, academic affairs, abolition of the Zamindari system, family relations and a range of further issues of importance to the characters.
The novel is divided into 19 parts with, generally, each part focusing on a different subplot. Each part is described in rhyming couplet form on the contents page.
Characters in A Suitable Boy
Four family trees are provided in the beginning of the novel to help readers keep track of the complicated interwoven family networks. The four main families in the novel are:
The Mehras
Mrs. Rupa Mehra, a mother searching for a suitable boy for her youngest daughter
Raghubir Mehra, her deceased husband
Arun, Mrs. Mehra's oldest son (married to Meenakshi Chatterji)
Aparna, daughter of Arun and Meenakshi
Varun
Savita (married to Pran Kapoor)
Uma Kapoor, daughter of Savita and Pran
Lata, whose arranged marriage forms the basis of the main plot
The Kapoors
Mr. Mahesh Kapoor (state Minister of Revenue) and Mrs. Mahesh Kapoor
Veena (married to Kedarnath Tandon)
Bhaskar Tandon, son of Veena and Kedarnath
Pran (married to Savita Mehra)
Maan
The Khans
The Nawab Sahib of Baitar
Zainab, his daughter
Hassan and Abbas, her sons
Imtiaz, a doctor
Firoz, a lawyer
Begum Abida Khan, politician (sister-in-law of the Nawab Sahib)
The Chatterjis
Mr. Justice Chatterji and Mrs. Chatterji
Amit, eldest son and internationally acclaimed poet and author. A prominent love interest of Lata
Meenakshi (married to Arun Mehra)
Dipankar
Kakoli
Tapan
Some other prominent characters, not mentioned above, include:
Dr Durrani, mathematician at the university that Kabir and Lata attend
Kabir Durrani, a love interest of Lata and a central hub of one of the main themes of the novel. Kabir is a highly successful player on the university cricket team. Lata and Kabir have a brief, intense courtship, the ramifications of which echo through the rest of the novel.
Hashim Durrani, Kabir's brother
Haresh Khanna, an enterprising and determined shoe-businessman, who is also a love interest of the heroine
Nehru
Malati, best friend of Lata
Mrs Tandon
Kedarnath Tandon (married to Veena Kapoor)
Saeeda Bai, courtesan and musician
Tasneem, sister of Saeeda Bai
Bibbo, servant at Saeeda Bai's house
Rasheed, student at Brahmpur University; Tasneem's Arabic teacher
Ishaq, sarangi player
S S Sharma, Chief Minister
Agarwal, Home Minister
Priya, his daughter (married to Ram Vilas Goyal)
Simran, a Sikh woman and former love interest of Haresh Khanna
Kalpana Gaur, friend of the Mehra family
Billy Irani, friend of Arun Mehra, later has an affair with Meenakshi
Shireen, his fiancee
Bishwanath Bhaduri
Abdus Salam
Raja of Marh
Rajkumar of Marh, his son
Dr Bilgrami
Professor Mishra, an English professor
Dr Ila Chattopadhay, an English professor
Hans, an Austrian diplomat
The Guppi, inhabitant of Salimpur
Netaji, Rasheed's uncle
Sahgal
Makhijani, indulgent poet
Sandeep Lahiri
Waris, servant at the Baitar Fort and competes with Mahesh Kapoor in the General Election
The Munshi, in charge of the Baitar Fort
Jagat Ram, a shoemaker
Badrinath
Professor Nowrojee, who runs the university literary club attended by Kabir and Lata
Sunil Patwardhan, mathematician at Brahmpur University
Parvati, Mrs Rupa Mehra's stepmother
Real people and events
The Praha Shoe Company of the novel is modeled on Bata Shoes.
Pul mela is based on Kumbh Festival, which takes place at Sangam, Allahabad.
BBC TV series
As of October 2019, a six part TV series adapted from the novel, also titled as A Suitable Boy, directed by Mira Nair, written by Andrew Davies and starring Tabu, Ishaan Khatter, Tanya Maniktala and Rasika Duggal is in production.[7]
Critical reception
On November 5, 2019, the BBC News listed A Suitable Boy on its list of the 100 most influential novels
Plot summary
A Suitable Boy is set in a newly post-independence, post-partition India. The novel follows the story of four families over a period of 18 months, and centres on Mrs. Rupa Mehra's efforts to arrange the marriage of her younger daughter, Lata, to a "suitable boy". Lata is a 19-year-old university student who refuses to be influenced by her domineering mother or opinionated brother, Arun. Her story revolves around the choice she is forced to make between her suitors Kabir, Haresh, and Amit.
It begins in the fictional town of Brahmpur, located on the Ganges between Banares and Patna. Brahmpur, along with Calcutta, Delhi, Kanpur and other Indian cities, forms a colourful backdrop for the emerging stories.
Seth has stated that the biggest influence on writing A Suitable Boy was the five-volume 18th century Chinese novel The Story of the Stone by Cao Xueqin.[6]
The 1349-page novel alternately offers satirical and earnest examinations of national political issues in the period leading up to the first post-Independence national election of 1952, including Hindu–Muslim strife, the status of lower caste peoples such as the jatav, land reforms and the eclipse of the feudal princes and landlords, academic affairs, abolition of the Zamindari system, family relations and a range of further issues of importance to the characters.
The novel is divided into 19 parts with, generally, each part focusing on a different subplot. Each part is described in rhyming couplet form on the contents page.
Characters in A Suitable Boy
Four family trees are provided in the beginning of the novel to help readers keep track of the complicated interwoven family networks. The four main families in the novel are:
The Mehras
Mrs. Rupa Mehra, a mother searching for a suitable boy for her youngest daughter
Raghubir Mehra, her deceased husband
Arun, Mrs. Mehra's oldest son (married to Meenakshi Chatterji)
Aparna, daughter of Arun and Meenakshi
Varun
Savita (married to Pran Kapoor)
Uma Kapoor, daughter of Savita and Pran
Lata, whose arranged marriage forms the basis of the main plot
The Kapoors
Mr. Mahesh Kapoor (state Minister of Revenue) and Mrs. Mahesh Kapoor
Veena (married to Kedarnath Tandon)
Bhaskar Tandon, son of Veena and Kedarnath
Pran (married to Savita Mehra)
Maan
The Khans
The Nawab Sahib of Baitar
Zainab, his daughter
Hassan and Abbas, her sons
Imtiaz, a doctor
Firoz, a lawyer
Begum Abida Khan, politician (sister-in-law of the Nawab Sahib)
The Chatterjis
Mr. Justice Chatterji and Mrs. Chatterji
Amit, eldest son and internationally acclaimed poet and author. A prominent love interest of Lata
Meenakshi (married to Arun Mehra)
Dipankar
Kakoli
Tapan
Some other prominent characters, not mentioned above, include:
Dr Durrani, mathematician at the university that Kabir and Lata attend
Kabir Durrani, a love interest of Lata and a central hub of one of the main themes of the novel. Kabir is a highly successful player on the university cricket team. Lata and Kabir have a brief, intense courtship, the ramifications of which echo through the rest of the novel.
Hashim Durrani, Kabir's brother
Haresh Khanna, an enterprising and determined shoe-businessman, who is also a love interest of the heroine
Nehru
Malati, best friend of Lata
Mrs Tandon
Kedarnath Tandon (married to Veena Kapoor)
Saeeda Bai, courtesan and musician
Tasneem, sister of Saeeda Bai
Bibbo, servant at Saeeda Bai's house
Rasheed, student at Brahmpur University; Tasneem's Arabic teacher
Ishaq, sarangi player
S S Sharma, Chief Minister
Agarwal, Home Minister
Priya, his daughter (married to Ram Vilas Goyal)
Simran, a Sikh woman and former love interest of Haresh Khanna
Kalpana Gaur, friend of the Mehra family
Billy Irani, friend of Arun Mehra, later has an affair with Meenakshi
Shireen, his fiancee
Bishwanath Bhaduri
Abdus Salam
Raja of Marh
Rajkumar of Marh, his son
Dr Bilgrami
Professor Mishra, an English professor
Dr Ila Chattopadhay, an English professor
Hans, an Austrian diplomat
The Guppi, inhabitant of Salimpur
Netaji, Rasheed's uncle
Sahgal
Makhijani, indulgent poet
Sandeep Lahiri
Waris, servant at the Baitar Fort and competes with Mahesh Kapoor in the General Election
The Munshi, in charge of the Baitar Fort
Jagat Ram, a shoemaker
Badrinath
Professor Nowrojee, who runs the university literary club attended by Kabir and Lata
Sunil Patwardhan, mathematician at Brahmpur University
Parvati, Mrs Rupa Mehra's stepmother
Real people and events
The Praha Shoe Company of the novel is modeled on Bata Shoes.
Pul mela is based on Kumbh Festival, which takes place at Sangam, Allahabad.
BBC TV series
As of October 2019, a six part TV series adapted from the novel, also titled as A Suitable Boy, directed by Mira Nair, written by Andrew Davies and starring Tabu, Ishaan Khatter, Tanya Maniktala and Rasika Duggal is in production.[7]
Critical reception
On November 5, 2019, the BBC News listed A Suitable Boy on its list of the 100 most influential novels
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