Have nothing to do this weekend and feel like reading the longest novel of the 20th century? Then step right up to Vikram Seth’s mammoth A Suitable Boy, a book which is good for what it is, but not good enough for what it should be….

The main thing is the size. (The edition I read was 1359 pages). If this book was, say, 300-400 pages with similar style and themes, it would likely have been read, tossed aside, and forgotten long ago. But any book 1000+ pages in length is automatically considered as having more significance than it deserves in this quick-read-paperback-thriller age.

The story takes place in India, shortly after independence, and deals with the lives and interactions of the members of 4 families. It includes both their everyday problems as well as their direct involvement with the politics and issues of the day. However, the central theme is the forbidden love between the Hindu Lata and Muslim Kabir, and the story follows Lata’s mother’s attempt to find a more “suitable boy” before things end in disaster. Meanwhile, other members of the families deal with their own problems – from winning elections to finding the meaning of life to dealing with health problems, etc. The scope is huge, weaving these intersecting lives into a picture of the entire nation at the time.

Anyone who has read War and Peace will find themselves attempting to compare the Russian masterwork to this Indian version, not because A Suitable Boy deserves to be placed in the same category, but because the size, structure, and family issues can be seen as somewhat in parallel. Here the ‘War’ is the class struggle and litigation following land reforms imposed on authoritarian Zamindars, as well as Hindu/Muslim tensions in the time period around Partition. The Rostovs are the Mehras, and a capricious Natasha is here an insipid Lata. The novel maintains a wide enough scope perhaps, but not the depth of emotion, depth of language and depth of philosophical insight necessary for a classic.

Now War and Peace is in a category apart, (I sometimes jokingly say the best novel in English is the English translation of a Russian novel), and obviously it isn’t completely fair to compare a modern novel to an immortal masterwork. However, novels of this type are rarely written and an author who wants to take on the entire human experience within a culture must accept a higher burden than the average novelist. These writers attempt to go all out, maintain hundreds of characters, dozens of storylines, as well as philosophical observations on the minutiae of human actions and the broad nature of man. Booklovers, after investing a great deal of time in reading, will feel cheated unless the entire structure is maintained and they come away with a feeling of emotional grandeur. A writer who attempts to do everything in one volume must do everything well.

Clearly, one of the author’s main jobs is to make the reader interested in the characters presented. But the affection between star-crossed lovers Lata and Kabir seems forced and insincere, though this is supposedly the central thread in the narrative. Others are presented in a better light. The degenerate Maan and the brooding Rasheed are likely the best of the lot and Mrs. Rupa Mehra is dead on as the vexed Indian mother. Still other, minor, characters pop up as gems throughout. The shifty Varun, Anglophile Arun are not bad. The character of Amit, daydreaming poet, is clearly Seth himself, and through him and by other means unnecessary poetry is snuck in wherever possible. Stereotypes abound, but India is the indeed a land where living stereotypes can be found.

Images follow one after another: a Nawab contemplating a crumbling way of life, frenzied devotees crushed in a tragic pilgrimage, plus the standard mix of marriages, deaths, religious ceremony, betrayals and a stabbing for good measure. One especially well done episode portrays a rustic Muslim village as seen through the eyes of the character Maan. The pace of the story is reasonable, although chapters devoted to the courtroom, while important, can stretch tediously and a certain blandness pervades all.

The last line of Seth’s poetic contents describing the players taking their bow is apt, as the general lifelessness of the characters makes the reader feel he’s witnessed a well costumed cast, poorly performing a lengthy play. Props to Seth for picking a realistic over a romantic ending, but to be harsh, by that point the reader has lost interest in the robot-like Lata.

There are nevertheless, a number of good points. Few if any books will give you such an extensive buffet of Indian history and law, humorous and tragic vignettes, religious commentary, and glimpses into the lives of musicians, politicians, courtesans, and working families. Also, this is a period novel, taking place a few years after independence, and the ‘feel’ is maintained believably throughout. This is especially important in context of the transition period after 1947 when the Brits were out but still in, landowners were in the middle of an identity crisis and Hindu-Muslim tensions were continually boiling. Incidents sometimes rich, sometimes affecting, and too numerous to mention here dot the narrative, but nothing can change the final impression: that this is the magnum opus of an average writer.

Did you like this post? If so, please bookmark it, about it, and subscribe to the blog RSS feed.

No related posts.