This is too many books trying to be one book. It reminds me a lot of Tolstoy, where instead of writing several books with a familiar cast of characters, Seth tries to make this book ALL THE BOOKS, and it suffers for it. The core story of Lata trying to find a husband felt secondary to all the drama with other characters, like Maan, who I simply did not care about. I was there for Lata, and would have liked the book more if I actually could have read about her without constant interruptions from other characters, some who really did not feel like they tied into the narrative.

That said, the writing in this is so well done, it is an immensely readable 1500 page book, and that is a rare accomplishment! The writing is good and there are stories worth reading in this book, the narrative simply suffers from having all those narratives smashed together. This would have made a better series.

This was a great book. It was long (1450 pages) but well worth it. Seth transports you to India in 1951 and sinks you into the political and cultural life. I learned so much and didn't want it to end.

i got through 30% then listened to an abridged audiobook version

No idea when I began reading this, well over a year ago. I enjoyed all of it, I did, but it's a big beast of a book. Very Tolstoy, for better or worse. It might have been an easier read if it was cut down or split up, but it may not have been as immersive.

The description of making a shoe, that occurs about half way through this novel, is typical of the meticulous detail provided by Seth in his recreation of life in India not that long ago. I stumbled on this book - gave up for a while - and then returned when someone reading it on a train assured me it was worth the effort. They were right and I am so glad I read it through. There is much to delight and the story and characters do come to really matter to you. finishing this book was like losing track of a family you know really well.

After spending a month reading this book, I am in withdrawal. I felt I became a part of the lives of Seth's characters with their twisted yet beautifully intertwined lives. This book is a long read no doubt, but the investment of time is totally worth it.

Not too many surprises, but that's not the kind of book this is. A wonderful slice of life epic.

On the night of May 23, 2019, I was desperately looking for a coping mechanism to recover from the shock that was the election result earlier that day. A worn-out copy of one of the biggest of literary tomes ever written, lying around in Cris’s collection, seemed to be a good diversion for the mind for the weeks ahead.

Yet, after a few pages, I did almost put down the book, being put off by the long drawn out descriptions of a wedding get-together. Around 23 days later, I would thank myself for not succumbing to that urge. Sandwiched between two weddings, is an expansive study of the social situation in the country immediately after it attained independence.

Strangely, it also gave me a better perspective of the communal madness that we are now seeing all around. Several of the exchanges between the characters show how the hatred between communities has always been simmering beneath, worsened by the wounds of partition. If it has not bubbled up to the surface in the initial years of independence, at least until the 1970s or 80s, much credit for it has to go to the kind of leaders, like Jawaharlal Nehru, who were at the helm in that period. On the other hand, we now have leaders who are digging up old wounds, pouring oil on the slowly burning fires.

Nehru and the secular spirit he stood for occupies as much space as the ‘suitable boys’ in the book. We get to read extensively about the antagonism among the hindutvavadis in the Congress party against Nehru. The future sanghis and the forefathers of the present ones, were as communal as the ones we see around now.

At the core of the story is Rupa Mehra’s search for a ‘suitable boy’ for her daughter Lata, a 19-year old college student, who to her mother’s chagrin, has a mind of her own. Popping up all through the novel is the irritating conservatism of Rupa Mehta, who wants to read every letter that her daughter gets or sends, and wants to gather details of every second of the day that her daughter spends outside. Not to forget her obvious hatred of the Muslims.

But the Mehra family only makes part of the book. Three other families – Kapoors, Khans and Chatterjis – and their interactions with each other makes for some riveting scenes and interesting social studies. Like, the chatterji children who recite couplets for every situation, including the ones they are not supposed to make couplets of. Then there is the character of Mann Kapoor, his self-destructive love towards a Muslim courtesan and his deep friendship with the Nawab’s sons, and the senior Kapoor, the revenue minister, who is trying to bring the Zamindari act and land reforms in the state, with the feudal lords and nawabs playing myriad tricks to bypass it.

Vikram Seth has drawn inspiration from his own father to create the character of Haresh, who rises up the ladder in a Czech shoe company. His unpolished exchanges with Lata’s polished, elite brother, stand out. The elaborate descriptions of the business of shoe making, also becomes a study of caste divisions within the sector.

Seth is a master in staging the larger-than-life events, from festivals like Pul Mela (modelled on Kumbh mela), elections or even riots. The descriptions of the day on which the Muharram procession and Ram Lila procession coincides, the tension building up and the inevitable riot, all read like a contemporary long form newspaper report from the Hindi heartland. Only that, the events in the book are happening in 1952. So is the spread of fake news of a death, through pamphlets and posters, the night before the elections.

One could always fault Vikram Seth for not experimenting much with style, which harks back to the century before the previous one. But many modernist or post-modernist works might struggle to capture the depth that this one manages to, with its limited experimentation. In this book which stretches to close to 1350 pages, he does write self-deprecatingly about large books through the character of Amit, the brooding writer, who shares a little secret about how he reads those big books – he tears up the big book into small ones to carry around in his pocket and read, whenever possible. Kindle was still several decades away for Amit.

I don't think I'll be able to finish reading this book. Ever.