A Suitable boy

A Suitable Boy took the world by storm when it was first published. Twenty years later this beautiful, epic novel retains its power to delight and amaze. Vikram Seth's novel is, at its core, a love story: the tale of Lata - and her mother's - attempts to find her a suitable husband, through love or through exacting maternal appraisal. At the same time, it is the story of India, newly independent and struggling through a time of crisis as a sixth of the world's population faces its first great general election and the chance to map its own destiny.