A Suitable BoyA Suitable Boy
Score Modern
What it's about
India, 1951, a few years after independence. Mrs. Rupa Mehra is determined to find a suitable husband for her younger daughter, Lata, a university student, and Lata has three very different suitors: a charming Muslim fellow student, a witty poet and a hardworking shoe-company manager. Around them, four families' stories unfold against politics, religion and the country's first elections.
Why it's worth reading
It was voted onto the BBC's Big Read. It's one of the longest novels in English, and one of the most absorbing, warm and funny.
You'll love it if you liked
The God of Small Things
Middlemarch
Pride and PrejudiceGood to know
It's about 1,350 pages, and the political chapters are slower. A family tree is included. Mira Nair's BBC series adapts it.
By the numbers
- Readers65 out of 100 · counts 42%
- Critics0 out of 100 · counts 14%
- Bestseller32 out of 100 · counts 34% (its stronger lane)
- Buzz0 out of 100 · counts 10%
Critics and Bestseller are two ways to earn a place: a book's stronger one counts more. Buzz rewards recent bestseller weeks and prizes, so older books start at zero. The parts combine into the Must-Read Score, shown on a scale where the best book we found scores 99 and the last book to make the ranking scores 50.
Where it ranks
- #185 of the 309 literary novels we rank
- #832 of the 1,573 modern books we rank
- #1543 of the 2,816 books we rank
Why it made the list
Reads as
Moving, Thought-provoking, Epic
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Quick answers
Is A Suitable Boy worth reading?
Yes. It was voted onto the BBC's Big Read. It ranks #1,543 of the 2,816 books in our ranking, with a Must-Read Score of 67.9 (the best book we found scores 99).
What is A Suitable Boy about?
India, 1951, a few years after independence. Mrs. Rupa Mehra is determined to find a suitable husband for her younger daughter, Lata, a university student, and Lata has three very different suitors: a charming Muslim fellow student, a witty poet and a hardworking shoe-company manager. Around them, four families' stories unfold against politics, religion and the country's first elections.
How long does it take to read A Suitable Boy?
About 45 hours (1785 pages), or about 13 weeks at 30 minutes a day.
What should I read after A Suitable Boy?
If you liked it, try The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, Middlemarch by George Eliot or Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.