Cover of A Suitable Boy

A Suitable Boy

Vikram Seth, 1993

Indian novelist, born 1952.

A Suitable Boy is a 1993 novel by Vikram Seth.

Acclaimed
  • Readers' Favourite

In family saga

On 3 of the 18 lists it was eligible for.

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At a glance

Author
Vikram Seth
First published
1993
Length
1504 pages (UK paperback)
Genre
Literary fiction, Family saga, Love story, Political

Is A Suitable Boy worth reading?

3 of the 18 best-of lists it could have made include it, among them Readers' top 100 novels (The Guardian) and 100 novels that shaped our world (BBC Arts).

ListPlaceOriginal
100 novels that shaped our world (BBC Arts, 2019)ListedSee the list
Readers' top 100 novels (The Guardian, 2026)No. 41See the list
The Big Read top 100 (BBC, 2003)No. 55See the list

Best edition of A Suitable Boy

The edition we link to is the W&N paperback (2013), 1504 pages.

Publisher
W&N (paperback, 2013)
Pages
1504
ISBN
9781780227894

How critics, prizes and readers rate A Suitable Boy

Readers rate it most highly: it earned 29% of the points available on readers' and booksellers' lists, against 10% on critics' lists and 0% on prize lists.

Critics
10%
Prizes
0%
Readers and booksellers
29%

Share of the available points it earned on each kind of list it was eligible for. How the scores work

Books like A Suitable Boy

If you liked A Suitable Boy, try Love in the Time of Cholera.

Lists used on this page