A Suitable Boy: An Indian Classic on the Western Shelf.
Over the centuries, the lengthy, grand epic in classic literature has grown and developed on a massive scale. Beginning with classical epic poetry based on myth such as Beowulf and The Odyssey, the Western world has produced gargantuan masterworks including Leo Tolstoy’s War and Peace and Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables. Though these works are well-known and recognized today, western society tends to gloss over novels of similar scope and size written by authors from other parts of the world. However, Vikram Seth’s A Suitable Boy overcame this barrier by separating European literature from the rest of the world, earning acclaim from British and American critics as well as Indian ones. But what brought the novel -- a very Indian story -- to Western light?
One thing that’s important to consider is the author’s background. Vikram Seth grew up and went to school in India and London, later getting a B. A. in a college in Oxford and then a master’s degree in economics from Stanford University in the United States. He then studied at the University of Nanking in China. Around this time, Vikram Seth published his first poetry collection and a travelogue called The Golden Lake, which brought him to public light. Having experienced many different countries, Seth was able to gain exposure to various cultures -- he is fluent in Chinese, Hindi, German, and English. Although A Suitable Boy is a story centered around Indian society, politics, and culture in the 1950s, Seth incorporated cosmopolitan perspectives other non-European or American writers lack into his novel.
Another major characteristic that sets Seth’s novel on such a high pedestal is the book's scope. At its heart, the novel is centered around family but dives extensively into diverse topics including religious conflict, class discrimination, and the complicated existence of India as a democracy. Tolstoy’s novels are well-regarded for their extensive commentary on society, and Victor Hugo’s works are known for their detailed descriptions of characters’ surroundings. A Suitable Boy brings these together in a drastically different setting. Much like the earlier classics it’s been compared to (including Tolstoy’s and Charles Dickens’ works), A Suitable Boy exhibits a thorough understanding of the setting and well-developed, detailed characters, ultimately serving as a looking glass into a newly partitioned India. The clarity, scope, and depth of the novel have allowed it to achieve critical acclaim and a spot on the shelf beside great Western writers for many.
Ultimately, A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth achieves a unique combination of synthesizing cross-cultural perspectives from experiences living in London, India, and the UK, focusing on the minute details of describing the setting and characters to emulate older classics. Through his work, Seth has cemented himself a reputation as a celebrated writer on the choosy Western stage.
Works Cited
Richard. “Vikram Seth’s Big Book.” The New York Times, 2 May 1993, www.nytimes.com/1993/05/02/magazine/vikram-seth-s-big-book.html. Accessed 26 Feb. 2024.
Seth, Vikram. “BBC Writers - A Suitable Boy: An Interview with the Writer Vikram Seth.” BBC Blogs, BBC, 24 July 2020, www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/entries/e276de0f-c2a7-4a7e-8924-919ae6f2729d. Accessed 26 Feb. 2024.
“Vikram Seth.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2024, www.britannica.com/biography/Vikram-Seth. Accessed 26 Feb. 2024.
Culture, OxStu. “A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth - Review.” The Oxford Student, 4 May 2018, www.oxfordstudent.com/2018/05/04/a-suitable-boy-by-vikram-seth-review/. Accessed 26 Feb. 2024.