Journal Entry 1 by microsquid from Cobh, Co. Cork Ireland on Friday, December 09, 2011

Different cover on this edition.
For my lovely NSSFCS buddy - Merry Christmas or Happy Pancha Ganapati :)

It's a BIG book and therefore a pretty slow read but it's beautiful and I loved it - I hope you love it too. 

Journal Entry 2 by microsquid at Cobh, Co. Cork Ireland on Friday, December 09, 2011

Wikipedia summary:
A Suitable Boy is set in post-independence, post-partition India. The novel follows the story of four families over a period of 18 months as a mother searches for a suitable boy to marry her daughter.

The 1349-page novel alternatively offers satirical and earnest examinations of national political issues in the period leading up to the first post-Independence national election of 1952, including inter-sectarian animosity, the status of lower caste peoples such as the jatav, land reform and the eclipse of the feudal princes and landlords, academic affairs, inter- and intra-family relations and a range of further issues of importance to the characters.

A suitable boy centres on Mrs. Rupa Mehra's efforts to arrange the marriage of her younger daughter, Lata, with a "suitable boy". At the heart of the novel it is a love story, set in a young, newly independent India. It begins in the fictional town of Brahmpur, located on the Ganges between Banares and Patna. Brahmpur, along with Calcutta, Delhi, Kanpur and other Indian cities, forms a colourful backdrop for the emerging stories.

Lata is a 19-year-old college girl, vulnerable, yet determined to have her own way and not be influenced by her strong mother and opinionated brother, Arun. Her story revolves around the choice she is forced to make between her suitors, Kabir, Haresh, and Amit.

The novel is not simply based on one story. This epic novel covers the various issues faced by post-independence India, including Hindu-Muslim strife, abolition of the Zamindari system, land reforms and empowerment of Muslim women.

The novel is divided into 19 parts, with each part focussing on a different story (and eventually coming back round again). For example part 1 is about Lata's story; part 2 is about a courtesan (the beginning of a major subplot featuring Maan Kapoor); part 3 is about Lata again; part 4 is about Haresh; part 5 is about the Brahmpur political scene etc. Each part is described by a rhyming couplet on the contents page.
 

Journal Entry 3 by safrolistics at Newbiggin-By-The-Sea, Northumberland United Kingdom on Monday, December 26, 2011

Thankyou for the lovely NSSFCS parcel containing this and another wishlist book, along with a lovely Irish heritage collection christmas decorations. X