August 24, 2005
This Suitablegirl is suitably loyal.Literature
Over a decade ago, I walked up and down the aisles of the local Barnes and Noble because of an all-consuming curiosity which was ignited by some now-forgotten book review. (I would later work at that very BN during my senior year of college, in case you are unbelievably bored). I had picked up a torch for brown-ish fiction which burns just as brightly today as it did when I was a teenager. I found my quarry, picked it up very carefully and took it to the cash-wrap, where the clerk, on second thought, double-bagged it.
I went home and didn’t emerge from my room for two days; I waved away meals, plugged my ears to my father’s indignant screams about how I was missing class, I think I forgot to bathe, who knows. I couldn’t leave this tome, whose protagonist shared MY nickname. Upon reflection, I think I understand why you Potter-heads do what you do…oh, wait. I don’t. ;)
Vikram Seth’s “Suitable Boy” changed my life. It altered my expectations for literature, my perceptions of my parents’ histories, my conception of myself and what I wanted out of my future. Suddenly, I had a thousand things to ask my delighted father, about newly-free India in the 1950s. I looked at my mother, a freedom baby who was born right after India gained her independence with a new affection and appreciation; if Aparna were alive, she’d be my Mother’s age. I regarded all the other books on my shelves with a supercilious disdain.
I’ve read SB three-and-a-half times. It never left my bedside table; it’s been there for over a decade. My most cherished ritual involved briefly immersing myself in it before falling asleep every night; as soon as I finished the entire tome, I’d gingerly turn the book over and start it again the next night. Suddenly, I’m sad that my treasured font of comfort is dusty and untouched.
When you summoned the oneiroi, Suitable Boy, I never wanted to wake. How many nights did I spend in that liminal space between dream and reality, feeling like I was with Meenakshi or Malati as they went about their lives, the lives you divinely conceived and described? Hell, sometimes during those nocturnal sojourns I WAS Meenakshi or Malati. No book has owned me so completely since you, I don’t know if one ever will.
Though I am astonished that almost no one “gets” that you are what I’m referring to (TWO people in four years = no one, okay?), my entire “online empire” is a tribute to you— fotolog.net/suitablegirl, www.suitablegirl.com, flickr~suitablegirl, etc etc. No other book captured my heart or injured my wrists like you.
Lo, somewhere in New York, someone utters your name, saying one who shall come will put thee to shame? Blasphemy!
“Hunger’s Brides” puts other behemoths to shame, including Michel Faber’s “Crimson Petal and the White,” (848 pages, 3 pounds); Neal Stephenson’s “Quicksilver” (944 pages, 3.3 pounds) and the recent reigning champ, Vikram Seth’s “Suitable Boy” (1,349 pages, 4.1 pounds).
The plot of “Hunger’s Brides” revolves around Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, the 17th-century Mexican poet and nun whose vow of silence at the age of 40 was signed in her own blood. Her life and work have inspired writings by Octavio Paz, Robert Graves and Diane Ackerman.
But the book is more - much, much more - than an extended piece of historical fiction. It is also the story of Beulah Limosneros, a graduate student who immerses herself in the study of Sor Juana, and Donald Gregory, her professor and a serial adulterer. And in addition to narrative fiction, it is told in the form of poetry, dramatic plays, letters and notes in the margins.
Looks like they heard my wrists screaming for help:
But there is no escaping its size…To aid readers, the author himself has contributed some helpful hints. The book’s elaborate Web site (www.hungersbrides.com) features a slide show of “safe reading positions.”
Harrumph. Fret not, my long-adored lover, I glower at this uppity newcomer. That he should tempt my loyal heart is “INCONCEIVABLE”!
anna on August 24, 2005 11:56 AM in Literature · T·r·a·c·k·b·a·c·k address · Direct link · Email post
How dare you do this to me, ANNA? My list of books I have to read is already sooooo long, and I read and read and read as it is. If I'm reborn, can I take my readng list with me?
Um... was I one of the two, because I got the literary shout-out!
But I don't know... Sor Juana kicks some literary booty, so now this Hunger's Brides upstart has piqued my curiosity. Besides, my biceps really need more tone. ;)
was I the other one? :)
I so agree with you ANNA; few books have done for me what ASB has done... sigh. It is the barometer by which all others are measured, like a good man is ;)
While I know I can't bring myself to betray my girthy love, the notion of two-fisting ASB with Hunger's Brides, just for the sake of bicep curls and deltoid presses is throughly tempting. We'd be the fittest bookworms you ever did see...
I think there was a verse in "A Suitable Boy" that went
Western woman is a vulture
doesn't know our ancient culture!
but I loved it anyway.
Great post. I loved the book too and didn't eat sleep drink talk until I'd finished reading it, all the while wishing it would never end. Seth's choice of the 50s as the backdrop for his novel also indicates what a fine writer he is. He could've chosen the ready-made drama of partition or Kashmir, but he stuck to an unremarkable (for literary plot value anyway) decade, and showed how magical it really was, without much fanfare or flourish (esp of the magic realism variety).
I thought Lata's ultimate choice of suitor denoted pessimism about India on Seth's part (okay, I was disappointed because I didn't think she'd be such a wimp)...but some might say the reality since the writing has been far darker anyway - this is Rushdie's retort when people complain that Midnight's Children ended on too pessimistic a note
Dahling, I thought Seth's novel was too obvious to deserve mention!
It's a great book. I only read it once, and that was a long time ago. Maybe it's time to crack it open again...
I love this book. It's one of my favorite. I loved it after reading the first page.
Anna,
I share your sentiments almost entirely about ASB. What a treasure.
Hari
My favourite Seth story remains Golden Gate. I have yet to read a novel written entirely in prose that flows as cleanly as that one.
Though you can't really build triceps with that one.
"I thought Lata's ultimate choice of suitor denoted pessimism about India on Seth's part (okay, I was disappointed because I didn't think she'd be such a wimp)..."
If I'm gonna spend THAT freaking long on a book, at least give me a happy ending, dammit! I was SO pissed off when I got to the end.
A choirboy friend forced me to read An Equal Music and that was much more digestable. ;)
Ah, yes. Lata bored me to death. It was Malati Trivedi who was all exciting and full of life. I wanted to be her.
Oh, this book, will I ever finish it. I bought it several years ago and was part of an online lit group that used to read and discuss a book each month, but, get this, the majority voted one year for ASB for the December book.
Hello????
December is one of the busiest months, between end-of-year stuff at work, holidays, holiday parties etc.
Needless to say, I read (and loved) about 100 pages of it and never got further.
But ASB is what I consider a bedside table book, given its heft, and I can only inch my way through it reading before bed.
But hearing everyone's enthu about it, I'm going to go back and go for it. Now that fall is coming, it'd be a great book for a rainy Sunday.
I was disappointed in An Equal Music, though I went with a friend to see Seth do a reading/signing in NYC when it was released and, yes, as far as I understand he's not terribly interested in women, but wow, he just oozes charisma and seduction. Which, given conventional standards of beauty, is something. He's not very tall, his hair is thinning, but oh, those eyes and that smile...
I got the book-on-tape version of An Equal Music from a street vendor for $2. It's read by Alan Bates and the neat detail is, if I recall correctly, in the passages referring to specific music pieces, you hear the music in the background/foreground on the tape.
Just to be clear, Vikram Seth knew exactly what he wanted in the ending of the book.
The character of Lata is biographically her mother and the character of Haresh is biographically her father and the story of how they met is not untrue. Apparently, they have had a wonderful marriage of nearly 60 years and approaching 80, are an exceptionally adoring couple. He is, like the book would suggest, the godfather of leather shoes in India. She was the first woman high court chief justice in India.
hari,
how intriguing!
The character of Lata is biographically her mother and the character of Haresh is biographically her father
who is the "her" you are referring to, whose parents inspired lata and haresh? i'm all excited and i haven't had my chai so i'm easily confused right this second.
pleeeeease, tell us more! how enchanting. :)
Oh - I'm incoherent from lack of sleep. Lata and Haresh are modeled on Vikram Seth's mother and father. Kakoli is biographically similar to Vikram Seth's sister Aradhana, who ended up marrying an Austrian diplomat.
To read more about it, I recommend Leila Seth (the mother's) autobiography, "On Balance". She's really a fascinating woman and the chapter, "A Suitable Boy" is about meeting her husband.
oh, hari, i could just ATTACK you out of pure joy! (much the same way hobbes would gleefully pounce on calvin)
i must own this book! to think that there really WAS a "lata" who got "two tight slaps" from her prone-to-weeping mother! by the by, "two tight slaps" is just one of the phrases that, a decade later, i can't pry out of my brain.
eeeeek! i'm soooo excited! to amazon, i go! :D
w00t!!!
:+:
you know, i almost married a Dosco who went to school with VS and he never told me THIS. hmmmph! all he'd talk about is how VS wasn't very popular, how we was often a target for high-school-level torture, etc.
Just so you know, Anna.. I totally "got" the name of your online empire, and was terribly jealous that I hadn't thought of it first.
I was so in love with Firaz. No one ever seems to understand that one. Why not Amit, or Maan (oh God, never Maan!), or anyone else for that matter? Nope, Firaz had my heart, although Amit was a dreamy Bong, much like my current beau.
And although Vikram Seth may never love me, I am madly in love with all of his books. I absolutely couldn't put down An Equal Music - it touched me in so many ways, I can't even number them.
Has anyone read his book that was written in the form of poetry? Or am I getting that completely wrong?
oh, you're not alone in that one
How many of you caught Maan and Feroz on the first read?
Jhaan, you're referring to Golden Gate.
By the way, chech out this short bio of VS online. I love the opening description:
"A small, wiry soap opera enthusiast with well-defined features and a ready smile..."
Latha is not modelled on VS's mom.
she was the first woman chief justice of India so probably Savitha was modelled on her, don't you think?
Anna - I was always Malathi never Meenakshi :-).
tilo- i had been confused about the "chief justice" remark as well...and sometimes, i think i'm a little TOO meenakshi (and not just b/c i'm a bongphile). oy.
Tilo: All I'm saying is that the Lata/Haresh story (as well as the depiction of her childhood) was based on Leila Seth's life. In fact, in Leila Seth's autobiography, the chapter where she meets her husband is titled "A Suitable Boy"
Anna: Glad I could be of help. I'm curious whether you can get the book in the U.S., though if you can;t there is this Calcutta bookstore, you can order online from. Not to knock you almost ex-husband, but I'm not surprised that the weirdly conformist, homosocial Doon School environment could stifle a creative talent like Vikram Seth. Who, by the way, is noted by those who know him, for his humility and grace.
Rani: Are you mocking me? :-)
No, Hari :). Just taking a SM poll on who caught the Mann-Feroz connection on the first read. I *totally* missed it until someone pointed it out to me.
Hari, what's the name of the Calcutta bookstore with the online orders? thanks!
PS - Amazon lists the Mama Seth book for $32
Rani: I think you pointed it out to me... No surprise there
Olinda: oxfordbookstore.com. I always get the books sent to my parents in India but I think they also mail to the U.S.
I caught the Maan-Feroz reference, but that may have been because others had speculated about it in my presence while I was reading the book. It was very subtle, though, and to a large extent ambiguous.
does anyone want to remind this befuddled girl about this much discussed Maan-Feroz connection? it's so fuzzy to me, meanwhile, i can picture exact passages that have to do with lata, malati, savita, meenakshi, kakoli...i guess i only like GIRLS? ;)
why, oh WHY is my copy 3000 miles away?! GAH. >:(
if you don't want to give it away in comments, email me.
suitablegirl [at] gmail period calm.
ah, i forgot to mention that in my litany above: flickr, fotolog, blog URL and oh yes, GMail addy. :)
Anna... aroung page 1000. More than brotherly love, which once you realize it, forms another major subplot of the book.
http://www.glbtq.com/literature/south_asian_lit,2.html
"In his most recent work, A Suitable Boy (1993), Seth projects an epic vision of Indian life during the 1950s. Here homosexuality is merely hinted at: In one of the novel's numerous subplots, there is a suggestion that two male characters--Maan Kapoor and Firoz Khan--were once lovers."
http://contrapuntal.blogspot.com/2005/07/subalternity-separatism-subsumption.html
"Indian post-gay fiction? Think of the masti of Maan and Firoz buried more than a thousand pages into A Suitable Boy..."
it's starting to come back to me, but i really feel like buying another copy of the book now. hmmm.
I have three copies - two paperbacks and one wonderful hardcover that stays in my bookshelf 'cause I want to keep in in pristine condition :).
Rani is right, it certainly does form a major subplot of the book. One can't help but wonder if Feroz is so disapproving of Saeeda Bai *because* of the relationship Maan and Feroz shared. I also seem to recall that there were insinuations that (pre-Saeeda Bai), Maan and Feroz' relationship was still active, to some degree, in the sense that they still enjoyed some quality alone time together, ifyaknowwhaaimean.
My book is also in a box, somewhere, among the stacks and stacks of books that came home with me from college, but that I haven't bought bookshelves for yet.
maybe i'll buy an east-coast copy and start reading it again...this is going to haunt me, i can tell.
anyone who wants to join me, feel free. it'll be the first book tackled in the fake Sepia Mutiny book club for dorks who like to read 1000+ page tomes FOUR TIMES.
Anna, I am in. I was planning a re-read soon, anyways.
awesome. to the indie bookstore i go, then. :) anyone else?
You can count me in. :-)
me three. how do book clubs work?
I would read it again. Haven;t read it since I read the autobiography so I would not mind making random connections.
Suitable Girl,
I would dream of trying to come between you and ASB. Perhaps you and Hunger's Brides might just be friends?
Best,
Paul Anderson
Anna,
More autobiographical connections between Vikram Seth and ASB: I just started reading TWO LIVES, the new memoir/biography by Seth. (I have an advance reading copy.) He also makes the connections between his mother and "Lata", his father and "Haresh" and his grandmother and "Mrs. Rupa Mehra" who was described in real life as "turning on the waterworks." Anyways, I am *loving* the book so far. Will post my review here when I am done :).
Paul,
I am always happy to make new friends. ;)
~Suitablegirl
Rani,
you're my new best friend; call me every five minutes. ;)
Suitable Girl,
If you should ever get round to reading Hunger's Brides, drop me a line. There's a link on the website.
I've enjoyed dropping in. I must say it's quite grand to see a whole list in love with a book.
Regards,
Paul Anderson
www.hungersbrides.com
Wow...and all this while I thought I was mad for re-reading this book every few months...I am another passionate fan of ASB. I first read it when I was 16, and almost 10 years later it is still so much a part of me and my life!
Great to read your comments!
Monika
FYI - Seth is reading at the international festival of authors in late oct. of note also - neil bissoondath, rabindranath maharaj, shani mootoo, nilofer pazira .. for a full listing see below
IFOA
About Seth -
Tickets are kind of steep - 35$ a pop, but free if you can show a student ID.
Just discovered this thread. Brings back so many good memories. My husband gave me this book on my thirtieth birthday "To a Suitable Girl", thirteen years ago. It's so good to see so many people with such passion for this book and here I've kept it to myself all these years. Cheers to you Anna! BTW, I totally got your url.
I just finished this book and I appear to be obsessed with the book. My mum just gave it to me to read and I love it, it is one of my faves. I am particularly obsessed with Maan and Firoz they are mt fave characters, especially since I their situation did not have closure-what happens to Maan? Does he go back to Banaras? What about Mahesh Kapoor? And if he and FIroz are gay why have them fall in love with women who ultimately lead to their demise? Oh yeah and I love KAbir (poor guy!)
Hey sorry for the multiple posts, but I just discovered this thread and I'm totally psyched. Why did Seth make FIroz and Maan bi? What was the point of their relationship?
If Lata and Haresh could be inspired by Seth's parents, then why not Maan and Firoz symbolize an unspoken but indirectly acknowledged aspect of Seth himself? He has unofficially but generally widely been open about his "neither gay, nor straight" tendencies, and there are gay characters in the golden gate and an equal music and of course maan and firoz in the suitable boy.
Why do you guys think that Seth does not give us an idea of what happens to Maan and Firoz? To me the end of the book seemed so sad because of Lata and HAresh(instead of Kabir) and then leaving us hanging with the Maan and Firoz plot! aagh! :)
Oooh... I have another question, I know that I am bombarding you guys, but I just finished the book. If Maan and Firoz were lovers when they were younger, why then could FIroz not tell him "everything that was in his heart" because it might be too disturbing? Or was he not referring to his feelings for Maan? I know you guys aren't the authors, but I am just curious about your thoughts, cuz I have no one else to talk about the book to.
uh...guess it's time to start that SM reading group (better-vetted-than-Oprah's!) and crack open ASB again. :) four or five weeks of reading and discussing? vat say you all?
Does that mean I should write my memoirs?
well, it depends on the meaning of the word
is"memoirs". because if you're going to slightly fictionalize situations which are "based on a true story", then i'd want to know that in advance, since i'm all about the truthiness.four or five weeks of reading and discussing? vat say you all?
Ms. Anna,
I am up for it. However, my reading tastes are not at all in tune with the "good people" who frequent SM and write for SM. Therefore, I will be a bystander.
I did rencently buy Mahabartha but I'll read once I have finished: a) Chronicle of Death Foretold, b) Shantaram, c) Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power, and d) A Geologist's Memior of the Kalahari. Reading Mahabartha will be preparation for my Pakistan visit.
Are you going don Oprah's role here?
Isn't Colbert the best neologist in town?
You mean like Higgins in "Magnum" ?
I guess that makes Manish Tom Selleck, Vinod T.C (the guy with the chopper), Ennis is Rick (shifty dude, always with some scheme up his sleeve), and Anna's the weekly hot "guest star" who hires Magnum for a case, and who is introduced to his tasteful collection of Hawaiian shirts at the end of the story.
*Incidentally, the very last episode hinted strongly that Higgins was multi-millionaire writer "Robin Masters" all along.....So he was actually writing his novels when he was locked away in his study, not his memoirs, and both the house and that red Ferrari actually belonged to him.....
PS I couldn't think of anything to say about "A Suitable Boy" (which I read a very long time ago -- completely loved it), except for the fact that I had absolutely no idea it had gay characters in it. Which shows you what a homely and innocent type I was underneath the gangster image. Or maybe I was too busy imagining what a hottie that other "bad girl" female character was (Meenakshi ?).
It's a shame the plans to turn the novel into a TV mini-series didn't come to fruition.
Ok Anna...I am in. I completely missed the gay-bi insinuation the first time around. I definitely need to look for it this time!
Also, am I the only one who thought that the ending in ASB was happier then An Equal Music? I was heart broken throughout the AEM.
I'm in. It's one of my favorite books.
Count me in :) Anna, I can so relate to your post. I've met my Kabir and Amit..I suppose I'm waiting for my Haresh *sniff*
Btw, has anyone read From Heaven Lake? Any comments on it?
I just finished reading it and loved it. Would be great to discuss it.
Anna, count me in!! I'd love a reread as well.
please humour me in allowing me to post that reading a suitable boy as a teenager portended in a way me finding and marrying my other half (who is indian whereas i am not-no big deal i know...but it was my first taste of anything set in india so its very special to me) thank you xxx
Hey guys,how is the rerading of a suitable boy going? The board has been quite for a while now.
I just finished reading ASB, i didnt want Lata to end up with Haresh either, he was soooo the wrong guy!
But i was telling my mum about the three different suitors as i was reading the book and she was totally happy that she ended up with Haresh! She said it was the right thing to do, lol!!
who wants to be with the suitable boy, an unsuitable boy is always more exciting. But we'll see.
Hey guys am going to open the book again after years ! Reading this page flooded me with memories .This is seriously the best treat for this summer.am going to read ASB again !!!!!!!
love marco
Hi
Tis marco again.Am excited coz i found you guys.Did any body read collection of poems by Seth titled "All you who sleep tonight"?? ASB was like a feast - kakolis couplets were juicy kababs.
love marco
I think that this would be a splendid idea! Considering the time that we have all spent discussing Kaavya-gate and how indian chick lit always has sari borders and mangoes etc. It'd be so cool if people could come to Sepia Mutiny to check what the mutineers are currently reading. I for one have taken some advice and kept away from callous ramblings that have been passed off as books that were in turn exposed for what they truly are on this site.
BTW...I finished ASB and am waiting for a discussion on it. This time, the 'love' between Maan and Firoz was jumped right at me.
Is it normal in India for guys to go round holding hands in public? Maan and Firoz do this in the book.
Yes, it's pretty common. In contrast, men and women hold hands (with each other) much less often in india than in the west.
does that mean a lot of indian men are bi-sexual or are they platonically holding hands?
Oh My Goodness Me! I came across the post via links from a Two Lives Review and I cannot believe there are so many people who feel for this book like me!
Anna! When I read your initial post it was verbatim what I say to myself in my head! I read the book just over a decade ago, I was 15 years old and had returned from my first ever India trip a few months earlier. Although an experience I came away hating many aspects of it.... Then ASB came along.
I read the book and suddenly India made sense to me, Indians made sense to me, my mother's worries made sense to me. Whilst reading the book I could smell my trip - and suddenly it didn't smell so bad!! Three years later I read the book again and picked up on so many things I missed out before - the zameenwallah's, the politics and so on.
It's funny though, my mother is desperately introducing me to suitable boys and I hear Lata's Mother in her all the time.... Infact in my mobile phone I have "ASB" followed follwed by a digit next to each guys name that I have been introduced to. Funny living in London, I have met the Hari's, the Kabir's.....
Yes it's time to read it again... It's been far too long.
Reen (London, UK)
Well, i just finished reading the book(ASB) and was searching the net for what people thought of the book's ending. I tried finding people who had read the book but to no avail. Finally, i found SM and it is absolutely GREAT to know that there are soooooo many(ok, maybe not so many) people who love this book so much. As for, the ending, I suppose Vikram Seth should have thought of the readers if nobody else. I so wish Lata had married Kabir. I mean, come on, after all those times where she disobeys Mrs. Rupa Mehra(right from opening letters in front of her to going to the party for the play's cast), she could have done it once more, for the sake of the ending, for the sake of the readers. OK, enough bashing, I still loved it and will soon start reading it again.
I also just finished reading ASB a couple of months ago (thanks Anna, I would never have read it otherwise!).
I think it would be typical for people in their 20's and 30's to think that Lata should have married Kabir. I'm now in my 40's and you won't believe the feeling of sheer relief I felt when she actually chose Haresh. I particularly loved the reason she gave for her choice. It could well have been the mundane and obvious hindu/muslim thing but it wasn't. And as I look back on my own life, and how completely and totally it has been guided (if that's an appropriate word) by passion, I can totally relate to the sentiments expressed by Lata. I'm surprised, however, that a young woman in her 20's could have figured all this out. It took all of four decades before I realized that passion is not where it's necessarily at. There are rock solid and dependable people in one's life who may not necessarily be exciting, but, believe me all you disappointed ones, they are worth their weight in gold. I probably sound like your mommies already, but there you have it.
As for the Maan-Firoz connection, perhaps there's something there, but if I hadn't read these comments I would never have known. In any case, it would probably have been a passing escapade and not something that can be defined as a relationship. It's quite common, specially in boarding schools, to have such affairs but no-one considers it being gay and by the time people get to college it becomes all about women. Except, I didn't quite get why Maan so totally lost his cool the night of the stabbing - was it jealousy from the remnants of the suggested relationship between them? Nevertheless, it seems like it was meant to hover just under the radar but now that I'm aware of it, it somehow adds to the "realism" of the book. I'm a product of indian boarding schools and most of my friends are too and I can pick a couple of Maan-Firoz types from among them - specially when I think back on the kinds of fights they have had. The hurt feelings, jealousies etc. are perhaps more than what you'd see among run-of-the-mill heteros.
Nice explanation of generational differences in the perception of Lata's (un)suitable boy.
I loved every chapter, until i had a brain wave after Mrs Rupa Verma discovers. So I skip some 1000 odd pages and realise she's marrying..no MARRIED that Harish fellow. Sorry..I just couldnt believe the unbelievable and counter-climatic ending, and although I'd have loved to follow Maan and Saeda Bai's story...the ending was just too bugging.
The only book I loved and dropped halfway...strange
I was even worse...
I read until like the second to last chapter...
and then I just couldn't take the suspense any longer, I broke down and read the last page! I have NEVER been so mad at myself because it destroys the point of that long, luxuriously told novel...
Now I'm gonna start all over again...so I can be suitably loyal too...:)
oh wow ... I am reading ASB right now for the first time and personally I found the maan-firoz relationship to be completely *un*subtle, and totally erotic! Actually I found this page by googling "maan firoz" to see if anyone was talking about it :)
The most overt part comes when they are in bed together at the Fort, and Firoz is coyly jealous of the Raja's son, who has been described previously as preferring men to women ... Maan reassures him and wraps his arms around him. But there are just so many tender scenes between them. I want to know what they look like so I can fantasize properly! :)