Vikram Seth's novel is at its core a love story, a tale of Lata - and her mother's attempts to find a suitable boy, through love or through exacting maternal appraisal. Set in post-Independence India and involving the lives of four large families and those who orbit them, it is also a vast panoramic exploration of a whole continent at a crucial hour as a sixth of the world's population faces its first great General Election and the chance to map its own destiny. 'A Suitable Boy may prove to be the most fecund as well as the most prodigious work of the latter half of this century - perhaps even the book to restore the serious reading public's faith in the contemporary novel ... You should make time for it. It will keep you company for the rest of your life' Daniel Johnson, The Times Editorial Reviews About the Author Vikram Seth was born in 1952. He trained as an economist and has lived for several years each in England, California, China and India. He is the author of A Suitable Boy, which was an international number one bestseller, An Equal Music and several other novels. He has also written five volumes of poetry including Beastly Tales. Reader biographies: Andrew Sachs (Manuel in Fawlty Towers) has performed widely in stage, film and television. He won Best Actor in the Sony Radio Awards 1989 and was Performer of the Year, Spoken Word Awards 1999. Fiona Shaw has starred on stage in Medea and The Prime of Miss Jean Brody among many others. Television roles range from Persuasion to Gormenghast. Feature films include My Left Foot, Jane Eyre, Anna Karenina and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.
