A Suitable Boy cover art

A Suitable Boy

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for £0.00
£8.99/mo thereafter. Renews automatically. Terms apply. Offer ends 31 July 2025 at 23:59 GMT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

A Suitable Boy

By: Vikram Seth
Narrated by: Sagar Arya
Try for £0.00

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends 31 July 2025 23:59 GMT. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £16.99

Buy Now for £16.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
Switch payment method
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

The international best seller and modern classic: now a major TV series.

One of the BBC's 100 novels that shaped our world.

A modern classic, this epic tale of families, romance and political intrigue, set in India, never loses its power to delight and enchant listeners.

At its core, A Suitable Boy is a love story: the tale of Lata - and her mother's - attempts to find her a suitable husband, through love or through exacting maternal appraisal. At the same time, it is the story of India, newly independent and struggling through a time of crisis as a sixth of the world's population faces its first great general election and the chance to map its own destiny.

©1993 Vikram Seth (P)2020 Orion Publishing Group Family Life Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Movie, TV & Video Game Tie-Ins Fiction Heartfelt

Listeners also enjoyed...

 Staying On cover art
Wild Swans cover art
The Bookseller of Inverness cover art
Dracula [Audible Edition] cover art
North and South cover art
The House by the River cover art
Star Wars: Ahsoka cover art
Coming Home to Island House cover art
The Widows of Malabar Hill cover art
Wicked cover art
The Golden Notebook cover art
The Jewel in the Crown cover art
Orwell: The Essays cover art
Battlefield Earth cover art
The Song of the Skylark cover art
Point of Impact cover art

Critic reviews

"A phenomenon, a prodigy, a marvel." (Evening Standard)

"Seth is the best writer of his generation." (The Times)

"Fiction on a grand scale. By the time you reach the last page you will have absorbed a splendid story, full of the tangle and perfume of India." (Sunday Telegraph)
All stars
Most relevant  
When we are told about this incredible novel we often hear it's a Jane Austenesque novel about a mother getting her daughters married but there is much much more to this story. The unfolding of the couples political landscapes, the deep knowledge of Hinduism and Islam and how followers become weaponised as political credit, to the violent residues of partition that erupt at moments, the hubris of former freedom fighters that have become ethnocentrists- a truly rich story- stay with it and you will be rewarded greatly. The narration is brilliant and makes the 60+ hours of listening so easy

A complex journey through post-partition India

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
A Suitable Boy is one of the greatest books of all time and the narrator of this audiobook brings each character to life. I have been listening to it over a number of months and am sad it has come to an end!

Brilliant narration of fantastic book

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I had waited so long for this wonderful book to be recorded for Audible, it was well worth the wait.
I loved every minute and will listen to it again after my next book.

An absolute pleasure.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I read the book when it was first published and have been trying to re- read it but not having the time to complete it (it’s a huge long book). Having it as an audiobook is really amazing as I listen in the car while driving on my regular journeys or whilst doing chores or cooking at home!

The narrator is fabulous with the authentic accent that fits the dialogue without taking over!

Fantastic story expertly narrated!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
An absolutely epic novel.

The narrator is excellent at capturing the different personalities and it impressed me how he was able to stay on top of it.

Really interesting story and I was gripped throughout. I really loved it.

Worth the time investment

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I read this book 20 years ago on holiday and it remains my favourite book of all time. I cannot believe the perfection of Sagar Arya’s performance. He inhabits all the characters perfectly - male, female, class structure, young, old - and does Seth’s story proud. To hear the characters and language brought to life in this incredible way is mind blowing. What a complete treat, I’m merely finished and savouring every chapter.

Absolute perfection

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Brilliant.. just loved every minute, the best story and so well read , make time for it

Feeling sad it’s finished..

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Wonderfully written and narrated.. a saga of regular life and people . a marvel of a book.

A marvel

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This epic novel of post partition India is nearly 70 hours long and kept me enthralled. It is loosely based around Lata’s search for a husband by her neurotic mother but follows the stories of three families and countless other characters. From Nehru to the the lowest untouchable. The pace rarely lets up. One of the best novels I have listened to and the best value for one credit. Bring on A Suitable Girl!

Fabulous

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Beautifully written and beautifully read! Really worth waiting for. Many characters with unfamiliar names to a Western ear, but hang in there... the author provides gentle reminders regarding characters referred to earlier, and the skillful use of different voices by the narrator also provides assistance. One of the most beautiful books I have ever listened to.

Glorious book!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews