Vikram Seth's mammoth novel (nearly 1,500 pages) follows four families in a fictional north Indian city in the early 1950s. It's one of the best ways to absorb the texture of post-Partition India — the politics, the arranged marriages, the Hindu-Muslim tensions, the sheer density of daily life. Seth writes with warmth and patience, and you'll come away feeling like you've lived in the country for a year. A worthwhile companion for any extended trip through India, especially Uttar Pradesh and Bengal, where much of the story is set.
A Suitable Boy
Epic novel spanning post-independence India