Author:Vikram Seth,Full Cast,Mahabanoo Mody-Kotwal,Ayesha Dharker
The award-winning BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Vikram Seth’s masterpiece
‘The drama highlight of the year…this sumptuous production, wonderfully atmospheric, written with pace and performed, by an all-Indian cast, quite superbly. The novel may be vast but I was convinced by this version right from the start. Magnificent drama’ - Radio Times
A Suitable Boy is Vikram Seth's epic love story set in India. Funny and tragic, with engaging, brilliantly-observed characters, it is as close as you can get to Dickens for the twentieth century.
The story unfolds through four middle-class families - the Mehras, Kapoors, Khans and Chatterjis. Lata Mehra, a university student, is under pressure from her mother to get married. But not to just anyone she happens to fall in love with. There are standards to be met and finding a husband for Lata becomes a family affair in which all the members are to play a part. The characters struggle, they try to buck the system, to break free of restraint, of interference - but ultimately their strength and sense of being comes from their family and friends. It is a celebration of ordinariness; a beautifully composed story that is an affirmation of family and friendship.
In his sweeping epic, Vikram Seth has created an entire world filled with warmth, humour, pathos, tragedy - in short, life. Recorded on location in India, A Suitable Boy is made by the production team behind the award-winning Bleak House and The Handmaid's Tale.
Shortlisted for the Irish Times International Fiction Prize, 1993.
Winner of the Commonwealth Writers Prize, 1994.
Winner of the WH Smith Literary Award, 1994.
Dramatised and directed by John Dryden. A Goldhawk Production.
Duration: approx. 6 hours on 5 CDs.
A beautiful and clever book about being human. All the warmth of his comedy without the inconvenience of his face
—— Russell BrandHard to imagine anyone not loving this... go Simon Amstell!
—— Stephen FryDisarmingly, almost alarmingly, honest. I laughed out loud 57 times
—— Martin FreemanNo one makes loneliness and anxiety as funny as Simon Amstell. Every sentence in this book is simultaneously heartbreaking and hilarious
—— Hadley FreemanEnrapturing. Touching, funny and sweet
—— Alain de BottonPuts the fun in 'insanely honest introspection fun'
—— Adam BuxtonA brilliantly funny, sad, clever, silly book. I loved it!
—— Matt LucasAmstell is a likable, self-deprecating guide to his own flaws, and has spent enough time in therapy to dissect his own navel-gazing with a nicely dry self-awareness
—— Stephanie Merritt , ObserverHilarious and heart-breaking… Simon’s unique take on the world is a reminder of the absurdity of life and the humour that can be found even in its darkest moments. Genuinely life-affirming, moving and profoundly funny
—— AttitudeCompulsively, excruciatingly honest… An heroically spiky, self-excavating read about family, fame, sex and self-discovery
—— Alice Jones , iThis book blends some of the best moments from his tours to date with some eye-wateringly honest anecdotes from his life so far
—— Adam Ouxbury , Wing MagazineIt’s inevitable that Simon Amstell’s memoir doesn’t fit the usual mould… In Help..., he cranks up the honesty: alongside excerpts of scripts from his shows, he relates the source material, often in almost painful depth. Depression, an unhappy childhood, family rifts – all feature in what Amstell, typically acerbic, describes as a “heroic act of self-annihiliation”
—— Hannah Shaddock , Radio TimesAmstell is evocative and wittily self-aware about his upbringing as a painfully shy, socially awkward boy in Romford… Amstell’s writing often contains profundity alongside morsels of pithy wit
—— Steve Bennett , ChortleStand-up transcripts interspersed with touching personal confessions – love, sexuality, self-discovery – in his trademark sardonic style
—— Sarah Flynn , Irish TimesAmstell is one of the UK’s best stand-ups and this beautifully written memoir… Is a gem. It is brutally, excruciatingly honest about his dysfunctional family, his sexual awakening, his comedy career and his struggles with anxiety. It is also laugh-out-loud-on-public-transport funny.
—— Alice Jones , iHelp provides a fascinating insight into Amstell’s life… a unique discussion on the role and purpose of comedy in our society as a means to protect ourselves and others, but also as means to reveal our most vulnerable states
—— Thomas Bransby , BJGPDawn tackles the big ones - love, death, grief, childhood, motherhood, parenthood - head on
—— GuardianA wonderful writer - witty, wise, poignant
—— Daily MailMakes you laugh on every page
—— The TimesThis book is inspired!!!
—— Nadiya Hussain[It's] beautiful, like Dawn, and stuffed full of goodies
—— Jo BrandThe most fun you'll have with a book all year . . . The perfect stocking filler
—— Mayfair & Marylebone EditionThis woman is a warm hug in human form - just thinking about her makes me smile. Dawn spreads joy in abundance. She is dazzling
—— Lorraine KellyTop tome for THIS YEAR'S STOCKINGS! Start a journal alongside Dawn's witty outlook on life. This will have you laughing about your year
—— Prima