It is snowing, she's barefoot, but Galya runs. Tricked into coming to Belfast with the offer of a good job, all she wants now is to go home. Her only hope is a man who gave her a cross on a fine chain and a phone number, telling her to call if she escapes. Now she puts herself at his mercy, knowing she has nowhere else to turn.
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, Kappoors, Khans and Chatterjis. Lata Mehra, a university student, is under pressure from...