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A Suitable Boy (Dramatised)
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Saleem Sinai is born on the stroke of midnight on 14th-15th August 1947, at the exact moment that India and Pakistan become separate, independent nations. From that moment on, his fate is mysteriously handcuffed to the history of his country. But Saleem's story starts almost 30 years earlier, when his grandfather, Dr Aadam Aziz, falls in love with a woman concealed behind a perforated sheet.
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- Narrated by: Homer Todiwala
- Length: 25 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 2
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Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 2
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Story5 out of 5 stars 2
This Audible production expertly brings to life Salman Rushdie’s postcolonial masterpiece Midnight’s Children, available for the first time unabridged in audio. Written in the magical-realist style that Rushdie is renowned for, Midnight’s Children follows Saleem Sinai - a child gifted with extraordinary powers after being born at the exact moment India becomes independent. The captivating events that unfold act as an allegory for India’s transition from colonialism to independence as Saleem finds himself 'handcuffed to history', with his fate entwined with that of his newly independent state.
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- BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation
- By: Leo Tolstoy
- Narrated by: Paterson Joseph, John Hurt, Simon Russell Beale, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1
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Story5 out of 5 stars 1
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An Equal Music
- By: Vikram Seth
- Narrated by: Alan Bates
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5
Michael is a violinist from Rochdale. He plays in a trio in Vienna with Julia, a pianist, and they are much taken with each other. But the trio splits up and they go their separate ways. One day in London, from the top of a double-decker bus, Michael catches a glimpse of Julia. They eventually meet up, and she tells him that she is contentedly married and has a child. Michael persuades her to visit Vienna and Venice with him. He discovers that Julia has become deaf, though her deafness comes and goes.
-
The God of Small Things
- By: Arundhati Roy
- Narrated by: Aysha Kala
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 71
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 71
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
Set against a background of political turbulence in Kerala, Southern India, The God of Small Things tells the story of twins Esthappen and Rahel. Amongst the vats of banana jam and heaps of peppercorns in their grandmother's factory, they try to craft a childhood for themselves amidst what constitutes their family - their lonely, lovely mother; their beloved uncle Chacko (pickle baron, radical Marxist and bottom pincher); and their avowed enemy, Baby Kochamma (ex-nun and incumbent grand-aunt).
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wow.
- By Georgia on 05-03-2018
-
Two Lives
- By: Vikram Seth
- Narrated by: Vikram Seth
- Length: 7 hrs and 37 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 7
Two Lives tells the remarkable story of Vikram Seth's great uncle and aunt. His great uncle, Shanti, left India for medical school in Berlin in the 1930s and lodged with a German Jewish family. In the household was a daughter, Henny, who urged her mother "not to take the blackie". But a friendship developed and each managed to leave Germany and found their way to Britain as the Nazis rose to power.
Publisher's Summary
The award-winning BBC Radio 4 adamptation of Vikram Seth's masterpiece.
Shortlisted for the Irish Times International Fiction Prize, 1993.
Winner of the Commonwealth Writers Prize, 1994.
Winner of the WH Smith Literary Award, 1994.
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 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.
2018 will be the 25th anniversary of the first publication of this classic story.
Dramatised and directed by John Dryden. A Goldhawk Production.
Critic Reviews
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What members say
Average Customer Ratings
Overall
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4 out of 5 stars
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5 Stars7
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Performance
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4 out of 5 stars
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5 Stars7
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4 Stars3
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3 Stars1
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2 Stars1
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Story
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4 out of 5 stars
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5 Stars6
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2 Stars0
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 24-08-2018
Poor recording
Sadly the recording quality of this audio book was so poor that I was missing most of the words and it was not possible to make it louder. I shall have to purchase a copy of the book instead which is disappointing.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 16-05-2018
It's a radio play , not an audio book.
It can be a struggle if you don't know the story before listening. The format is a radio play not an audio book.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 01-11-2017
Like watching a movie with your eyes shut
Really difficult to listen to. No narrative just dialogue...too hard.
Don't bother. That's all Thank you.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
- Tamshine
- 07-07-2011
would prefer unabridged naration
It is my own fault because I didn't know what dramatized meant, but it turns out I don't like that format. I would MUCH prefer the actual book being READ. I don't like the background sound effects. I will probably come back to this one at some point, after I have run out of other things to listen to, but I personally MUCH prefer actual reading of the unabridged book. I wish I had not purchased this now, as I will ultimately need to buy it again as a BOOK. but again, my own fault.
18 of 18 people found this review helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Devi
- 10-05-2008
A wonderful drama
I read this book as a teenager after it was nominated for the Booker prize. This book is one of my all time favourites but is enormous and took me a few months to finish. This adaptation greatly shortens the original but really captures the story of Lata and her journey to finding a husband. The actors and actresses were all excellent and I thoroughly recommend this audiodrama.
15 of 15 people found this review helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Veena
- 09-10-2008
Excellent Dramatization
I never expected to find an audiobook so interesting. With the clear play of music at the appropriate times, listening to the audiobook is as refreshing as reading the book, and we hardly ever miss out on any part.
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
- Vandana
- 29-06-2009
Short, but good charectors
The charectors were all very well potrayed. The version is too short however to encapsulate vikram seths original book which is very thick. The build up to charectors hence is too short to enjoy the story and the chapters change rather abruptly and sometimes hard to follow.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
- Althea
- 10-03-2009
Not my cup of tea...
As a radio play it felt more like listening to the soundtrack of a film (of course, without being able to see what's going on.) From listening to a lot of radioplays, I found that the best ones have scripts written specifically for radio... it felt like this one didn't. And I don't know but I feel like I've heard this kind of story a hundred times before. Not my cup of tea. I get the feeling I'd enjoy reading the book more.
8 of 10 people found this review helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Daljeet
- 21-06-2012
Took me to a familiar place of nostalgic past :)
Where does A Suitable Boy (Dramatised) rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
Top 30 of my Favorite books
What did you like best about this story?
Sarita and Lata's mothers character...Very well portrayed.
What about Full Cast’s performance did you like?
Their enunciation and amazing grasp on their characters.
If you could rename A Suitable Boy (Dramatised), what would you call it?
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Any additional comments?
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1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Teresa
- 16-12-2012
what an annoying radio drama
Would you try another book from Vikram Seth and/or Full Cast?
I was really looking forward to this great read. One of Seth's greatest talents is the way he talks about music. The producers of this drama decided to include the music he talks about, mixed way too loud, rather than include the descriptions of the music. If you try to listen to this in a car it is nearly impossible to make out the dialogue. This might be fine with headphones but I found it quite annoying.
2 of 3 people found this review helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
- Judy
- 17-08-2008
A Suitable Boy
I could not listen to it. When I downloaded, I didn't realize it was a PERFORMANCE. I don't mind listening to more than one narrator, but I'm put off by a performance of a play when I want to hear the book as if I were reading it. My rating is not based on content, as I only listen for a short time. I didn't like the format.
7 of 13 people found this review helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 28-02-2019
Suitable Boy Review
The performance was good. Story is ok. Sometime struggled to finish it. Not sure if it was trying to show the modern thinking during 1950s
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nishtha
- 31-01-2019
Amazing
Had read it 4 years back, listened to this now. Quite a beautiful story and dramatization
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
- Mrs. A. Howard
- 15-04-2009
Dramatised mystery?
As it is dramatised version, the storyline was hard to follow. Unless you have a good memory for voices - which actor's voice was who, talking to whom? I got somewhat confused so might have to read it as well?
7 of 7 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Andrew
- 06-05-2008
Atrmospheric production
Very good production, and sound effects give this atmospheric feel. Best listened to with both headphones!!!!
5 of 5 people found this review helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
- Alison
- 11-08-2011
Good and not so good
I really wanted an unabridged (or maybe a slightly abridged, given the scale of this book!) listen but this was the best I could find. I have the book and tried to read it but maybe because of its vastness, gave up.
This is very atmospheric, the music and background noises add, though they are a little loud at times. It was well acted and I figured out the characters quite readily. But the dramatisation must have removed some of the books 'heart' I feel as it didn't evoke the writing skill that Seth has so much of, and which in the 1/3rd of the book I DID read myself, added so much to the charm (and length!)
So, when it ended, it was abrupt - so much so that I assumed there was another section and my iPod had mis-filed it! But no, it ends sharply and suddenly, with nothing much explained.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Pen
- 25-01-2009
beautiful sound
I enjoyed the book although on the first listen, found it a bit difficult to follow the different characters perhaps because my ear is not attuned to indian accents, yet it did not matter. The sound quality and production was faultless and even without following the story, it was a pleasure to listen to and i have done so more than once, becoming totally immersed in the picture it was painting. The sound gave a context and created a sense of space and place. The music was carefully woven into the rhythms of the actor's voices and enhanced what they were saying. I wish more audio books were so carefully produced and i would listen to almost any book with the same audio production team, i think their achievements and names should be more prominently displayed alongside the reader/actors.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Mr L A TUCKER
- 21-01-2009
Delightful !
Wonderfully entertaining dramatisation, the voices and the music are faultless. Only drawback is it's brevity. Should send you scuttling to the original text.
4 of 4 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Lesley Sherborne
- 13-04-2013
What a relief!
Having struggled to read this epic novel in paperback due to the tiny print, it was fantastic to hear this dramatised version of Vikram Seth's A Suitable Boy. The characters are finely drawn and the cast and music bring to life the mood and pressures on the young Indian girl whose mother is seeking a suitable boy for her to marry despite her attraction to another unsuitable character.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Sarah
- 14-06-2016
Magical performance
This is so much more than an audio book. It's a full cast performance complete with atmospheric sounds and wonderful music. I was completely captivated and transported to 1950s India. Highly recommended.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 13-03-2016
An Interesting narrative
This is a dramatised version of the book - the narration and sound effects kept me captivated. The story being narrated is also very pleasant, set in the 1950s, it carries the essence of dominance of societal norms in choices while youth is emerging with its very own value system. The story keeps you hooked and curious till the very end.
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Sharon
- 03-12-2018
The dialect made this one tricky for me .
Struggled to understand the situations but it was really good to hear some accurate pronunciations.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Alok Mehta
- 10-11-2018
Loved this much
One of the kind of dramatisation for Indian author.
In start it’s hard to catch character based on voices as it feels overwhelming because of so many to start with. However as the story progressed it became easy.
It felt like living in golden era what my father keeps telling me 🙂