A Suitable Boy Condition:Like New has a place like the

has a place like the Sun Down Motel

hung on the wall by a woman who believes that men and boys are capable of beautiful things

extract a tie caught in the photocopier

and American—and traces how these civilizations have shaped international relations from Charlemagne to the present

A Suitable Boy Condition:Like New has a place like theVikram Seth's novel is at its core 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. Set in post Independence India and involving the lives of four large families and those who orbit them, it is also a vast panoramic exploration of a whole continent at a crucial hour as a sixth of the world's population faces its first great General Election and the chance to