Destination Wedding by Diksha Basu

Diksha Basu's The Windfall had just the right amount of quirkiness so Destination Wedding was high on my TBR list. That same quirkiness that shone through in The Windfall makes an appearance again in Destination Wedding, but where Basu mostly focused on a small cast of characters previous work, she does the opposite in her latest.

There were almost too many characters to keep up with, which made it difficult for me to initially keep them straight and/or care about their story line. At times, it felt like the story lines were meandering and characters who could have made the overall book more enjoyable were relegated to minor roles (e.g., the bride and groom).

It's also interesting to note the gratuitous white characters who were included in a story that centered Indian protagonists. I honestly can't say that the presence of either of them added much to the story and have to wonder if their addition was meant to broaden the writer's audience.

#BookReview: THE WIDOWS OF MALABAR HILL by Sujata Massey

Summary: Perveen Mistry, the daughter of a respected Zoroastrian family, has just joined her father’s law firm, becoming one of the first female lawyers in India. Armed with a legal education from Oxford, Perveen also has a tragic personal history that makes women’s legal rights especially important to her.

Mistry Law has been appointed to execute the will of Mr. Omar Farid, a wealthy Muslim mill owner who has left three widows behind. But as Perveen examines the paperwork, she notices something strange: all three of the wives have signed over their full inheritance to a charity. What will they live on? Perveen is suspicious, especially since one of the widows has signed her form with an X—meaning she probably couldn’t even read the document. The Farid widows live in full purdah—in strict seclusion, never leaving the women’s quarters or speaking to any men. Are they being taken advantage of by an unscrupulous guardian? Perveen tries to investigate, and realizes her instincts were correct when tensions escalate to murder. Now it is her responsibility to figure out what really happened on Malabar Hill, and to ensure that no innocent women or children are
in further danger.

Review: I loved this book like Oprah loves bread! Historical fiction with a first to ever do it character? Yes, ma'am! The Widows of Malabar Hill contains two mysteries, making this a must read: a murder on Malabar Hill and Perveen Mistry herself.

Set in 1920s Bombay, a time when being a woman wasn't necessarily an advantage, Perveen uses it to her advantage. Religious law prevents men from being alone or sometimes in the presence of women who aren't related to them. So it falls on Perveen to speak with the three widows of a recently deceased wealthy businessman. While the mystery of what has happened at the house would be enough of a story, the mystery of Perveen is a bonus.

A mysterious figure stalking Perveen holds the key to her back story and explains how she came to be studying law at Oxford. The introduction of Oxford also introduces her best friend, a spoiled, wealthy white woman whose father is employed by the British government in India. It was nice for Perveen to have a side kick to reminisce with, which allowed readers a glimpse into her history, but ugh! Go away, colonizers!

Between Perveen's history and the widow's mystery, I couldn't stop turning the pages (or swiping my screen). I was excited to find the author intends to bring us more of Perveen in a series of books. The only thing that would make this better would a TV series.

400 p.
Published: January 2018

#BookReview: THE COLOR OF OUR SKY by Amita Trasi

Summary: India, 1986: Mukta, a ten-year-old girl from the lower caste Yellamma cult of temple prostitutes has come of age to fulfill her destiny of becoming a temple prostitute. In an attempt to escape this legacy that binds her, Mukta is transported to a foster family in Bombay. There she discovers a friend in the high spirited eight-year-old Tara, the tomboyish daughter of the family, who helps her recover from the wounds of her past. Tara introduces Mukta to a different world—ice cream and sweets, poems and stories, and a friendship the likes of which she has never experienced before.As time goes by, their bond grows to be as strong as that between sisters. In 1993, Mukta is kidnapped from Tara’s room.

Eleven years later, Tara who blames herself for what happened, embarks on an emotional journey to search for the kidnapped Mukta only to uncover long buried secrets in her own family.

Moving from a remote village in India to the bustling metropolis of Bombay, to Los Angeles and back again, amidst the brutal world of human trafficking, this is a heartbreaking and beautiful portrait of an unlikely friendship—a story of love, betrayal, and redemption—which ultimately withstands the true test of time.

Review: As The Color of Our Sky opens, Mukta's mother is determined to save her daughter from the life of prostitution that she and her mother before her have known. But Mukta's grandmother long ago accepted that serving as a temple goddess or prostitute is their family's lot in life. After all, much like a crown is passed down in royal families, your caste and/or employment options are passed down through your family in Mukta's world. And while readers are well aware of what Mukta's fate will likely be, an innocent child such as she is is not.

Tara is a child of privilege in that she is never in danger of living the kind of life Mukta has been or will be subjected to, but when the two are brought together, they become sisters of the heart. It is only Tara's selfishness and hurt that drives a wedge between the girls and leads to their separation, or so she believes. As an adult Tara searches for the woman she once shared secrets with, she matures and learns that not only was she keeping secrets, Mukta was also.

I loved the story of Tara and Mukta. Tara's growth from the time she leaves America and finds herself back in India is wonderful to watch. Mukta's faith in Tara, even after she shunned her in the past, and holding on to the belief that her friend, her sister, her confidante would find her and rescue her was moving. Amita Trasi does a great job of moving back and forth between Tara and Mukta's story lines and keeping readers interested and engaged. Even though I guessed early on about the outcome of part of the story, it didn't take away from my overall enjoyment of the book. Fans of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Shilpi Somaya Gowda or Thrity Umrigar will definitely enjoy The Color of Our Sky.

416 p.
Published: April 2017

#BookReview: BEFORE WE VISIT THE GODDESS by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

As much as I love Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s writing, I struggled to figure out what was the message in her latest, Before We Visit the Goddess. The story is centered around three women: Sabitri, Bela and Tara. Generations and distance (both physical and emotional) separate them.

As a girl in India, Sabitri, the daughter of the best confectioner in her village, doesn’t dream of marriage. She dreams of continuing her education. Taken in by a wealthy patron, she starts on her journey to becoming a teacher, only to have it derailed by men. Early on her husband’s jealousy and insecurity poisons their marriage and her relationship with her daughter, Bela.

As a young woman in India, Bela feels disconnected from the mother that has always seemed to put her business interests before her. When Sanjay, her college boyfriend, offers a chance to escape Sabitri and India, Bela takes it, finding herself in America. But just like her mother before her, Bela’s husband’s jealousy and insecurity poisons their marriage and her relationship with her daughter, Tara.

Tara has never been to India, has never met her grandmother, Sabitri. She knows nothing of her mother’s contentious relationship with her own mother, but she does know that she feels suffocated by her mother, Bela, and so just like her mother before her, she cuts her off. And just like her mother and grandmother, Tara finds herself failing at relationships and life in general. A day trip with a stranger to a temple sets her on a new direction.

Reconciling with her mother, Tara discovers that they are more alike than different. My question is, how much different would Tara’s life have been if she knew her mother’s story or her grandmother’s story? How much different would Bela’s life have been if she knew her mother’s story? Why don’t these women think they deserve better than the men they end up with?

224 p.
Published: April 2016


Purchase: Amazon | B & N | Book Depository | IndieBound | Simon & Schuster

New Books Coming Your Way, March 15, 2016

An Unrestored Woman by Shobha Rao
256 p.
Fiction/short stories; India/Pakistan

The twelve paired stories in Shobha Rao's An Unrestored Woman trace their origins to the formation of India and Pakistan in 1947, but they transcend that historical moment. A young woman in a crushingly loveless marriage seizes freedom in the only way left to her; a mother is forced to confront a chilling, unforgiveable crime she committed out of love; an ambitious servant seduces both master and mistress; a young prostitute quietly, inexorably plots revenge on the madam who holds her hostage; a husband and wife must forgive each other for the death of their child. Caught in extreme states of tension, in a world of shifting borders, of instability, Rao's characters must rely on their own wits. When Partition established Pakistan and India as sovereign states, the new boundary resulted in a colossal transfer of people, the largest peacetime migration in human history. This mass displacement echoes throughout Rao's story couplets, which range across the twentieth century, moving beyond the subcontinent to Europe and America. Told with dark humor and ravaging beauty, An Unrestored Woman unleashes a fearless new voice on the literary scene.

Purchase: Amazon | B & N | Book Depository | IndieBound


Know the Mother by Desiree Cooper
112 p.
Fiction/short stories; race/gender

While a mother can be defined as a creator, a nurturer, a protector—at the center of each mother is an individual who is attempting to manage her own fears, desires, and responsibilities in different and sometimes unexpected ways. In Know the Mother, author Desiree Cooper explores the complex archetype of the mother in all of her incarnations. In a collage of meditative stories, women—both black and white—find themselves wedged between their own yearnings and their roles as daughters, sisters, grandmothers, and wives.

In this heart-wrenching collection, Cooper reveals that gender and race are often unanticipated interlopers in family life. An anxious mother reflects on her prenatal fantasies of suicide while waiting for her daughter to come home late one night. A lawyer miscarries during a conference call and must proceed as though nothing has happened. On a rare night out with her husband, a new mother tries convincing herself that everything is still the same. A politician’s wife’s thoughts turn to slavery as she contemplates her own escape: "Even Harriet Tubman had realized that freedom wasn’t worth the price of abandoning her family, so she’d come back home. She’d risked it all for love." With her lyrical and carefully crafted prose, Cooper’s stories provide truths without sermon and invite empathy without sentimentality.

Know the Mother explores the intersection of race and gender in vignettes that pull you in and then are gone in an instant. Readers of short fiction will appreciate this deeply felt collection.

Purchase: Amazon | B & N | Book Depository | IndieBound


Shelter by Jung Yun
336 p.
Fiction; Korean American

Kyung Cho is a young father burdened by a house he can’t afford. For years, he and his wife, Gillian, have lived beyond their means. Now their debts and bad decisions are catching up with them, and Kyung is anxious for his family’s future.

A few miles away, his parents, Jin and Mae, live in the town’s most exclusive neighborhood, surrounded by the material comforts that Kyung desires for his wife and son. Growing up, they gave him every possible advantage, but never kindness nor affection. Now, Kyung can hardly bear to see his parents, much less ask them for help. Yet when an act of violence leaves Jin and Mae unable to live on their own, the dynamic suddenly changes, and he feels compelled to take them in. Once more under the same roof, Kyung is forced to question what it means to be a good husband, father, and son, while the life he knew begins to crumble and his own anger demands to be released.

As Shelter veers swiftly toward its startling conclusion, Jung Yun leads us through dark and violent territory, where, unexpectedly, the Chos discover hope. Shelter is a masterfully crafted debut novel that asks what it means to provide for one's family and, in answer, delivers a story as riveting as it is profound.

Purchase: Amazon | B & N | Book Depository | IndieBound


A Life Apart by Neel Mukherjee
384 p.
Fiction; India/London

Ritwik Ghosh, twenty-two and recently orphaned, finds the chance to start a new life when he arrives in England from Calcutta. But Oxford holds little of the salvation Ritwik is looking for. Instead, he moves to London, where he drops out of official existence into a shadowy hinterland of illegal immigrants. The story that Ritwik writes to stave off his loneliness begins to find ghostly echoes in his own life. And, as present and past of several lives collide, Ritwik’s own goes into free fall.

Purchase: Amazon | B & N | Book Depository | IndieBound


On the Way Back by Montague Kobbé
288 p.
Fiction; Caribbean (Anguilla)

Nathaniel Jones, a middle-aged businessman from England, travels to the Caribbean island of Anguilla to spend a fortnight on holiday when he's captivated by a brilliant and beautiful member of the local community, Sheila Rawlingson. After a secret, intense hundred-day courtship, Nathaniel proposes to Sheila, whose agreement to marry this white man is seen as a betrayal by her family and fellow Anguillans.

Recognizing the value Anguillan society places on economic projects, Nathaniel attempts to set up an airline business to gain the support and favor of the Rawlingsons. Nathaniel sends for his son, Dragon Jones, to travel to Anguilla and cofound Dragon Wings, the nation's first commercial airline. Nathaniel, Dragon, and Sheila turn to her uncle for financial backing. Sheila's uncle, however, foils Nathaniel's best-laid plans at every turn. Kobbé's hilarious social novel brilliantly echoes A Confederacy of Dunces and Herman Wouk's Don't Stop the Carnival.

Purchase: Amazon | B & N | Book Depository | IndieBound

#BookReview: THE GOLDEN SON by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

From an early age, the idea that he can be a great man one day is implanted in Anil Patel’s head. As a child in India, his father told him so and he believed it. The oldest of his siblings, he is the first to go to college and medical school and now, the first to go abroad. Leaving his small village for a medical residency in Dallas, Texas promises to be overwhelming, but Anil’s roommates Baldev and Mahesh become his guides to American living.

While Anil adjusts to life in the U.S., Leena, a childhood friend of Anil and his sister, Priya, finds herself married off to an abusive family. Deceived by her groom and his parents prior to the wedding, Leena goes from being a beloved daughter to a house servant. Shame and fear keep her from returning to her family home, where it’s likely that she would be shunned by her parents.

As Anil adjusts to his demanding residency and his fellow doctors, it’s interesting to note the disdain that some of the others seem to feel for him. One in particular goes out of his way to make him feel like he has no place there and it’s disheartening to watch. It’s reminiscent of far too many situations where “real Americans” feel it’s their duty to put “others” in their place, as if certain roles, titles, etc. are only reserved for some people and others only receive them because of special treatment. It’s also interesting to note that the one resident that connects with him is another foreign student, perhaps feeling a kinship as an outsider.

It’s frustrating to watch Anil reach for the “American dream,” including the blonde next door, because from the very beginning, I’m hoping he’ll go back to India and save Leena. When he’s called back for his father’s funeral and assumes the role of village negotiator, a job he is resistant to, I just know that he’s going to whisk Leena away and take her back to America so they can live happily ever after. But the author knows best and the story line she creates for both Leena and Anil is far better than I could have imagined.

I loved these characters and I loved having an opportunity to watch both of them grow. Both Leena and Anil fight against the limitations that others want to place on them – Anil as the oldest son and foreigner, and Leena as a woman – and triumph in the end. Once again, Shilpi Somaya Gowda has hit it out of the park.

408 p.
Published: January 2016

Pre-order: Amazon | B & N | Book Depository | IndieBound

#BookReview: THE BOLLYWOOD BRIDE by Sonali Dev

When I read Sonali Dev's A Bollywood Affair last year, I immediately fell in love with her characters. As soon as I found out she was continuing her Bollywood series, I made a note to add The Bollywood Bride to my reading list. Since her previous work focused on an unlikely couple falling in love, I foolishly assumed that Bride was a sequel to that book. I have to admit that at first I was disappointed that it was not, but Dev’s new characters quickly brought me around to their side.

Known as Bollywood’s Ice Princess, Ria Parkar leads a dreadful life. Though her adoring fans think she lives a charmed life, she really lives in a self-imposed isolation from the world when she’s not filming. Her closest, and only, friends are her housekeeper and her agent. So why does she continue working in an industry she hates? Ria has secrets that cost her financially and otherwise and smiling for the camera is the only way she knows how to keep them contained.

When Ria fled Chicago 10 years prior, she left behind her favorite aunt and uncle and her cousin Nikhil, who is more like a brother than a cousin to her. She also left behind her best friend and lover, Vikram. Now that Nikhil is getting married, Vikram and Ria will be together in the same house where they began and ended their relationship. Vikram is determined not to let Ria get under his skin. He’s finally found a semblance of happiness and won’t abandon it for the woman that broke his heart.

The Bollywood Bride is a bit of a misleading title because based on the main characters, you might think that this book ends in a wedding between them. Spoiler: It does not. But it does give readers plenty of interesting twists and turns as we watch Vik and Ria deny their lover for each other and fight to maintain their distance in a house overrun by well meaning, but nosy, relatives and friends. As always, it’s an entertaining read from Dev and has me planning a Netflix Bollywood marathon in the near future.

352 p.
Published: September 2015
Disclaimer: Copy of book received from publisher, opinions are my own.

Purchase: Amazon | B & N | Book Depository | IndieBound

#BookReview: The World We Found - Thrity Umrigar

To say I'm disappointed in this latest novel from Thrity Umrigar would be an exaggeration, but in no way was I as engrossed in this story as I have been with her previous work.  The World We Found centers around four women who were friends in university.  Years later, only two of them are still close.  Yet, when called on by one, all respond.

Of the four women, Armaiti, Nishta, Laleh and Kavita, I found Kavita the most interesting and Armaiti the least.  In college, the women were revolutionaries, but as adults, they're far removed from those optimistic, carefree, world-changing days.  As each woman prepares to be reunited with her friends, the reader is given a glimpse into their present-day lives.

Nishta's circumstances changed the most, from an outgoing and outspoken college student to a quiet and obedient wife to a husband who had also changed drastically from his college days.  Laleh used her family's money as a college student to address any and all problems and that didn't change as an adult.  Armaiti, though the focal point of the story and the reason why the women were reuniting, was an extremely uninteresting character.  Kavita was most interesting to me because, in her, Umrigar presents a character unlike others I've read about from this area.  Her lifestyle is not one that's readily talked about in that region, so it was nice to see that subject tackled.

Overall, I didn't feel a connection with any of the women, so it made listening to the book a task, rather than something I enjoyed doing. 

305pp
Listening time: 10 hours, 41 minutes
Published: January 2012

 

Theme: Get Here by Oleta Adams

#BookReview: Oleander Girl - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

When you've read a really good book by an author, you have high expectations for anything they write after that.  I loved Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's Sister of My Heart and Mistress of the Spices and I was sure I'd be just as entertained by her new book.  I wanted to love Oleander Girl so desperately, but (there's always a but, isn't there) the story line was too unbelievable in my opinion.

Seventeen year old Korobi Roy comes from a prominent Hindu family.  After her mother's death, Korobi is raised by her strong-willed grandfather and humble grandmother and educated at prestigious boarding schools. Betrothed to Rajat, the son of wealthy art dealers, Korobi refuses to get married without first researching a family secret that has been withheld from her since birth. Various events and people threaten to keep Korobi and Rajat from actually making it to the altar.

 The problem I had with the story was that Korobi was supposed to be a sheltered 17 year old who only knew life in Kolkata and at boarding school.  So it takes a great suspension of belief to go along with the story of her hopping on a plane to America alone, navigating the streets of New York first, and traveling to California.  It just seemed implausible.  Based on that, it was difficult for me to really enjoy the book.

304pp
Published: March 2013
Disclaimer: Copy of book received from publisher, opinions are my own.

 

Theme: Impossible/It's Possible from Cinderella - Brandy & Whitney Houston

#BookReview: Sister of My Heart - Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

Sudha and Anju aren't sisters by blood, yet in the true sense of the word, they're sisters and more.  Raised in the same house by their widowed mothers, the girls grow up believing that they're cousins.  To say that they cannot live without each other is an understatement and, by their actions, often prove that they love each other more than they love themselves.

The beautiful Sudha has always dreamed of having a family, but only after college and once she's established herself as a designer.  Studious Anju loves the literary classics.  She wants nothing more than to run the family bookstore once she's completed her degree.  Love and marriage are for the beautiful people like Sudha, all Anju needs is books and enough money to remove some of the stress her mother has carried on her shoulders for so many years.

But as the saying goes, "the best laid plans of mice and men go astray," and neither Sudha nor Anju finds herself leading the life she'd planned.  Misunderstandings and a lack of communication drive a wedge between the formerly inseparable sisters.  Unbeknownst to them, the fracture in their symbiotic relationship affects all of their decisions, ultimately leading them to conclude that without their other half, their lives are incomplete.

Sister of My Heart is a beautiful tale of friendship.  It was heartbreaking to see the two struggle for so long needlessly.  Sudha spends her life trying to right wrongs she believes her father did to Anju's father.  Anju spends her adult years resenting Sudha for something Sudha can't control and is unaware of.  The story has so many twists and turns, you won't be able to put it down until you're done.

322pp
Published: January 1999

Theme: Always Sisters by Cece Winans

#BookReview: The Space Between Us - Thrity Umrigar #BP2W (India)

The space between women of differing religions, socioeconomic statuses, age groups and the space between men and women are all touched upon in Thrity Umrigar's The Space Between Us.  While the differences are vast at times, in some instances, there is very little difference.

Bhima has worked as a servant in Sera's house for more than twenty years.  Bhima has witnessed the abuse Sera suffers at the hands of her husband, yet doesn't pass judgement.  She is there to pick up the broken pieces and serve her mistress as best she can, even if that means neglecting her own family's needs.

Sera married Feroz believing that a lifetime of happiness awaited her.  Instead she got a husband prone to violence and an equally abusive, albeit verbal, mother-in-law.  The bright spots in her life are her daughter Dinaz and her son-in-law and the unwavering loyalty of Bhima.

The lives of Sera and Bhima are so deeply intertwined.  Each woman depends on the other for emotional support, yet there are still unwritten rules that keep them from crossing the bridge into friendship. For as long as Sera has known Bhima, and as much as she depends on her, she's still very much aware that she is her servant and not her friend.  The men of the book seem to feel that Sera has forgotten this, but the reader is reminded by Sera's actions that she has not.  Most telling of this is a family argument in which Bhima is firmly reminded that she is indeed a servant and not a member of the family.

Umrigar gives you a lot to think about with this one: Bhima's relationship with her granddaughter, which is strained by the differences in age and levels of education; Bhima's relationship with her husband, in contrast and side by side with Sera's relationship with her husband and even Dinaz's relationship with her husband; Sera's relationship with her mother-in-law vs. her relationship with Dinaz. In addition, each woman must live with consequences brought about as a result of choices their husbands have made, with no room for discussion, refusal or rebuttal.Each relationship explored is more alike than they are different, separated only by the imaginary space between them.

352pp
Published: January 2006


The status of women in India has been subject to many great changes over the past few millennia. From equal status with men in ancient times through the low points of the medieval period, to the promotion of equal rights by many reformers, the history of women in India has been eventful. In modern India, women have adorned high offices in India including that of the President, Prime minister, Speaker of the Lok Sabha and Leader of the Opposition. As of 2011, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha and the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha (Lower House of the parliament) both are women. However, women in India continue to face discrimination and other social challenges and are often victims of abuse and violent crimes and, according to a global poll conducted by Thomson Reuters, India is the "fourth most dangerous country" in the world for women, and the worst country for women among the G20 countries. - Wikipedia
 
Location: Southern Asia, bordering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Burma and Pakistan
Size: 3,287,263 sq km; slightly more than 1/3 the size of the U.S.
Population: 1,205,073,612
Ethnic groups: Indo-Aryan 72%, Dravidian 25%, Mongoloid and other 3%
Languages: Hindi 41%, Bengali 8.1%, Telugu 7.2%, Marathi 7%, Tamil 5.9%, Urdu 5%, Gujarati 4.5%, Kannada 3.7%, Malayalam 3.2%, Oriya 3.2%, Punjabi 2.8%, Assamese 1.3%, Maithili 1.2%, other 5.9%

Anthem: Jana Mana Gana (Thou Art the Ruler of the Minds of All People)

Books: Passports to the World

It's a little early to announce reading challenges for next year, but it requires a little planning and I need your help.  I've created the Books: Passports to the World challenge, where the goal is to read a book a week set in a different country.  There are just under 200 recognized countries in the world today, my plan is to come up with books set in 52 of those places.  Why 52? There are 52 weeks in a year, so each week I'll be posting a review of a book from one of the countries.

Here's where I need your help.  I've created a list, and come up with a good number of books so far, but I'm hoping that you've read a book set in a country that I've not already found a book for and will share it with me.  The list of countries and books can be found here.  Please take a look and submit your suggestions for books that should be added to the list below.  And don't worry, sign ups for the challenge are coming soon.

#BookReview: Love Comes Later - Mohanalakshmi Rajakumar

Knowing my love of colorful chick lit, @AMWLoveWideOpen brought this book to my attention and I'm so glad she did.  While I've managed to find chick lit that covers various cultures, this is the first one I've read that focuses on the Arab world, particularly Qatar.  And as an added bonus, the author throws in an Indian American point of view.

Three months into his marriage to Fatima, a marriage he initially resisted, Abdulla loses her in a fatal car accident.  Though he had resisted the idea of marriage, he'd grown accustomed to having Fatima around and had grown to love her.  Her sudden death left a void and he vowed to never marry again.  It's unfortunate, then, that part of his duty to his family is to re-marry, specifically, one of his cousins.

Abdulla's cousin, Hind, has no desire to get married either.  A bookish, yet stylish, woman, she'd like nothing more than to get her master's and work.  Whereas most Qatari wives are content with shopping, she wants more from life.  Feeling pressure from the family, Abdulla and Hind agree to marry after Hind has spent a year in London working on her degree.

I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between Hind and Sangita, her classmate turned roommate and best friend.  An American of Indian descent, Sangita was raised in a Hindu household.  While she's familiar with some of the aspects of Hind's religion, Islam, she's not aware of them all and the author does a great job of highlighting the similarities and differences.  With time running out, it's up to Sangita to help Abdulla and Hind figure out how they can, or if they want to, make the marriage work.

I had to laugh at some comments and nod in agreement with others as Rajakumar pokes fun at stereotypes and ideology.  For example,

When she arrives for orientation, bang on time, which would have been considered early in Doha, she is the last student there.  So much for trying to avoid the stereotype of being on Arab time.

Growing up in the African American community, there's always been a joke about people that consistently run late being on CP time.  CP meaning colored people.

In another instance, Abdulla is called a Paki (short for Pakistani) and Sangita is surprised to see that he doesn't react, only commenting to her that he's Arab, not Asian.  To which she responds, in reference to the West,

"They colonize the world and don't even bother to notice that we're different?"

"Brown is brown.  Sometimes brown is even black," he says.

While the author doesn't spend a lot of time dwelling on how the Asian or Arab world is perceived by Europeans or Americans, it is interesting to note that the perceptions and stereotypes of people of color can be just as damaging in Europe as they are in America.

This was a short and enjoyable read.  At only $ 2.99 (free for Prime members) in the Amazon store, you should definitely check it out if you're looking to broaden your mind.

256pp
Published: July 2012

Theme: Balle Balle from Bride and Prejudice

#BookReview: Almost Single - Advaita Kala

As guest relations manager at the Grand Orchid Hotel in New Delhi, Aisha Bhatia meets people of means daily.  If it were up to her mother, she'd put a sign that says, "29 and Single" on her desk and hope that one of the available men checking in at the hotel would ask her out.  Aisha is desperate, but not that desperate.

29 year old single women in India are an anomaly.  Aisha's cousins and one of her best friends, Anushka, have all crossed over into the land of holy matrimony.  Anushka is crossing back though and Misha, Aisha's other best friend, has firmly stayed on the single side with Aisha, but not because she hasn't been trying to find a husband.

Like a scene straight out of a Bollywood flick, Aisha bumps into a handsome stranger in a country club parking lot as she's toilet papering a car and, again, when she catches sight of him, stark naked in his hotel room.  And, of course, she continues to have frequent run ins with him, no matter where she goes.

This book was cute and funny, but had the potential to be more entertaining than it was.  The author didn't do a good job of making the reader care about any of the characters.  The interactions between Aisha and Karan felt very stiff and it came as a surprise that they considered themselves a couple, since those stiff interactions rarely happened when the two of them were alone.

288pp
Published: February 2009

Theme: Party by Beyonce'

#BookReview: And Laughter Fell from the Sky - Jyotsna Sreenivasan

Have you ever seen two people that you were sure were siblings or, better yet, perfect strangers, because there was no chemistry between them?  That's how I felt the whole time I was reading And Laughter Fell from the Sky.  While Jyotsna Sreenivasan has written several nonfiction books, this was her first work of fiction.  I'm afraid that she has a lot more work to do before crossing into this genre.

What Sreenivasan has given us is the story of Rasika and Abhay, mid-20s Indian-Americans.  Abhay is a friend of Rasika's younger brother, so while the two know each other from childhood, they don't really know each other.  A chance encounter in a coffee shop gives them a chance to reacquaint themselves.  From there, the road gets bumpy.

Rasika is expected to marry and if she can't find a suitable husband, her parents will find one for her.  Raised with traditional Indian values, she's an American girl at heart and longs to be independent, but she still lives with her parents.  She spends a lot of time sneaking around behind their backs, using her friend, Jill, as an alibi.

Abhay has recently returned to Ohio after living in a commune for two years.  His parents would much prefer that he do something meaningful with his life, like go to law school or graduate school.  He's unsure of what he should be when he grows up, but he knows he wants to make a difference in the world.

When Rasika and Abhay run into each other, you would expect sparks to fly.  Instead, there's little to no fizzle.  Readers will find themselves going through all 336 pages and not caring one way or another if the two of them end up together.  At no point does the author give them enough dialogue with each other to convince the reader that they even like each other as something beyond friends.  They could have picked random people off of the street and I would have been convinced that they had more in common with them than with each other.

 336pp

Published: June 2012

Disclaimer: Copy of book received from publisher, opinions are my own.

 

Theme: 1 Thing by Amerie

#BookReview: Secret Daughter - Shilpi Somaya Gowda

Kavita and Jasu live in a rural Indian village and are pregnant with their second child. The first, a daughter, was brutally murdered by a family member of Jasu at birth because the girl child was thought to be more of a burden than benefit to the family.  The second child is a girl as well, but Kavita refuses to let Jasu handle her like he did their first. Instead, she and her sister travel to an orphanage in Mumbai with the baby, Usha, and place her up for adoption.

Somer and Krishnan are a young married couple living in California. Despite being busy medical professionals, Somer desperately wants a child. After a couple of miscarriages, Krishnan tries to convince Somer to travel back to his home country to adopt. His mother has ties to an orphanage in Mumbai. Somer finally relents and they travel to India to adopt…yep, you’ve guessed it—Kavita’s baby girl, Usha.

Renamed Asha (thanks to some illegible penmanship), Somer and Krishnan's daughter has grown up knowing she was adopted from India her entire life. In the back of her mind, she always wondered about her biological parents and why they put her up for adoption. Offered a chance to travel back to India for a year on a journalism fellowship, Asha learns more about herself, her adoptive parents, and biological parents in that short time span. Narrated by nearly every character mentioned above at some point, Secret Daughter is a novel that spans decades and continents while exploring the family dynamic.

Gowda's debut work was a smash, in my opinion. Her writing is very reminscent of one of my favorite authors, Jhumpa Lahiri. Not only because of the superficial connection of them both being Indian, but in the way they let a story unfold. This story was carefully layered so that the we could get a feel for each character, their motivation for behavior as well as interactions with other characters. The tenuous relationships between characters in the book lead to some tense moments, but overall it's a pleasurable read. It's part coming-of-age, part cultural enlightenment.

Rating:

#BookReview: Tell A Thousand Lies - Rasana Atreya

In 1986 India, four of the most important determinants of a woman's future were the tone of her skin, her caste, her home village and her family's wealth.  Based on these things, Pullamma, at the age of 16,  has resigned herself to living with her grandmother forever.  As one of three orphaned sisters, Pullamma is the darkest and most unattractive.

 With her oldest granddaughter married off, Ammamma begins to worry about the fate of Pullamma.  While it should be easy enough to marry off Lata, Pullamma's beautiful, light skin twin, it won't be easy to find a match for Pullamma.  The only hitch in Ammamma's plan is Lata has no desire to get married.  In a time and village that placed little emphasis on girls beyond the 12th class, and actually frowned upon girls doing well in school, Lata not only passes the 12th class, but does so with distinction.  A smart girl, she dreams of becoming a doctor, but as Ammamma asks, "With such good marks, how am I to find her a suitable groom..."  Pullamma, on the other hand, only dreams of getting married.

Just as Lata is about to wed into a family that respects her dreams and will allow her to continue her studies to become a doctor, a local politician intervenes and changes the fate of both Lata and Pullamma.  Suddenly, Pullamma has the life Lata always wanted and the beautiful Lata becomes a shrewd and bitter woman out for revenge at any cost, even if it means destroying her twin.

I can't remember how this book came across my radar.  I think it was recommended by Amazon based on other books I've read, but I can't be sure.  Regardless of how I stumbled across it, I'm glad I did.  Tell A Thousand Lies is a brilliant effort from Rasana Atreya.  As she tells the story of Pullamma and her family, she also gives glimpses into the Telugu community and Hindu beliefs ad practices

I loved this book because Atreya kept me on my toes while reading it.  At no point did I ever really know how the story was going to end.  And a sure sign that a book has pulled me in, I found myself talking out loud to the characters, knowing good and well they couldn't hear me.  If you love learning about new cultures and love a good story, do yourself a favor and give Tell A Thousand Lies a read.






352pp
Published: March 2012

 

Theme: Everything She Wants by Wham

#BookReview: The Wedding Wallah - Farahad Zama

Mr. Ali of The Marriage Bureau for Rich People is still up to his usual antics.  As we saw in The Many Conditions of Love, the follow up to Marriage Bureau, the marriage bureau has taken on yet again a smaller role.  Though it was the focus of the first book in the series, it now only serves as a point of reference to tie the various characters together.

Aruna, who we initially met in Marriage Bureau, is happily married.  Even though her husband is a doctor and she can afford to be a housewife, she continues to work at the bureau and sends her salary to help support her parents and younger sister.

Rehman, the son of Mr. Ali, is heartbroken following his broken engagement to Usha.  Her family would have preferred a son-in-law with a safe profession.  Rehman tried to stay on the engineering path, but with so much unrest going on in the countryside, he feels that his talents would be put to better use by helping those less fortunate than himself.

Pari, the Ali's niece, who we met in Many Conditions is a recent widow with an adopted son.  She knows that her status as a widow limits the number of men that may be willing to marry her, but she's in no rush to remarry.  She agrees to think about a proposal from the handsome Dilawar, but he seems to be harboring a few secrets that could potentially end any thoughts of engagement.

When several characters in the book are kidnapped by a group of Naxalites, everyone is forced to come to grip with truths and consequences.  Moving more slowly than Many Conditions, which moved much slower than Marriage Bureau, I have to wonder if Zama is running out of steam.  While I can appreciate him using the books to bring awareness to social issues, I  think it's time for him to explore either another series of books or different characters to get his point across.  Although Marriage Bureau was hilarious, The Wedding Wallah falls painfully short.

352pp
Published: April 2011

 

Theme: Mauja Hi Mauja from the Jab We Met soundtrack