Can true love triumph in the face of fierce family opposition? Mr Ali's marriage bureau is flourishing but trouble isn't far away once son Rehman begins secretly to woo TV journalist Usha in the small cafes and on the beautiful beaches of South Indian Vizag in an ill-advised romance. Meanwhile the lovely Aruna has a problem or two all her own. She enjoys being Mr Ali's right-hand woman at the marriage bureau, having a wonderful husband Ram, and living in a mansion a far cry from her parents' cramped one-room house; but how long can Aruna remain happy once her spiteful sister-in-law Mani comes home to stay? When Usha's father finds out about Rehman, a Muslim, the fat is in the fire. And what will Mr and Mrs Ali have to say when they discover too their son has been dating a non-Muslim?


Thought this and it's prequal looked good for a bookray/spiral.

Icila - France (anywhere)
okyrhoe - Greece (anywhere)
FrancesinSA - South Africa (anywhere)
Penelopewanders - switzerland - (Eur)
Nakipa - Portugal (anywhere)
rodespringbal - Belgium - Eur

This is the first book of a book spiral, the books should travel to each person in the correct order. Please when you are ready to post the second book on, check that the person after you has received and read the first book, if they haven't hang on to the book for a little while before posting.

off on a book spiral - enjoy.

Safe at home. Thanks !

I'm just finished and I'm looking forward to reading the next (though the end was a bit abrupt).

On its way to Grece.

Arrived in Athens. Thanks Heaven-Ali for including me in the spiral, and Icila for posting the book to me!

This is a slightly more complex narrative to its prequel, The Marriage Bureau for Rich People. In fact, the plot is pure Bollywood, with climactic situations and scenes straight out of a film script.

The main plot element is the "taboo" love affair between Rehman and Usha. Aruna's marital troubles act as a foreshadowing of what can go wrong with Rehman and Usha's possible union. The secondary characters and subplots are set up in such a way that the audience will not be sure which way the story will go...for it looks like another woman has caught Rehman's attention besides Usha, and what will happen to the orphaned village boy...
There are several instances of "flashbacks" adding complexity to the narrative structure, where the backstory to the current scene is explained further (eg, Rehman's first love, how Vasu was orphaned, how Aruna is tricked into a visit to the ob-gyn, how Tara was adopted by the village family, etc).
Another cinematic element is the attempt to balance the tragedy of Mr. Naidu's experiment with GMO crops, with the levity of Tara's wedding.
And finally, the stereotypical (even if enigmatic) closure of the mountaintop sunset scene in the Epilogue.

The story continues with The Wedding Wallah.

On its way by post to FrancesinSA. Enjoy!

I received the book today. Thank you okyrhoe for posting it to me. Thanks also for the postcard and bookmark. I also like the stamps on the envelope. :-)

23 August: Almost finished reading the book and will be ready to send it out soon.

The author describes a vivid image of Indian life. I also enjoyed reading okyrhoe's links to topics covered in the book.

I am posting the book today to Penelopewanders.

Oh dear, book 2 has arrived before book 1! Although looking below I see it says this is the first book in the spiral? Do I read this or do I wait?? Please let me know...

I appreciated this much more than the first - I felt many of the things that irritated me in that book (like the "wikipedia moments") were no longer issues in this one. This is not great literature, but it's a pleasant read, shedding light in a more personal way on issues that deserve our awareness (the position/plight of women, modernization of agriculture and the difficulties of farmers in third world countries, confronted by multinational businesses, etc etc). The epilogue felt a bit patched and pasted, in my opinion, but perhaps this is to encourage us to read the sequel? I'm up for it...
I've PMed the next in line but have yet to hear back - I'll give it a few more days and then try again.

FINALLY! I'm so sorry this has spent such a long time in the Alps - perhaps after it's long journey it needed a rest? All kidding aside, it took a while to ascertain that the next person in the spiral seems to have gone AWOL, and then I was away.. .now these first two in the spiral are on their way to Belgium. Thanks so very much for making them available!

got it in the mail today

gaat met Dutch-book mee na de Castricum-meeting

Thanks for reserving those for me rodespringbal! They look very cheery, Alexander McCall Smith like.

Finished it. It was enjoyable, but had hoped to have a little bit more action thrown in. Probably needed some crime at the time.

Thank you very much for this wishlist book! :)