What does somebody with a wealth of common sense do if retirement palls?
Why, open a marriage bureau, of course. And soon Mr Ali, from beautiful Vizag in South India, sees his new business flourish as the indomitable Mrs Ali and able assistant Aruna look on with careful eyes.
But although many clients go away happy, problems lurk behind the scenes as Aruna nurses a heart-rending secret; while Mr Ali cannot see that he rarely follows the sage advice he so freely dishes out to others. And when love comes calling for Aruna, an impossible dilemma looms...
A colourful coastal town and contemporary marriage bureau prove a perfect backdrop for a splendid array of characters making sense of all sorts of pride and prejudice - and the ways in which true love won't quite let go - in this witty and big-hearted debut novel.

Its always interesting to read about other cultures and although I found the obsession with dowry and wealth and females not having much say in their marital future getting my hackles up, I have to admit that Western marriage is not perfect. Finding the right partner and maintaining a marriage is not an easy task for anyone. I felt the author dealt with the issues raised in the book very sensitively and I liked the fact that the marriage bureau run by a Moslem did work for other faiths and I also learnt more about the castes as I did not know there was more than one type of Brahmin.

Taking to today's mini meet at Wygston's House.
If not picked up at the meet, it will be released somewhere in Leicester.
If you've found this book and you're new to this, welcome to bookcrossing! I hope you enjoy looking around the bookcrossing site. If you decide to join bookcrossing (it's free, so no reason not to if you're interested!) please feel free to list me (Tanamo) as the member who referred you. Even if you don't join I'd appreciate it if you'd leave a quick journal note so I can see where the book ended up - you can do it anonymously if you wish.

Picked up for the charity table at work.

Left on the charity book table in Outpatients 2.