While Leila’s mother applies the pressure to find her mate, Leila negotiates for a little breathing room to accomplish this on her own. With the help of her friend and college roommate Annie, she composes a bucket list of all the qualities she wants in the “right guy.” Over seven paper napkins, Annie takes notes on Leila’s forty-six ideas of perfection, heavily influenced by the heroes of Bollywood romances.
With a three-month deadline, the dating begins. Leila works through blind dates, online dates, matchmaking dates, phone dates, and every other permutation of the dating scene. Most of these meetings end in hilariously awful ways, with Leila trying to explain to her expectant mother why these relationships just don’t stand a chance.
This debut novel might easily be written off as "chick lit," but behind the humor, the angst, the determined search for a husband, is a pretty powerful look at the life of a first-generation Indian Muslim woman whose family's expectations for her are marriage--first, last, and everything. While reading this, I happened on an NPR report about marriages in India where arranged marriages still account for four out of five unions and where there are dire consequences for choosing to marry outside your religion or caste.
Author Zara Raheem does a fine job exploring the various sides of freedom of choice and arranged marriages, the generation gap, and the cultural divide of immigrant families. Her characters are interesting and three-dimensional personalities. Leila’s friend Annie is good at keeping Leila grounded, and their conversations are often both meaningful and funny. Even Leila’s mother, who seems so overbearing, is more realistic than caricatured. Raheem provides a surprising conclusion in this eye-opening book for "non-desi" readers, which would be excellent material for discussion groups.
Published July 23 by William Morrow Paperbacks
(Advance copies from NetGalley and Edelweiss)
