The Marriage Bureau For Rich People (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
This was a great palate refresher after "The Goldfinch" and "The Casual Vacancy." It is a sweet book about a gentleman who lives in a city on the eastern coast of southern India who, upon retiring from his job, decides to open a arranged marriage bureau. If you are looking for happy endings, well, this is definitely the book for you. As another reader has commented, what saves this book from "chick-lit" is that the author immerses the reader in the culture of life in Visag. I learned so much about Hindu and Muslim customs, and southern Indian cooking, and even what makes a happy marriage, from this book, and in a way that I will not forget. This book has been around a while so don't look for it in "New Releases" but it is worth looking for. Reading The Marriage Bureau is a bit like having a cup of chai - sweet and tasty but it's not going to fill you up. Zama's debut novel is a lively story, designed to be as broad as possible and therefore a bit predictable. Within in the story though are little morsels of Indian life and explanations of old customs that give the novel a bit of weight. Zama does present the changing habits and inveitable clashes as the traditional marriage beliefs slowy give way. Everything finishes happily with, of course, a wedding in the finale. On second thought- if we add a rainstorm, a song & dance to the mango grove picnic, this would make a perfect Bollywood movie.
What do You think about The Marriage Bureau For Rich People (2009)?
Fascinating view of another culture. Also a very sweet love story.
—brittni13
Learned a lot about India and enjoyed the story.
—Ivy
