Customer Reviews

The Dowry Bride

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

In modern-day middle class India, Megha Ramnath, a twenty-one-year old bride of one year, awakens from an exhausted sleep to discover her husband and mother-in-law plotting a gruesome death for her, the mother-in-law furious that Megha's dowry has not been forthcoming. An overweight, homely woman, Chandramma chose the educated young woman for her beauty and dowry, but has since come to loathe the compliant girl, her natural beauty making the older woman even uglier by comparison. At first disbelieving of what she is witnessing outside the wood shed, Megha is petrified, finally taking flight before her devious relatives can act. Racing through the night, Megha can only think of one destination and that one risky, knowing her own family will send her back to her murderous in-laws.

In an evolving society that values educated women, Megha is caught in a world where differing belief systems are practiced by families who sometimes choose traditional ways, restricting the influences of modern society, clinging to the practices of generations. As a dowry bride, Megha falls into a family that views her as a servant, her worth tied the amount of money her family can provide. At the mercy of her mother-in-law, Megha is a pawn and can be disposed of without much investigation into her disappearance. Escaping to the one place the family will not think to look, her temporary protector is of sufficient wealth to avoid the prying eyes of strangers. Yet after weeks of hiding, Megha again falls prey to those who would harm her. In a mix of drama, from Megha's impulsive flight to her constant fear of discovery, to humor and romance, the girl's spirit remains constant.

Targeting a very special audience, the author points out in an afterward that most Indians write literary novels that are "beautiful but don't always reach large segments of the reading public." Bantwal hopes to reach a mainstream audience, one that expects "romance, mystery, sadness and humor". With that in mind, the author accomplishes her goal, a horrific tale grounded in reality but spiced with romance and drama. The fact is that dowry brides are often the unacknowledged victims of a social convention that turns a blind eye to their plight. The Dowry Bride shines a light on an ancient practice that still exists. Although Megha's troubles are tempered with the promise of romance and an opportunity for a changed future, the reason for this protagonist's dilemma is based in uncomfortable reality. Luan Gaines/2007.

As someone who has lived in India, and had educated friends and relatives succumb to the demands for dowry ( some very subtle, some not so subtle), DOWRY BRIDE, is a book we needed. The issue has permeated all socio-economic strata's and faith groups in India and some brides do burn for not bringing enough of a dowry, while others live with taunts, abuse and discrimination for not having brought the laundry lists of goods demanded. Female infanticide in India has its roots in traditions such as this. Woven into fiction, 'The Dowry Bride' will perhaps do for dowry what 'Kite Runner' did for Afghani kids. Highly recommended!

This book was an amazing accidental find! The author did a wonderful job of weaving a heartfelt story with color and words and facts about the culture of India. It shows the strength of a country with many old traditions and manages to keep the pages turning so quickly you feel as though you are in her world. And the message is life filled with new beginnings and hope!

Within the first few minutes of her debut novel, Shobhan Bantwal manages to drag the reader, kicking and screaming, into the dark life of the Ramnath family's young bride, Megha. The soon-to-be victim of a murder plot by her husband and mother in law, Megha runs from her home into the arms of the only person she feels can keep her safe.

In the pages that ensue, the author elicits feelings of intense fear, passion, and complete uncertainty. She covers an issue still quietly occurring and being ignored in India - dowry killings.

At the beginning of her novel, Shobhan talks about the beauty of India, its culture, and its people, and the tragedy that these horrible crimes are taking place and often being ignored. She manages, however, to use the issue to turn her story into a suspenseful romance, where Megha finds herself in many (interesting) positions she never imagined she would find herself in!

An interesting read that keeps you on your toes from beginning to end, Shobhan has done the romance novel market a favour with The Dowry Bride.

Okay - beauty is more than skin deep, but I too must confess that I was drawn to this book by the rich texture and cover art. The blurb on the back cover promised for a subject that was controversial and cultural. I have to agree with others that the dialogue was simplistic, the "cut scenes" too many and tangled, and the character was rather unlikeable. The subject was so full of promise, that I kept reading hoping that the narration or the plot would improve this reading experience...I was disappointed. It might just be my personal preference, but I am annoyed by stories that are told as "flash backs" and don't directly involve the reader in a sense of urgency. You have no clue that some of these flashbacks are coming, nor do they fit in the story line very well.

It narrowly reads like a cultural romance, and does not attack the topic very well. I admire the idea behind the author's intention, however the delivery was unrealized.

Because I am writing a thesis on the progress of Indian women, it took me a while to find a novel, which was based solely on the dowry Bride Issue. And I was relieved to find it in Shoban Bantwal's Dowry Bride. But, YES, there are going to be a lot of BUTS because Bantwal uses prejudice and makes the villain, i.e., the mother-in-law, a bad product of violent rape from an untouchable? This was a disappointed to me and the ending was too quick, and really was a diane steel novel rather than a substantial novel like Ladies Coupe by Anita Nair. There are many reasons behind why a man's family is cruel to the bride, but casteism seemed like an easy and definitely a bad approach to justify the mother-in-law's cruel nature. Although I do not believe in casteism and do not belong to the untouchable caste, but give them a break. Was not B.R. Ambedkar an untouchable? A serious disappointment. Also, the actual scene where the heroine's life is threatened is barely mentioned, the rest is a romantic and odd story of a romance between the husband's cousin and the heroine!

I was appalled to read the caste based agenda that the author is pedaling in not so subtle manner in this novel. At one hand the author wish to show the plight of Indian brides caused due to dowry system. On the other hand the author conveniently encourages the caste based prejudices. Here are a few characters that author has developed

1. Lingayya (low caste bhangi): A rapist who had no morals because "he was a bhangi" Only job he could do was to clean toilets.

2. Chandramma (half low caste): An interesting character who is raised with love and care in a Brahmin family. Because she had the low caste blood in her veins, she grows up to be not just ugly but also a psychopath. She likes to harm small animals as well as her daughter-in-law. This half bred is ugly and has no redeeming quality.

3. Suresh (quarter low caste): No good of a man who doesn't know how to love his wife. Makes love and falls asleep.

Now lets talk about the pure brahmins. There is no fault you can find in that perfect world. Megha, Ramnath, Ajji you name it and they are all made of high moral character. Then comes Kiran who is pure Brahmin and is coincidentally also perfect.

Imagine if you read a novel in which all the African Americans and their descendants are painted as evil and all Whites are perfect. Would you buy that story line in this day and age. Those are the characters that this novel has.

I am very disappointed.

I felt that the book could have used some additional storyline editing. The storyline just kept having too many crazy twists. Additionally, I think the characters could have been developed into more than being one-dimensional.

The author has delivered her first novel developed from a short story in creative writing class. I found the book to be an exhilerating adventure about Megha, a young Dowry Indian bride, who is married to Suresh. It is an unhappy marriage unfilled by lies, deceit, treachery, and broken promises on both sides of the marital aisle. Despite Megha's education and beauty, she is married off to an unattractive, dull husband because his family is higher in the caste or class system in India.

I don't know much about India but this story is possible to occur. The beginning details Megha's escape in breathtaken fashion. You're on the edge of your seat for a while to see what a mother-in-law from hell can do to you. Megha has done everything possible to make the marriage a happy one with an unwilling partner, Suresh, who dutifully follows his mother's command. In that household, Amma, the mother-in-law, rules with an iron fist of abuse, criticism, and horror to her family and servants as well.

Megha's escape brings her to her husband's cousin but it doesn't mean that she's free. Divorce is unthinkable in their culture. Amma doesn't want her family to have shame with a divorce. She wants her son to marry a woman with great wealth.

But as the story unfolds about Megha's marital life, we learn more about her in-laws in order to understand the family dynamics. Up until the end, I was wondering why Amma mistreated her daughter-in-law so harshly. There were signs but not for the revelation at the end of the novel.

The author is a first time novelist and I rarely don't give more than three stars to first-timers. Her writing kept me wanting to know more about the outcome of the story. Every chapter was a pleasure and adventure in Megha's life and the possible danger from a mother-in-law.

If there is a weakness in the story, we need to know the root of Amma's horrible behavior and we do get some idea with the family secret in the end. I don't know why other reviewers have chosen to write negative reviews.

Since I don't know the situation in India, I found this book to be quite an adventure and worthy of reading. I found Megha to be sympathetic maybe too sympathetic. She needed to be a little flawed and imperfect in my opinion. Her husband Suresh never rises to develop at all but still the minor flaws in this novel doesn't hurt the book at all.

I enjoyed the first half of The Dowry Bride, mainly because of the plot line. I haven't really read books that take place in India, so it was a change of scenery for me, with a little bit of shock factor to make it interesting, what with the bride's husband and mother-in-law out to kill her. It provided Jerry Springer-esque entertainment for me, and I mean that as a compliment. It is for this reason alone I wish I could give it 2.5 stars.

In the second half of the book, however, the excitement of the plot line appeared to have committed suicide and the author overcompensated for that absence with romance. The characters started to seem generic, particularly the main character's love interest, Kiran. If I had wanted to read a romance novel, I could have gone down to the grocery store. The ending kind of killed the potential rating of 3 stars for me as well: it was just as generic as the rest of the second half.