Love Marriage [Hardcover]

V.V. Ganeshananthan (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (April 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0297853171
• ISBN-13: 978-0297853176
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,028,375 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

V.V. Ganeshananthan grew up in Maryland and is a graduate of Harvard College and the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Her work has appeared in Granta, The Atlantic Monthly, The Washington Post, Columbia Journalism Review, Sepia Mutiny, Himal Southasian, and The American Prospect, among others. She currently serves on the board of the Asian American Writers' Workshop.

Random House published her first novel, Love Marriage, in April 2008. The book was longlisted for the Orange Prize and named one of Washington Post Book World's Best of 2008, as well as a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Pick. It has been translated into several languages.

She now teaches at the University of Michigan, where she is the Zell Visiting Professor of Creative Writing. For more information, visit www.vasugi.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent novel!, April 21, 2008

By 

Meenadchi Chelvakumar (Ann Arbor, MI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Love Marriage: A Novel (Paperback)

If I was going to write a novel about my experience as a Sri Lankan American and the two cultures, this is exactly what I would hope it would be like in both content and writing style. Actually that's an understatement: this is more than what I could possibly hope such a novel to be. Ganeshananthan's story-telling skill is superb and her literary voice is honest, sincere, intelligent, and eloquent. This is a FANTASTIC first novel and I am eagerly awaiting the second, go VV! Definitely read this book, I sense a budding Arundhati Roy in this woman....

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unconventional, enjoyable, May 6, 2008

By 

M. Bell "the truth" (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Love Marriage: A Novel (Paperback)

Yes, there are a fair number of rhetorical flourishes in this first novel that may not suit everyone's taste, particularly since the story would draw the reader in effectively even if they weren't there. Yes, it may seem odd that the story's protagonist is arguably its least compelling character (although she is redeemed somewhat through her link to another character late in the novel), or that for a substantial part of the later chapters, not much actually happens. But there's so much good happening here that I recommend V.V. Ganeshananthan's "Love Marriage" wholeheartedly.

The episodic, almost staccato manner in which the story is told works effectively, both as a way of flitting between points in time and vividly rendered spaces in the characters' hearts and as a way of muting the effect of the aforementioned rhetorical flourishes. The limning of the two worlds Yalini straddles is skillful, with the Sri Lankan parts being particularly effective (I actually found myself wanting more of the Sri Lankan story, particularly the Tigers, than we get). The stories of a number of the supporting characters in this novel--aunts and uncles and cousins--are three-dimensional and compelling, and the place Yalini and her family's arc ultimately takes us is not to the clear conclusion that one might expect (and that some of the marketing material curiously hints at) but it is a place that I found consistent with the story's realism and nuance and the substantive themes woven throughout.

Solid stuff, overall.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Love Marriage, May 16, 2008

By 

skrishna (http://www.skrishnasbooks.com) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Love Marriage: A Novel (Paperback)

Love Marriage is the story of Yalini, a recent college grad who is a first generation Sri Lankan-American. The book is not so much her story, as it is the story of her Sri Lankan family and the trials and tribulations they experienced as a result of Marriage. It is not just internal family squabbles that run through the book, it is also the recent history of Sri Lanka and the Tamil Tigers that really make this book a gem. While there are plenty of books about India, Sri Lanka is often overshadowed; the country's history isn't nearly as well known. While most people have heard of the Tamil Tigers, few know who they really are or what it means. That is the strength of this book - the history it reveals to its readers. While the story of the people and relationships is somewhat less compelling, overall it is still a book that is very much worth reading.