Customer Reviews

The Marriage Bureau for Rich People

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3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

"What does an Indian man with a wealth of common sense do when his retirement becomes too monotonous for him to stand it? Open a marriage bureau, of course!"

Thus starts The Marriage Bureau for Rich People, a fantastic book that tells the story of Mr. Ali and his small, yet extremely popular, marriage bureau. What starts out as a part time endeavor, flourishes quickly. The book showcases a brilliant cast of characters including Mr. Ali, the careful and kind business manager; Mrs. Ali, his strong and maternal wife; Aruna the full-time assistant to the bureau who's working through her own family-and non-existent marriage-problems; and a slew of people looking for the perfect match.

The customers, albeit important, are just the background to the true story. The young Aruna cannot get married due to her family's financial problems. She works to support them and without her salary, they cannot get by. And without money, they can't pay for the elaborate wedding or necessary dowry the husband's family will expect. While that is happening, Mr. and Mrs. Ali deal with their son, Rehman, a freedom fighter who's trying to stop a giant conglomerate from building on farmers' lands. As he fights for the rights of others, he forgets the feelings of his parents. And in India, you never disrespect your elders.

An underlining theme of the book is what makes a marriage work. To this day, the caste system is still going strong in India. One doesn't marry outside of their caste, and one very rarely marries for love. Instead, through family members, an appropriate match is made. But what's better? A marriage that appeases the family, or one that appeases the husband and wife?

What I found most endearing about the book was the role of Mrs. Ali. It's common to think that the man runs the household, that he leads. But, it's the wife's job to decide if she wants to follow or not. And although Mrs. Ali doesn't go against her husband, she's extremely well spoken and does what she sees as best, even if her husband doesn't understand at first. Mrs. Ali ultimately brings two important people together - not through a marriage bureau, but through love.

Farahad Zama tells the story beautifully with rich words and vivid elements. You could almost taste the halwa Mrs. Ali cooks, see the green sari Aruna purchases, or feel the ripe mango plucked from the tree. Zama doesn't leave one description out. I can't be alone in thinking this - Zama recently won the Melissa Nathan award for comedy romance. He is the first male writer to receive it.

The Marriage Bureau for Rich People is a delightful tale that's an extremely fun read. It made me laugh out loud at parts, and tear up with happiness at others. I loved how it concentrated on important elements of India, but presented them in a lighthearted manner. It's an excellent novel for anyone looking for a quick, enjoyable and interesting literary trip to India. I can't wait to read it again. I'll definitely be checking out the other books Zama has in store.

Let me get this off my chest: The "like Jane Austen" marketing label attached to _The Marriage Bureau for Rich People_, is merely that: A marketing label. The only similarity is that both Jane Austen and Farahad Zama are among thousands of writers who have written novels about romance that have happy conclusions. A better marketing label might be "chick lit." If you are a Westerner wanting to read a cheerful, light, but moral romance set in a well-explained modern India, this novel is for you.

Mr. Ali has grown bored in his retirement from civil service, and sets up a marriage bureau in his little house in a large city. The bureau differs from a traditional matchmaking service in that it advertises in newspapers for potential mates for its clients, then screens them before turning the rest of the matchmaking process over to relatives and lastly, to the parties most concerned. The bureau deals with Hindu, Muslim, and Christian clients--who always want to marry others of the same religion, socioeconomic status, and in the case of the Hindus, caste and subcaste.

Mr. Ali observes that his clients come to a marriage bureau because they have problems. They (or their relatives) are too particular, they (or their relatives) are difficult to get along with, they are bad at selling themselves, they have small dowries or incomes, they may even be divorced. Mr. Ali behaves like a kindly, responsible uncle towards them all. He negotiates demands between parties and constantly urges compromise in requirements for mates, in family and interfamily interactions, and in the promises all parties make to each other, so that most clients achieve promising marriages.

Several stories about such clients are woven into two main stories. One main story is Mr. and Mrs. Ali's strained relationship with their son Rehman, a passionate political protester who is in trouble with the police and featured in the news. The other is the marriage prospects of Mr. Ali's assistant Aruna, the daughter of a Brahmin family (a high caste) who has recently fallen on such hard times that they cannot afford to marry her off. The wealthy Brahmin family of Ramanujam, a young doctor, comes to the marriage bureau to find the perfect wife for him, but no candidate is perfect enough for his family. In the course of this search Aruna and Ramaujam fall in love; and the plot centers on how Mr. and Mrs. Ali manage to broker an agreement with them and with their families that will enable the marriage to take place. This is complicated not only by economic differences, but by the fact that marrying for romantic love is disgraceful.

Along the way, the author explains many Indian customs without ever being boring or overly expository. He also tactfully imparts moral lessons, upholding religion (whether Hindu, Muslim, or Christian, he implies the basic values are the same), family, community, respect for all elders, and tolerance. He upholds tradition as far as it supports these values, while recognizing that some Indian traditions oppress women, that individual happiness is sometimes overly sacrificed to family goals, and that a changing India requires evaluation of whether the same values should be applied in different ways.

I read _The Marriage Bureau for Rich People_ in under two days. I'm hoping the author presents us with more delightful tales of traditional-but-modern India.

Comparisons to Jane Austen always make me take a second glance (which is deleterious to my reading health, because most of the time, the comparison is beyond bogus). This book deserves a comparison--not because of the writing, which is satirical and clever but occasionally awkward--but because it gives us a glimpse into a society which is as mannered and as far from most Americans' world as Jane Austen's is.

The Marriage Bureau for Rich People is a third-person narrative that focuses on the Ali family. Mr. Ali (think Mr. Bennet) is retired and getting into his wife's hair, so when he starts his marriage bureau, she supports his efforts. Mr. Ali's emotional intelligence and perseverance lead to success and his needing to hire an assistant, and his wife (who is far superior to Mrs. Bennet in just about all ways) finds him a wonderful assistant, Aruna.

Aruna is an educated young woman who has had to put her dreams of marriage on hold because of her family's monetary losses. She has initiative and humor and, in many ways, parallels Elizabeth Bennet--she refuses her Mr. Darcy, but he does ask again.

Read the book to find out how she answers him--and about the other characters who people this very charming book. As I've mentioned, the writing is not always smooth. It is jarring when the characters slip into modern English colloquialism, such as when Mr. Ali is going to join "the guys" for a day, but these annoyances are minor when compared to the pleasures of Mr. Ali's humorous encounter with a Christian missionary, which is both amusing and wise.

As is this book.

First of all if you enjoy the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith, than you are going to enjoy this book. Though taking place in different parts of the world and the actual business of each lead character is different, the overall feel of both books are very much the same.

Mr. Ali has recently retired and finds himself bored, more than that, his wife can't stand the fact that he is constantly under foot and he has to find something to fill his days and leave her alone. So, what is a self respecting Indian man to do, well, he opens a matching making business in Vizag, India.

The Marriage Bureau for Rich People caters to the wealthy of the area. But finding the right match is not always easy when you have caste, religion, dowry, age, skin color and height to contend with. Love marriages are an abomination so it is up to Mr. Ali and the relatives to get this right or else the whole family could be judged as unworthy and no marriage could ever take place.

Persnickety parents aside, Mr. Ali takes his job very seriously and when one day Aruna, an older once rejected woman comes to his enterprise for employment he find the perfect office girl. She has a knack for this business and see's matches where Mr. Ali does not.

Due to her father's past illness, Aruna has to support her family and in doing so has given up on her own hopes of furthering her education and ever getting married. But thankfully not all suitors are living in the past and fight for their right to make a love match, no matter what those around them think.

Farahad Zama keeps this story moving forward with just enough tradition to keep the reader interested in what is to become of the matches and the people that have brought them together.

As someone who had an arranged marriage at approximately the same time as the author, I understand the dilemma between love versus arranged marriages, between doing what is culturally acceptable versus what the heart wants, between following your parents' wishes versus the fear of being in a hell on earth marriage, etc. I greatly appreciate how Mr. Zama indirectly suggests changing motives in arranging marriage --- for instance, talking about what will lead to the success of the marriage instead of how grand the wedding will be. Although I have already read the book numerous times, I will continue to reread it, and I plan to gift it to anyone I know who is planning (or being forced) to have an arranged marriage. And what a love story between Ram and Aruna!!! It is so sweet without being cheesy. If only such a story existed in real life.

Mr Ali is retired and is driving his wife crazy, so he affixes a sign to the garden gate: MARRIAGE BUREAU FOR RICH PEOPLE. Working from his front porch he soon pays the penalty for success: people on the phone all the time and so much paperwork. He needs an assistant but the ones he interviews are all unsuitable. But his wife knows of a young lady who lives locally and with a bit of arranging Aruna comes to work for Mr Ali.

Lively characters, sprightly prose--this book is a bargain because it tells the stories of modern India: where religion and caste are still important and where no well-brought up young couple would think of having a "love match" rather than a proper arranged marriage. Mr Ali's tenderness and wisdom in dealing with his clients are offset by his pigheaded stupidity in dealing with his own son, Rehman, who is a political activist helping poor farmers organize.

There are no bad people in this novel, unless it is the evil policemen who take Aruna and her younger sister off the bus to the temple and fine them because the younger sister is traveling on a student pass. The poor young ladies are yanked off the bus, fined nearly all the money they have and then left stranded miles from anywhere!

But it might be the best thing that ever happened to Aruna.

All these good people are beset by conflicts: parents vs children and children against their own self interest, husband vs wife and other family arguments, the struggle to survive for the poor and the struggle that Rehman has between his family and his ideals. A light and lively book that makes one think and laugh and hope for the world: a triumph!

I wonder if I would have liked this book better if the back cover blurb had not said "Alexander McCall Smith meets Jane Austen in this delightfully charming Indian novel about finding love" This book is OK but not in the same league as the above mentioned authors.
Those authors grab on emotionally and make you laugh, make you cry, and give new insight while leading you through a colorful and descriptive journey though unique settings. This book has more of a surface quality though it does tell you about quite a few unique customs Of marriage in India. This book does take you into a different culture and does have delightful and charming bits. The ins and outs and complex maneuverings of Arranging marriages among all the castes, social groups, challenges and varied religions is presented as a slightly dry and choppy narrative. I enjoyed the story at the same time as I found it rather frustrating. It describes a lot of situations and people and events but mostly on a surface level. While there are some very warm and moving parts most of the story felt shallow. I enjoyed the story but only rarely did I care about the people in it. I did care about Aruna and her situation I'm not sorry I read it and I suspect that the author will get better in the future but for me this did was not of a high enough quality to justify the back cover blurb.c

I knew nothing about this book prior to picking it up, but I gather that it was marketed as being in the vein of The Ladies No. 1 Detective Agency series (which I love). If that's the case, then for once the publisher's comparison is fairly apt. This gentle book is about a retired Indian civil servant who establishes a marriage matchmaking service on the veranda of his house in order to pass the days, and it's very similar to the Ladies No. 1 series -- albeit without any crime. The story features a fairly lovable trio of protagonists: Mr. Ali and his wife, who run the bureau, and Aruna, a local Hindu girl he hires as an assistant. The supporting cast includes a number of their relations, as well as a steady stream of clients seeking suitable marriage partners.

There's not much of a plot per se -- more a series of vignettes about people who need the marriage bureau's help, along with running storylines involving Aruna's families money woes and the distress brought about by the Ali's son, who is working as an activist for social justice. There's a slightly repetitive aspect to the book, as each matchmaking challenge seems designed to reveal some aspect of caste/class/religion/wealth/family in contemporary Indian society. The fact that these criteria are still so dominant will likely not come as a surprise to anyone with even a cursory knowledge of Indian culture, but the criteria of height was one I was unaware of! Still, the flow of customers allows the author to comment on marriage as an institution, through the lips of the Ali family. The storylines involving their son and Aruna's woes follow a predictable but pleasing arc, and there's plenty of descriptions of food that will make the reader's mouth water. Some of the descriptions of customs and traditions can feel a little bit too much like teaching, but on the whole, it's a fairly winning and heartwarming debut novel (it's sequel is The Many Conditions of Love).

Well written.
Though meant to cater to a non-Indian audience.
Lots of explanation of common colloquial terms.

Story is reasonably paced and very real.
Characterization is done quite well

I've read other books from Indian authors and have enjoyed them and so when this book caught my eye, I couldn't wait to read it. I was not disappointed. Another reviewer said it was 'dry' and 'unengaging' and while they're certainly entitled to their opinion, I wonder if they were reading the same book as the rest of us.

While there is plenty of historical content, I think it added to the story instead of distracted. Often when reading books based on the Indian culture, the characters and the situations take place almost exclusively within whatever religion they are associated. Hindus rarely mix with Muslims and Christians are rarely, if ever, mentioned. However, in this book they are all brought together and I enjoyed learning about their different beliefs that, at the core, are all basically the same. The different wedding traditions that were described were very interesting and the author provided a lot of great imagery without getting too bogged down. I love to read books where you can generate that picture in your mind and feel as if you are also there and this book does a great job of that.

As far as the romance part, it is still fascinating to read about arranged marriages in this day and age but the couple who found each other and were able to make a love match was sweet and made for an enjoyable read. Overall, it was light and humorous while still being a little educational.

As a first-time author, I think Mr. Zama did a wonderful job and I would look forward to reading his books in the future.