Customer Reviews

The Wedding: A Novel

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The first indication that this is a comic novel comes on page one. An angle whacks Nissin, a burly clerk from Bombay, on the head as he's traveling on a train through India, and directs his attention to a beautiful woman on the platform. Smitten, Nissin gets off and buys her from her parents. The chapters detailing the amorous transaction often get you laughing despite yourself. There is an indisputably unflattering way to how Khateja, Nissin's wife, is portrayed, but the exaggeration works, and we walk away believing that of the two she is the more interesting character. The comic romp survives continent switches, and Ismet Nissin and Khateja Haveri arrive in Durban, South Africa, to make their fortune in the fruit and vegetable business.
Essentially, it is a novel about the exaggerations we make about life, the indignant and inappropriate responses that our culture often offers in place of compassion. It's a fast and rewarding read and of particular interest for the window it offers on South African Indian life. It colorfully captures local idioms and way of life. An armchair traveler will revel in the details of far away life, and a reader keen on style will appreciate its animated scenes.

Not many authors can accomplish what Coovadia has in "The Wedding" with such poise and subtelty. He has woven together a tapestry of relevant social commentary from the fundamental threads of familial affection and unity. With insights that are universal but gentle, his message is more profound than those who would prefer to rhetoricize.
This novel comes at a time when many have grown estranged from the simple pleasures of life. Coovadia reminds us to be grateful, loving and most importantly, patient. Virtue is a quality that can be hard to come by (or find reason to convey) these days; that can be a source of infinite anxiety. So indulge yourself in the simple pleasure of reading this book. You may find that you had forgotten why we possess a sense of humor.

a very enjoyable and funny read, at times quite touching and charming. wonderful sense of humour: mostly when i read it i was smiling inside.

I picked this book up on a whim at the library. The endless circular tirades between the hapless bridegroom and his wife were hysterical. I read some of it out loud because the rhythms of the language were so inviting. I did begin to flag near the end of the book, but over all, a funny funny story.

I didn't see this work as a humorous romp, other than the passges describing the familys' sense of urgency to marry off their difficult daughter. I found the characters to be unsympathetic. Toward the end, it just didn't flow...the ending seemed to be rushed and not fleshed out. Perhaps I am overly harsh, but I didn't see this book as an enjoyable read.

Caught up in coovadia's web of words, I couldn't put the book down. The wedding was funny and moving, which is rare. But rarer still the story is inventive

Like an earlier reviewer, I was very disappointed by this novel. I was attracted by the endorsement by J.M. Coetzee and by the promise of a gentle, humorous portrait of an Indian marriage (as an admirer of Narayan, I had hoped this book would come close to his standard). Unfortunately, the book forces its humor, relying too much on formulae (the greedy in-law, the irritable sharer of a railway compartment, etc.) and on poking fun (good humoredly) at Indian English. In the end, the book's humor is compromised by the author's apparent lack of affection for his characters, many of whom come across as simply unpleasant, rather than comic.

The book collapses towards the end; the author's attempt to describe believably the transformation of hostility into love fails utterly. And, the book wanders off in its final pages, as the protagonists disappear and are replaced by their grandson, who muses about where he belongs. How (and why) we were brought there remained a mystery to me.

Readers who crave a humorous portrait of India would do better to read Narayan himself, or even Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard, another recent first novel that succeeds far more than this novel does.

Unfortunately this book lost me half way through and I was very disappointed in how the relationship ended up. The book was a bit disjointed. I really wish I could rate this higher I wanted to love the book. I will keep it and share it with children so they can see how different cultures portray marriages.

I am an avid reader of Indian novels and books about the culture of that great nation, but this one left me feeling flat.
The author never quite made me feel any of his characters - just leaving off when you thought you would invade their psyches.
The ending was terrible - a great disappointment. I was happy to be finished with this book but sad that I had wasted so much time reading it.