Friday, October 3, 2008

Arranged marriages and books

I came across a review of Marrying Anita: a quest for love in the new India during my perusal of the August 31 edition of the New York Times Book Review and immediately thought of the multiple chick-lit type books that show arranged marriages in a new, fresh light. I've read many of them, so this non-fiction version would surely appeal to me.

Anita decided to spend a year in India after she wrote an article for New York magazine asking if arranged marriages were really any worse than Craigslist. Are they? I don't know. But I like delving into another world, where mendhi tattoos are the norm for brides and everyone is wrapped in silk (and parents who want the best for their children in ways not usually seen in the United States).

Fiction like Marrying Anita:

The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Divakaruni
For Matrimonial Purposes by Kavita Daswani
The Hindi-Bindi Club by Monica Pradhan
Goddess for Hire by Sonia Singh

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