Reminded me of Baking Cakes in Kiligari. Focused on a young unmarried woman in south Indian who works with a retired couple to open up match making business. There they meet many different characters and learn about love and acceptance.

This book was fine. There was nothing offensive at all, but there wasn't much by way of conflict. Nothing really needed resolving until about halfway through the book. Up until that point, it was mostly about Indian customs. This can be done if the author is a very strong writer, but Zama is a new author, and his writing is not engaging enough to carry off a plotless book. Something else that bothered me? The love story hero was too perfect. He seemed to have no flaws whatsoever. He's smart and good-looking and rich and kind and then we find out that he does charitable operations on poor three-year-olds who have brain tumors. That is too much for me to swallow.

Won this book in a prerelease giveaway. I actually really liked it. In the first few pages, I was like, "Holy crap, is the entire book going to be like this?" and by "this" I meant "the author has essentially no voice and just explains what happens straight through, in detail, down to what's eaten at every meal." And it turns out that yes, the entire book was going to be like that, but it was still good.

I may have enjoyed it more than most people because I already have a pretty intimate understanding of Indian culture. I could read about the elephant god and marriage rituals and the nuances of making chapatis for days on end and still be deliriously happy. So it was well worth my time, and a pretty quick read to boot.

First half was better than second - became a little too obvious and saccharine towards the end.

Very charming story. Not for those looking for a book full of suspense or action. Reveals a lot about the culture of marriage in India.

This was a nice little surprise! Loved the main characters as well as all of the side characters who all added little nuggets to the central storyline, even if we only had them for a few pages.

It is a universal problem. A man retires and immediately starts driving his wife crazy. What to do? Open a marriage bureau on the front veranda, of course.

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Mr. Ali is was a government clerk.  Now he runs a marriage bureau.  He advertises for matches for his clients in the newspaper.  He keeps files with the special requests of people seeking spouses.  Do you need someone from the same caste?  How tall or short?  Will your wife be expected to live with her mother-in-law? Hindu, Muslim, Christian?

A photo posted by @dvmheather on Jul 13, 2016 at 5:13am PDT

When the business takes off, he needs an assistant. Mrs. Ali finds a local woman, Aruna, to help out. She's perfect. She's unmarried because her family can't afford a wedding and she is working to help the family finances.

This book is very simple on the surface. It is the stories of the people who come to the marriage bureau and the story of the Ali family. The style of writing reminds me of Alexander McCall Smith's No.1 Ladies Detective Agency.

This book is very good at providing a look at the attitudes towards arranged marriages in India in different religious groups. What happens if people want to work out their own marriage? How do the Muslim and Hindu neighbors interact?

If you want a book that immerses you in a slice of life in an Indian coastal town, this is a good read.

This review was originally posted on Based On A True Story

Nice first book. I wouldn't mind reading more by this author.

So far I love it. Reminds me of The No.1 Ladies Detective Agency. :)

Simple and somewhat predictable, but a very enjoyable read. I loved the descriptions of cooking (the spices!), sari shopping, and of course the different wedding traditions.