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).