Book Review: The Marriage Bureau for Rich People

I recently read “The Marriage Bureau for Rich people” by Farahad Zama.

“The Marriage Bureau for Rich People” by Rufi Thorpe (via Goodreads)

The blurb reads:

“What does somebody with a wealth of common sense do if retirement palls?

Why, open a marriage bureau, of course. And soon Mr Ali, from beautiful Vizag in South India, sees his new business flourish as the indomitable Mrs Ali and able assistant Aruna look on with careful eyes.

But although many clients go away happy, problems lurk behind the scenes as Aruna nurses a heart-rending secret; while Mr Ali cannot see that he rarely follows the sage advice he so freely dishes out to others. And when love comes calling for Aruna, an impossible dilemma looms…

A colourful coastal town and contemporary marriage bureau prove a perfect backdrop for a splendid array of characters making sense of all sorts of pride and prejudice – and the ways in which true love won’t quite let go – in this witty and big-hearted debut novel.”

This is a great little book covering life in south India as Mr Ali opens a marriage bureau and helps people to find spouses. There are so many different characters, from the poorer members of society to the rich elite. Aruna is Mr Ali’s assistant and comes from a poor family who are trying to marry her off but struggling due to their poor status. She falls in love with a wealthy client but knows a marriage is out of the question due to the massive differences between their lifestyles and family status.

Mr Ali deals with difficult customers and easy customers, and seems to have a knack for sorting out even the most complicated situations. His wife, Mrs Ali, helps out occasionally and has her own ways of getting customers to cooperate. Their only problem is their son, who won’t settle down and get married but prefers to fight for rights and justice by protesting at demonstrations, much to his parents’ frustration. He is one example of not conforming to a society that sees certain behaviours as potentially damaging for that person and their family.

I never realised how complex a marriage arrangement could be: there are questions of marrying someone of the same caste or a different one, what benefits the couple bring to each other’s families, how compatible husbands and wives will be, how height and looks can rule out so many matches, and so on. There are so many things to consider but I feel like I understand it all a bit better now.

I give it 8/10 because it is a fascinating insight into life in such a complex culture and is a great read! I would read it again!

Book Review: “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert

Cover via Amazon

I have just finished reading “Eat, Pray, Love” by Elizabeth Gilbert, and if I’m honest, it’s not the type of book i would normally read, but as it has recently received a lot of air-time due to the film version being released (starring that well-known actress Julia Roberts), I decided to have a look at the book that inspired the film.

It did seem like it was going to be another book full of rants about men and relationship problems and to be fair, it is a bit, but the feelings expressed seem genuine and I certainly felt I could relate to Liz’s misery.

She travels to three countries in her mission to get over the nasty breakup of her marriage and the following rebound fling, and ends up in Italy to “Eat”, India to “Pray”, and Bali to find “Love”. Quite an achievement that it all happens over the space of a year, but it is still a long unhappy year where her feelings seem to rule her life.

I’d say this book made me feel more positive about life after a breakup, and i totally agree that leaving your past behind you at home and visiting far-flung countries is a great way to forget about everything that has happened. However, I’m curious about what happens when she returns home and everything is normal and sucks you back into your old habits. It is easy enough to make yourself do new and exciting things when in new and exciting places, but eventually you have to go home and those new resolutions you made may not last so long once you’re back in that environment.

Ok, i’m digressing a little bit from the book here, so I’ll go back a step!

There are some genuinely great moments in the book (i won’t say here because i don’t want to spoil it if you havent read/finished it yet!), some great characters that we meet along the way, and there are some great quotes which can be taken from the book, but at the same time i kind of lost my interest around the India part of her journey. It is quite good in the respect that you get an insight into how the religion plays a large part in her life, but for those of us who aren’t really religious it can seem a little bit preachy.

I stuck it out and it does get better, with all the loose ends tied up at the end, although I have to say it ends rather abruptly.

Overall, it is a good book to read if you are going through a breakup as it describes a lot of the feelings a person can have during that difficult time, and I felt I was definitely taken on the journey with Liz as she pushes through the pain to get to the point where she feels ok with the world. The book certainly has an air of positivity about it, and despite feeling a little emotional at times while reading it, i don’t regret reading it at all!

I give it 7/10, as it is written fairly well and has good content and is realistic, but it’s not totally my cup of tea. But then, everyone has their own opinion!