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katykelly's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
I'm not familiar with The Old Wife's Tale by Arnold Bennett that is purportedly the inspiration for this story. Which means I've probably missed something vital in understanding and appreciating this book.
Without knowledge of the forerunner, this is the story of Arjan Banga's family and corner shop in Wolverhampton (my own hometown), and the generations that have grown up and worked there, from his grandfather who set it up with his young wife, to aunt Surinder, mother and father,
and onto his own schooldays and memories centred there.
I enjoyed the details of shop life. Of Asian life. Of immigration and the world of Enoch Powell's Wolverhampton. As a child of the 80s I was blissfully unaware of this history in my own childhood years there, so Sanghera did have a lot to show me.
I did find the back and forth of the narrative confusing on audiobook, never quite sure what time period I was in for a while. And I'm afraid the Black Country accent of the narrator seriously grated with me - not so much his "Wolver-rampton" as his "Dud-Loy" (Dudley). But that's not a comment on the book.
The story of mixed caste and mixed race love is also a good tale. Surinder an interesting character, Arjan himself not as strong as her or his parents and grandparents, despite narrating.
Quite eye-opening in parts. Preferred 'The Boy in the Topknot' but did like this ode to my own childhood home. Will be looking up the Arnold Bennett book.
I'm not familiar with The Old Wife's Tale by Arnold Bennett that is purportedly the inspiration for this story. Which means I've probably missed something vital in understanding and appreciating this book.
Without knowledge of the forerunner, this is the story of Arjan Banga's family and corner shop in Wolverhampton (my own hometown), and the generations that have grown up and worked there, from his grandfather who set it up with his young wife, to aunt Surinder, mother and father,
and onto his own schooldays and memories centred there.
I enjoyed the details of shop life. Of Asian life. Of immigration and the world of Enoch Powell's Wolverhampton. As a child of the 80s I was blissfully unaware of this history in my own childhood years there, so Sanghera did have a lot to show me.
I did find the back and forth of the narrative confusing on audiobook, never quite sure what time period I was in for a while. And I'm afraid the Black Country accent of the narrator seriously grated with me - not so much his "Wolver-rampton" as his "Dud-Loy" (Dudley). But that's not a comment on the book.
The story of mixed caste and mixed race love is also a good tale. Surinder an interesting character, Arjan himself not as strong as her or his parents and grandparents, despite narrating.
Quite eye-opening in parts. Preferred 'The Boy in the Topknot' but did like this ode to my own childhood home. Will be looking up the Arnold Bennett book.
agette's review
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
sarahdelaney82's review against another edition
I just couldn't get into the story, I want invested on the characters
sarahmareacarr's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mikewa14's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book - great story
http://0651frombrighton.blogspot.com/2014/03/marriage-material-sathnam-sanghera.html
http://0651frombrighton.blogspot.com/2014/03/marriage-material-sathnam-sanghera.html
dude_watchin_with_the_brontes's review against another edition
4.0
Honestly, I picked this up on a whim at the library, knowing nothing about it, but I really ended up liking it a lot, and I'll be checking out other books by Sanghera.
literallykalasin's review against another edition
4.0
In this retelling of Arnold Bennett's "The Old Wives' Tale," Sathnam Sanghera has deftly spun a story that is as much about shop life and family dynamics as it is about the immigrant experience during a deeply racist time in British history.
Told from two time periods and perspectives, we are first placed into the present day and introduced to Arjan who has returned to his childhood home of Wolverhampton to run he family shop after the sudden death of his father. He finds himself giving up his London job as a graphic designer (a disappointment to his father and himself) and letting his engagement to Freya, a white girl, fall to the wayside.
The second narrative goes back to the 1960s to Arjan's mother Kamaljit and her sister, Surinder, teenagers helping run their parents' newsagent. Their father, after working many years alone in England, was finally able to send for his wife and daughters only to become bedridden and overbearing. His dying wish was to have his daughters married off -- Kamaljit who never liked school and had only a basic grasp of English seemed resigned, but Surinder wanted more for her life. When she overhears a conversation her mother has with her father's friend asking for her hand, Surinder takes fate into her own hands and disappears.
While there is nothing new in this story in terms of familial expectations and ties, newcomer experiences, and racism, Sanghera is able to tell this story with a sense of irony and deep love that makes this story very readable and heartfelt.
Told from two time periods and perspectives, we are first placed into the present day and introduced to Arjan who has returned to his childhood home of Wolverhampton to run he family shop after the sudden death of his father. He finds himself giving up his London job as a graphic designer (a disappointment to his father and himself) and letting his engagement to Freya, a white girl, fall to the wayside.
The second narrative goes back to the 1960s to Arjan's mother Kamaljit and her sister, Surinder, teenagers helping run their parents' newsagent. Their father, after working many years alone in England, was finally able to send for his wife and daughters only to become bedridden and overbearing. His dying wish was to have his daughters married off -- Kamaljit who never liked school and had only a basic grasp of English seemed resigned, but Surinder wanted more for her life. When she overhears a conversation her mother has with her father's friend asking for her hand, Surinder takes fate into her own hands and disappears.
While there is nothing new in this story in terms of familial expectations and ties, newcomer experiences, and racism, Sanghera is able to tell this story with a sense of irony and deep love that makes this story very readable and heartfelt.
sophusface's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jmatkinson1's review against another edition
5.0
This is a clever book based on Arnold Bennett's 'The Old Wives Tale', set in Wolverhampton and around the Bains family. The main narrator is Arjan Bains who, at the start of the book, is living a modern metropolitan life as a graphic designer in London. Through flashbacks we fill in the backstory; how Mr Bains came to England after partition and opened a shop in the West Midlands, how his wife and two daughters joined him, and how their lives echoed the lives of many immigrants during the late 1960s and 1970s. Kamaljit is the dutiful elder daughter and Surinder the rebellious, clever younger daughter, their lives diverge hugely as Surinder elopes with a white salesman and forges an independent life for herself and Kamaljit marries out of caste and continues to run the family shop. Their family friend Mr Dhanda diversifies and his shop becomes more successful under the management of his son, Ranjit, a drug-addled Sikh gangsta. Wound around this narrative is the background of racial tensions. Wolverhampton is the seat of Enoch Powell and his 'Rivers of blood' speech provokes violence, similarly the rioting of 2011 is depicted.
What is so clever is that the themes of family and immigrant displacement are embedded in a really entertaining story and that is what makes it so clever and thought-provoking.
What is so clever is that the themes of family and immigrant displacement are embedded in a really entertaining story and that is what makes it so clever and thought-provoking.
vanessav's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes