Reviews with content warning for Rape - Love Marriage

I suggested this as our July book club pick, and it was chosen, but then none of us actually finished it. Oops!! But I finally got going in August, and wow—I really liked this one! I do think it would be a great book club pick.. maybe just when it's not summer and when everyone has the time to devote to it.

Anyways! This book has the drama—it is so juicy! That alone will keep you reading, but Ali's writing is really approachable and encompassing. I was instantly drawn into the story, and could easily flip pages all afternoon.

This story follows Yasmin and her family just after she gets engaged to Joe, another doctor at her hospital. As time goes on, secrets are uncovered, deeds are done, and Yasmin is forced to confront herself—what she actually wants in life, and how she has misjudged those closest to her. It is a story about love, what we expect it to be, and the myriad of forms it takes in life.

I gotta admit that none of these characters are really likable, but I found them all intensely relatable—there are bits of all of these people in myself or my life. I especially enjoyed Yasmin's relationship with her mom. Ali excelled at showing how we can box people into certain roles rather than allowing them to be their whole selves (also kind of a theme of the whole book..). And while it was expediently clear to the reader that this was happening, it was really rewarding to watch Yasmin realize this throughout the story. Love some character growth!

Content Warnings

katgent's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective 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

4.25

Love Marriage opens with Yasmin getting ready to take her parents to meet the mother of her fiancé Joe. Yasmin’s nervous - her parents are conservative, Muslim and migrants from India. Joe’s mother Harriet is white, upper-middle class and a staunch feminist famous for a provocative nude photo. The meeting goes better than expected but tensions and sometimes surprising relationship cracks develop nonetheless.

At times I really enjoyed this book; it certainly has much to recommend it. I often enjoy a good complicated family story and this book has two that are intertwined. It explored a number of serious topics including parental expectations and generational clashes, feminism, the issues faced by second generation migrants, Islamophobia, cross-cultural understanding, racism, toxic parenting, and the health system particularly geriatric care. Yet there was also humour and many lighter notes. The characters were all flawed but mostly likeable, and virtually all showed considerable growth over the course of the novel. I want to give the author kudos for not shying away from the messy realities of period sex. I also appreciated getting to see therapy sessions from the therapist’s perspective.

Yet I have some reservations. At times my attention wandered and I felt the book could have been shorter. Some issues felt like they played out over and over, while others, including a key reveal towards the end, felt rushed and didn’t get the attention they warranted. There are a lot of characters and some felt a little flat, almost stereotyped caricatures and I wanted depth and nuance. I recognise the contradiction of wanting more while also wanting less. I guess I would have preferred a narrower focus - possibly fewer characters, plot points and issues - but more depth within that.

Content Warnings

sagagi's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

liblibby's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective slow-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

5.0

It’s not the most fast-paced book I’ve ever read by any means—which is just fine. The author put in so much work to make sure that we love these characters which gives us grace for them when they do things that seem destructive.
It’s a beautiful story about all sorts of relationships and the way they can shift and change in our lives.

Content Warnings

pomoevareads's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective relaxing slow-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

4.5

This is my fourth book by Monica Ali and I am reminded of the wonderful characters she builds.

Love Marriage begins when newly engaged couple Yasmin and Joe bring her parents over to meet his feminist, writer, intellectual mother, Harriet.

Yasmin’s parents are Indian born and share that they have a love marriage. Shaokat, Yasmin’s father, a practicing general practitioner in England, came from a very poor background. Anisah, his wife, came from a well to do family. Her father funded Shaokat’s education.

Harriet likes to see herself as open-minded and progressive when it comes to sexuality, family, culture and ideology. She loves her son, Joe, to a fault and can’t see the lack of boundaries as problematic.

Yasmin and Joe are both doctors working at a local hospital. We are invited into the inner workings of Yasmin’s experiences as she completes her session in elder care.

Ali’s writing flows so vividly. The character arcs are believable and whole. The reader gets to know smaller details about each character while still having a good sense of the overall figure. This is an emotional book at times but it is not sad. The author expertly weaves a number of storylines to an ending that feels actualized.

Tackling tokenism, micro aggressions, trauma, identity and purpose in a quiet way, I thoroughly enjoyed the reading experience and would highly recommend this book to those who adore literary fiction and family stories. If you are looking for suspense and drama then this might not be the book for you.

I have also just learned that this book is being made into a tv series. I do hope it will be available in Canada when it is complete.

Thank you @netgalley and @scribnerbooks / @simonschusterca for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions. Love Marriage publishes May 3, 2022 in Canada and the US.

Content Warnings

sib_reads's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

Content Warnings

rmanaa's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

More...