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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
A quick read; lighthearted and fun with occasionally humerus quotes. But the plot didn’t really go anywhere and Tina and Marianne were not likeable
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Loved the humor and the glimpses into side characters' perspectives; definitely some laugh out loud moments and incisive little social observations. My library stuck a romance sticker on this but I would call it more of a comedy of manners - the love stories seem more like devices to move the characters into absurd situations than fleshed out romances in themselves. Our main character, Tina, was great as a window into everything going on around her, but she was pretty much the least interesting of the cast of characters. She's flawed in relatable ways and her reluctant-outsider perspective was excellent, but it just wasn't that fun to be in her head for so long and I never especially cared about her romantic misadventures. When her TV show idea finally comes together, I instantly thought how much more I'd love to see the show version of these events, the one where it's all Nono and Bubbles and Rajesh, and Tina's perspective is hidden away behind the camera.
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was far from the Crazy Rich Asian-esque plotline I was expecting. The destination wedding is simply a backdrop, an excuse to take these characters out of their daily existences to give them space for introspection (as weddings are known to do).
Basu offers a world in which an Australian playboy and a Dharavi drummer are equal romantic contenders for Tina the protagonist, and also share chai and chips in a Delhi roadside shack. They both represent different parts of Tina’s personality - the Western and the Eastern.
The throughline is this quiet desperation to be closer to this place she both is and isn’t from. She romanticizes living in India, wanting to know the streets like the back of her hand, the secrets and the shortcuts and the taxi-driver lingo. Her determination to make a show based on India highlights how much she wants to feel close to this country.
Perhaps I am most critical of stories that closely resemble my own life experience, but what irked me about Tina was ongoing complaints about feeling so out of place in America. This argument may have held water a few decades ago, but there are literally so many South Asians in the US. It just felt unbelievable to me she would feel so disconnected from the country she grew up in, especially in a city like New York. Does it matter that not everyone has the same skin tone as you? Isn’t that the beauty of living in a cosmopolitan city?
While I loved The Windfall, there was an earnestness to that story that this one lacked. In fact, where Destination Wedding really shone for me was in the characters that bore similarities to those in The Windfall. For example, the story of Tina’s father’s burgeoning romance felt poignant and believable. I also liked the seamless segways into side characters points of view.
To conclude, Destination Wedding was not what I was expecting, but I ended up not minding it despite my feelings about the protagonist. It redeemed itself in the end, and offered some interesting perspectives on identity, belonging and family dynamics.
Basu offers a world in which an Australian playboy and a Dharavi drummer are equal romantic contenders for Tina the protagonist, and also share chai and chips in a Delhi roadside shack. They both represent different parts of Tina’s personality - the Western and the Eastern.
The throughline is this quiet desperation to be closer to this place she both is and isn’t from. She romanticizes living in India, wanting to know the streets like the back of her hand, the secrets and the shortcuts and the taxi-driver lingo. Her determination to make a show based on India highlights how much she wants to feel close to this country.
Perhaps I am most critical of stories that closely resemble my own life experience, but what irked me about Tina was ongoing complaints about feeling so out of place in America. This argument may have held water a few decades ago, but there are literally so many South Asians in the US. It just felt unbelievable to me she would feel so disconnected from the country she grew up in, especially in a city like New York. Does it matter that not everyone has the same skin tone as you? Isn’t that the beauty of living in a cosmopolitan city?
While I loved The Windfall, there was an earnestness to that story that this one lacked. In fact, where Destination Wedding really shone for me was in the characters that bore similarities to those in The Windfall. For example, the story of Tina’s father’s burgeoning romance felt poignant and believable. I also liked the seamless segways into side characters points of view.
To conclude, Destination Wedding was not what I was expecting, but I ended up not minding it despite my feelings about the protagonist. It redeemed itself in the end, and offered some interesting perspectives on identity, belonging and family dynamics.
For those missing their Crazy Rich Asians fix, Destination Wedding just might fill that hole. A witty satire of people making bad decisions in luxury surroundings in Delhi – oh, and there just happens to be a week-long wedding happening in the background. This story is much more about the interplay between characters and their problems rather than ostentatious wealth. It’s laugh out loud funny at times.
Tina is the main character, and her main problem is that nowhere feels like home. She’s Indian, born in America, and hoping this trip will give her the sense of belonging she craves. But people seem to know that she’s not from Delhi and her Hindi is terrible. She’s also feeling dejected by her job and trying to fall in love with someone she’s disappointed professionally. Her best friend Marianne is not sure she’s ready to commit to her partner, and hides it the only way she knows how – by becoming fully immersed in Indian culture. Tina’s parents are divorced, and her mum has brought her boyfriend along – the charmingly bland David Smith. Her dad also has a plan for love, in having joined a dating agency for widows. Add in a delightfully eccentric grandmother of the groom, a ‘fake it ‘til you make it’ wedding planner and a lot of drama (think food poisoning, infected nose rings and a bus crash) to make this a wonderfully chaotic story.
Even though the wedding is the reason all the characters are in the one place, it’s really in the background. The story is about Tina and her family, and all the people they meet and bring into their lives during the trip. It’s much more character driven than plot driven, but Basu writes her characters in such a fascinating way that it’s really not an issue. There is a lot of backstory to Tina’s family, parents and friends as to how they got to where they are. If you want to know the details of an Indian wedding, you could be disappointed – but there is also a lot to say for class and the attitudes of Americans in a foreign country too (both good and bad). While I enjoyed the stories of Tina’s parents, I found Tina herself rather immature at times. She wasn’t happy with the way things were in her life, but didn’t really do much actively to change them until the end of the novel. Marianne was an odd character, trying to be part of the culture while failing spectacularly (and being culturally inappropriate too).
The story jumps around from character to character, which was sometimes just what I wanted and sometimes it seemed just too abrupt. Sometimes I was happy with no background plot, sometimes it frustrated me. I liked Destination Wedding overall, but sometimes I just wasn’t in the mood for Tina’s complaining.
Thank you to Bloomsbury for the copy of this book. My review is honest.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
Tina is the main character, and her main problem is that nowhere feels like home. She’s Indian, born in America, and hoping this trip will give her the sense of belonging she craves. But people seem to know that she’s not from Delhi and her Hindi is terrible. She’s also feeling dejected by her job and trying to fall in love with someone she’s disappointed professionally. Her best friend Marianne is not sure she’s ready to commit to her partner, and hides it the only way she knows how – by becoming fully immersed in Indian culture. Tina’s parents are divorced, and her mum has brought her boyfriend along – the charmingly bland David Smith. Her dad also has a plan for love, in having joined a dating agency for widows. Add in a delightfully eccentric grandmother of the groom, a ‘fake it ‘til you make it’ wedding planner and a lot of drama (think food poisoning, infected nose rings and a bus crash) to make this a wonderfully chaotic story.
Even though the wedding is the reason all the characters are in the one place, it’s really in the background. The story is about Tina and her family, and all the people they meet and bring into their lives during the trip. It’s much more character driven than plot driven, but Basu writes her characters in such a fascinating way that it’s really not an issue. There is a lot of backstory to Tina’s family, parents and friends as to how they got to where they are. If you want to know the details of an Indian wedding, you could be disappointed – but there is also a lot to say for class and the attitudes of Americans in a foreign country too (both good and bad). While I enjoyed the stories of Tina’s parents, I found Tina herself rather immature at times. She wasn’t happy with the way things were in her life, but didn’t really do much actively to change them until the end of the novel. Marianne was an odd character, trying to be part of the culture while failing spectacularly (and being culturally inappropriate too).
The story jumps around from character to character, which was sometimes just what I wanted and sometimes it seemed just too abrupt. Sometimes I was happy with no background plot, sometimes it frustrated me. I liked Destination Wedding overall, but sometimes I just wasn’t in the mood for Tina’s complaining.
Thank you to Bloomsbury for the copy of this book. My review is honest.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
This book sat on my to be read pile for a really long time because of a few of the top negative reviews. When I finally picked it up, I was pleasantly surprised! This was funny, meandering tale of a girl trying to figure out her place in life, her parents and their love lives, and her best friend and her tendency to chase international playboys. The best friend story line was the weakest for me. All I can say there is I hope she has learned her lesson at the end and doesn't repeat the zaniness again. I loved Tina's dad especially. He had a way of looking at things that made me laugh. I also liked Tina's story line. She is dissatisfied with her job and is looking for something fulfilling and I think she's on her way at the end of the book. As for the writing style, I enjoyed the small glimpses into the lives of many characters that were mentioned in passing.
funny
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is a fast paced book. May be because I was too familiar with the Delhi culture, this book did not appeal to me much. I was not quite impressed with the characters or the plot. I did like some observations made in this book. An example is how a white man is an expat in a foreign country and a brown man is an immigrant.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes