A review by debirainbow
Love Marriage by Monica Ali

emotional informative medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Some spoilers in my review:

This is a strange book, the chapters are short and there are a lot of characters. Good descriptions of Bengali household & the author’s description of cooking and food. It explores the mixing of different cultures & parent child relationships. I liked the chapters set in the hospital wards, felt Ali described those really well - the issues with elder care & the pressures of geriatric care.

Spoiler : If she had focussed on that - the love triangle & maybe left Joe’s therapy sessions in, it would have been less of a chore to finish. Didn’t really care for Harriet’s chapters, raised a lot of issues which were not followed through ie her relationship with her dad!!! - the author had a lot to say and opinions about Brexit & Islamophobia which is great, but made the book muddled and dragged a bit towards the end. 

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