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A review by serendipitysbooks
Love Marriage by Monica Ali
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.
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
Moderate: Infidelity, Islamophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Rape