Found Not Lost

My grandmother was married off two days shy of her tenth birthday. My mother found a husband when she was twenty. I thus reckoned that if every generation increased by a decade the acceptable age for marriage, I should have become a wife by thirty.But at thirty-three, I was nowhere close to being married. And it was this that brought much consternation to all, tainting the joy and iciting hitherto-suppressed family politics, at the wedding of my twenty-two-year-old cousin, Nina. ~Kavita Daswani in For Matrimonial Purposes

For Matrimonial Purposes is a novel by Kavita Daswani. It outlines the misadventures of Anju, a woman considered somewhat past her prime in the dating scene of India. In India there is much pressure on girls to marry young and settle down with a suitable young man, of good caste(social standing) and religion. From the very beginning it is obvious that Anju is doomed, and every relationship opportunity to come up will be a complete failure.

Daswani’s novel is a great read that is captivating in all its mystery and romance. The story’s hero, Anju, is a character you want to root for, you feel her pain and her distress. With each turn of the page a bit more of her story is unraveled and it seems Anju will never find a respectable mate. However, as you begin to understand Anju, you also begin to understand that when it seems others happiness depends on you, it helps if you are first happy yourself.

For Matrimonial Purposes is a fun read, and I highly recommend it.