Award-winning Bengali British author Monica Ali was born in Bangladesh and emigrated to Bolton with her family. Sadly, she has been previously criticized both for her portrayal of Bengali people in England, and then for writing about Princess Diana, presumably because this topic was too white, leading to a long period of absence from writing and loss of confidence. It makes me so cross that in this outrage-addicted world authors cannot write about whatever they choose, after all it is fiction. Happily Ali has picked up her pen again and written this complex multilayered story about two families in London. Yasmin Ghorami is a junior doctor negotiating the rigors of training in the NHS, the inadequacies of the aged care system, and the patriarchal attitudes of her white middle-aged male superiors. Her fiancé Jo Sangster has grown up with his single mother Harriet, a feminist and commentator on sexual politics who likes to shock and draw attention to herself. The story delves into Yasmin’s relationship with her Bengali parents, the embarrassment of a young person trying to fit in, and cringing at their parents’ otherness. Initially Yasmin sees her mother as a narrow-minded, traditional woman who has lived a sheltered life. Eventually she learns to see her mother for the brave and strong woman she is. Yasmin has grown up on the tale of her parents’ love match: her mother, Anisah, the privileged daughter of a wealthy family, and her father, Shaokat the son of a poor family who has defied all odds to become a respectable doctor. With time she learns that all is not as it seems.

The book delves into many areas including sexual addiction, toxic parental relationships, racism, sexism, islamophobia and the deficits in the aged care sector. I enjoyed her subtle, insightful approach to racism and family issues. My only complaint was maybe her research into medicine and psychology did not need to be quite so fully showcased. A valuable and enjoyable book. The audio narration by Ayesha Dharker was also excellent. ( )

This is a treasure of a book. ❤️ About how we see ourselves and our families - and about how we can totally not really know the people closest to us. ( )

When the book opens, Yasmin and Joseph, two young doctors are engaged to be married. Yasmin is worried because she is bringing her parents, very old-fashioned Indian Muslims, to meet Joseph's mother, a radical feminist and public intellectual. Despite her worries, the parents hit it off, but over the next six months before the wedding there are many unexpected changes in family dynamics and events in the lives of the characters, and we are kept wondering through-out whether the wedding will come off.

This is the story of a young man and woman finding their way in life, and a lovely family drama, with lots of humor thrown in. There is also a bit of a "clash of cultures" story here, though not necessarily the cultures you might think of from my description. As in any good novel, by the end, everyone is changed, and you feel you really know these characters.

Recommended.
3 1/2 stars ( )

This novel begins with a dinner to introduce Yasmin's family to the mother of Joe, her fiancé, then expands to look at the two families and Yasmin and Joe's relationship. Yasmin grew up with the story of her parents's love marriage, with her mother's family being wealthy and her father a menial worker who didn't graduate high school until his mid-twenties. He's now a respected doctor living in a quiet part of London, his wife occupies herself with cooking and bargain-hunting. But the details of their love match were never made clear and as Yasmin worries about her own love match, as her family begins to shatter, she wants the whole story. And Joe is seeing a therapist, who is pushing him in a direction he doesn't want to go; looking at his relationship with his (in)famous well-to-do mother. As family issues consume their thoughts and time, as their careers as doctors put another pressure on their emotions and their time, will Joe and Yasmin manage to get married?

Monica Ali is fantastic at pulling at the threads of family and seeing what emerges. Each character, from Yasmin's tense, regimented father to her unemployed and seemingly directionless younger brother, are given time and space to be full characters. Having each chapter follow a different character only works when each character is interesting and fully developed and their story ties in with the larger novel, things Ali pulls off effortlessly. This is an excellent novel and now I need to go back and read the books by this author that I've missed. ( )

I think my disappointment comes from high expectations. The novel is compulsively readable but it lacks depth and believability. The actions of virtually all the characters are not realistic. That said, it was entertaining and well written. ( )