Life Isn't All Ha Ha Hee Hee

This is a novel with a familiar pretext: three female friends from school days grow up and either get what they wanted, or don't. Tania, Chila, and Sunita are the pretty one, the dreamer, and the smart one, all Indian Brits living in London. Their intertwined lives are damaged by deception, heartache, and family troubles, all realistic and enchantingly told. The cultural aspect of living with and loving your ethnic heritage (despite never having been to India!) are also handled with a fine pen, as is "love" vs arranged marriage. Highly recommended!

Quotes: "Choosing whom you love is the most political decision you can make."

"Tania did not subscribe to the theory that every time a relationship ended, the other person walked away with a show more piece of you, and vice versa. That would mean most of the population would become colanders in a rainstorm." show less

An excellent blend of chiclit and serious literature. The book is not a "light read" but is disguised as one, with the way it encompasses topics of typical chic lit fiction (love, adultery, dull marriages, girl friends, midlife crisis, dysfunctional families) with profound insight and realism -- no sugar coating, but no hyperbolic drama, either. The combination of three women, very different but intimately bound together, makes for a good read.
Even though my own journey is so different from theirs, there were many times when the descriptions used to identify their situations spoke exactly to something I have felt. The author is spot on with her characters and their emotions. And she explains them thoroughly but concisely.

There's so show more much material in this book, it would be perfect for discussion groups. show less

This is a complex, deep and thoughtful book that portrayed three childhood friends as they grew up. Yes, it's about women but this is not chick lit or light. I marvel at the psychological depth and the tension conveyed in their relationships. I appreciated that the context was the UK and that that had its cultural overlay in the storytelling and the social commentary. I was pleased by the depth and complexity of the characters, all told in the first person. The author intermittently included the voices of neighbors, passersby, etc. and they added insights but it felt somewhat out of place somehow. In conclusion, I readily and happily recommend this book.

This book is a story of 3 women friends, all Punjabi-British, and their lives. Very funny in places, sad in others. Ultimately though, I suppose you are meant to get the sense that the women are empowered; I just thought it ended on a depressed note. Desrcibed as the 'Indian Bridget Jones'; it most definitely isn't. However it does describe beautifully the monotony of long term relationships, and also the expectations of women's roles in Indian culture. None of the 3 main characters really stood out for me though: none of them are still with me, but perhaps that is because Syal has been so searingly honest in exposing her characters' flaws as well as their good points. A thought-provoking read, and one I might return to in future.

The characters are very realistic and their reflections on life are hilarious and true. True to its "chick flick" genre, there are some soap-opera twists, but overall, it's a good read.

I picked this book up 'cos it was cheap in a charity shop, it is set near where I grew up and 'cos it looked funny. It was indeed funny, but I also actually formed a really good connection to the characters and found myself looking at how issues applied to my own life. I was very impressed that a book could be so entertaining while creating a very vivid collection of realistic characters and situations.

I liked it, but I had trouble identifying with the main characters. It seems that growing up South Asian in London is quite different from growing up South Asian in the U.S.! Also, I expected the book to be much funnier than it actually was. Instead of making me laugh, a lot of it just made me feel sad.