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Love Marriage: Don’t miss this heart-warming, funny and bestselling book club pick about what love really means
£5.20
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER
A BBC BETWEEN THE COVERS BOOK CLUB PICK
AS HEARD ON RADIO 4 BOOK AT BEDTIME, READ BY MEERA SYAL
A BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE TIMES, DAILY MAIL, RED MAGAZINE, GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
‘Absolutely terrific’ JENNY COLGAN
‘An utterly unputdownable exploration of modern love’ STYLIST
‘Gloriously readable, acute, funny and sympathetic’ DAILY MAIL
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TWO CULTURES. TWO FAMILIES. TWO PEOPLE.
Yasmin Ghorami has a lot to be grateful for: a loving family, a fledgling career in medicine, and a charming, handsome fiancée, fellow doctor Joe Sangster. But as the wedding day draws closer and Yasmin’s parents get to know Joe’s firebrand feminist mother, both families must confront the unravelling of long-held secrets, lies and betrayals.
As Yasmin dismantles her own assumptions about the people she holds most dear, she’s also forced to ask herself what she really wants in a relationship and what a ‘love marriage’ actually means.
‘A glorious tapestry of modern British family life’ METRO
‘A joy’ NAOISE DOLAN
‘I defy you to put this book down’ ADAM KAY
‘A surefire hit’ OBSERVER
‘Wildly entertaining … a bold and generous book’ FINANCIAL TIMES
‘Big-hearted, wry and tender’ HARPER’S BAZAAR
‘As engrossing and enjoyable as Brick Lane’ SUNDAY TIMES
‘Rich, sensitive and gloriously entertaining’ TASH AW, TLS
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Additional information
| Publisher | Virago (3 Feb. 2022) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| File size | 1410 KB |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Not Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 510 pages |
by Mrs Teddy
Having loved Brick Lane so much I was eager to read more from this author.
I was not disappointed. She weaves the complex family feelings and relationship difficulties into an entirely convincing and captivating story.
Sadly I found the ending too abrupt but that is my only negative view on a book that is well worth the read.
by Ralph Blumenau
Some reviews had suggested to me that the main subject of this book was culture clash; but there is relatively little about it. Altogether, it is rather diffuse, repetitive, and, in some places difficult to follow. The three star rating is due to the best feature of the book: the descriptions of some of the main characters:
The principal one is Yasmin Ghorami, a junior doctor in London, born in England and of Muslim West Bengali descent.
Joe Sangster is a white doctor at the same hospital, with whom Yasmin is engaged at the beginning of the novel, but throughout the book the engagement has its problems and does not end in marriage. He is persuaded by a psychotherapist that his very close relationship with his mother is “covertly incestuous”
Shaokat, Yasmin’s father, is also a doctor, having worked his way up from being a chai wallah in Calcutta. For most of the book he is pompous, hot-tempered and inclined to lecture his family; but at the end of the book we see his kindlier side.
Anisah, Yasmine’s mother, is the most lovable character in the book. Unlike her husband, she is a pious Muslim, and the least acculturated person in the book. She is a stubborn lady, impervious to For part of the book, her marriage to Shaokat is so bad over Shaokat’s treatment of their son Arif that they live apart, with Anisah staying with Joe’s mother, Harriet; but at the end they are together again.
Arif is Yasmine’s feckless and rebellious younger brother who, for most of the book, is on very bad terms with Shaokat – though here, too, there is peace between them by the time the book ends.
Lucy is Arif’s girl-friend, later wife. A lovely description of her. They will have a daughter called Coco.
There is a lot about working in the hospital, in the geriatric and in the dementia wards, which has little bearing on the rest of the book, but is full of technical medical information about illnesses.
by Janie U
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this novel. I had read Brick Lane years ago but none of her more recent novels. To be completely honest I had ordered this book by mistake when I was looking for The Marriage Portrait. Reading the blurb on this book, I think I got a book that would suit me better.
We are introduced to a family in North London. The parents both moved from India and the father is a GP. They have a daughter who is a junior doctor and a son who doesn’t appear to do much at all. Yasmin is engaged to Joe who is also a junior doctor and the book starts by explaining the mixture of their cultures.
I give respect to the publishers who have not given away too much on the back of the book. It’s an introduction rather than a summary of the plot.
I was immediately engaged by the setup and there are elements of it which will be familiar to most people reading.
The plot is full of dilemmas (maybe too many) and they all time to resolve. It is very realistic that the book shows modern life getting in the way of resolutions and compromises having to be made by everyone.
At the core of the book there is a great story but there are too many side characters who do extreme things that distract from Yasmin’s world.
I loved the book in many ways but after about 400 pages I was just too bored to carry on. I did skim through to the end but had lost my interest in Yasmin.
It’s a great shame as there is a great story here but the characters got carried away.
by Mrs. A. R. Slaney
I found the book compulsive reading, although wouldn’t say I enjoyed it, I wanted to know the end. A little disjointed with all the different scenarios some of which seemed improbable. A good book club choice as it will provoke lots of discussion and raise a number of issues. Reasonably well written. I liked the short chapters.
by Mrs Elizabeth Rogers
Book arrived quickly and in excellent condition. Would use again