Arranged Marriage : Stories

Rating:
Summary: Eye Opening
Review: I read this book for a high school class. Other students had no idea that arranged marriages still occur. Our teacher told us that they happen in 80% of the world. I was interested in the idea of isolation that the book brought to light. The book seemed to focus more on lonliness and depression of the women than their marriages. I couldn't tell if the book was an argument against the custom or against americanization.

Rating:
Summary: A must-read
Review: Divakaruni is depressing, yes; she's a bit one-sided too, yes; but her stories are GOOD! I finished this book in 1 day. As an American-born Indian woman I do not feel that she gave a fair portrayal of the lives of Indian women; some arranged marriages work out great, and others don't. Not everyone tries to buck the system b/c the system isn't always so bad. But these issues are not relevant to reading a work of fiction, which is what this book really is. Divakaruni told the same story over and over again--but each story was captivating and entertaining. As an author, that is all that she owes the reader.

Rating:
Summary: intriguing look at marriages/relationships & Indian Culture
Review: Arranged Marriages provided a glimpse into different relationships within the context of Indian culture. As and Indian, raised in America, I found this book to hit home in terms of my internalized views of culture and marriage.

Rating:
Summary: stereotypical, pity-the-indian-woman syndrome, repeatedly.
Review: skip this book. save your time. unfortunately the rating did not have zero stars.

Rating:
Summary: Nice Stories, But Too Preachy
Review: These stories form an interesting critique on Indian culture, but the book seems to more or less repeat the same story over and over again. There is a weak-willed, ineffectual woman who is in a relationship that turns sour and she feels sorry for herself. End of story. There is not one story with a happy ending, nor a single story of a strong, determined woman who is not willing to put her foot down and not allow herself to be the victim of circumstance and tradition. If this is how all Indian women are, its no wonder they don't command respect, and I can't honestly believe that they are all so pathetic. Just one story with a woman who really beleives in herself would have been so refreshing. In a way, it forms a sort of propaganda, much in the manner of D.H. Lawrence, Graham Greene or Jean-Paul Sartre -- all of whom tend to accentuate only the negative aspects of existence, then assume that there is nothing else. The exclusive emphasis on the personal world of the individuals involved as well as on relationships tends to make the whole book reek of self-pity. No women here are interested in religion, in the larger world around them -- only in their relationship to a jerk whom they would dump without compunction if they had an ounce of self-repsect. The constant theme of ladies in a rotten circumstance also seems after a while that the author is trying to preach morality to people while wallowing in misery herself; this gets annoying after a while. Even so, there IS a message to be had here about society and relationships, as well as the hardships of adjusting to a new culture and environment, and undoubtedly many women will be able to relate to the stories.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful, but would like to see more complete endings.
Review: I only read this book for one of my literature classes, and it was only until after I read this book that I understood the Indian culture. I only hope that Divakaruni compares the difference between Indian and American culture (mostly made in the subject of marriage/love) accurately, because her book is what I'm basing my knowledge of Indian culture on. One disappointment: the endings of several stories seem incomplete.

Rating:
Summary: A very engaging, riveting collection from a superb writer.
Review: I could not put this book down until every story was read. A very moving, sometimes uncomfortable, look at the very painful, realistic adjustments of East Indian women to the American way of life. The stories are not exactly uplifting, yet they do portray an honest synopsis of how the world is certainly not black and white. Ms. Divakaruni examines the gray areas in shockingly vivid detail. I even used this book for required reading in my college English course where I used the theme, "The Significance of Home." You must read this book; it is the sort of book that stays with you for days after...

Rating:
Summary: well written but same story over and over and over....
Review: I thought that this book was very engaging. I found myself wanting to finish it in one sitting. However, I did feel that the writer was either writing about personal experiences or about people she knew. I wished she had written about the indian culture as a whole instead of just Bengalis. I do believe that these situations do still happen to a lot of people (punjabi, gujarati, marati etc). I also believe that she could have put some "good" endings in some of the stories.

Rating:
Summary: Interesting, but could have been better.
Review: This book brought out problems of Bengali society that need exposure, and pretty much all Indian women could identify with some of the problems encountered. I personally was just glad that she only talked about Bengalis, since that's the culture she knows. Since nothing is worse than an author who writes a book about a culture she knows nothing about.

Rating:
Summary: good issues, but repetitive
Review: The author did a good job writing about issues that seem to be very real for Indian women, but each story seemed to stem from the same root. There was always a young Indian woman who was usually the main character of the tale. She had usually come from Calcutta, and was living in the states, in the Bay Area in CA. She always had some sort of emotional tie to her Indian upbringing or family; this was what brought on the conflict. Then the conflict, a stray child, a live-in boyfriend, marriage, racial issues, etc........and though each of these were different, the women would always handle them the same: with small vigor in the beginning, but then they would become depressed and at the end of the story, the conflict would end with some sort of realization about how they should have handled the situation. The book had some good stories with good lessons for life, but after a while they became predictable and boring because of the author's repetitiveness.