A Good Indian Wife: A Novel Paperback – June 8, 2009

I have read many books about India and have come to love their food, their history, their culture. But, this is my favorite because of the new aspects I learned about India... and about Indian men especially!! The author is able to write in compelling detail just what thoughts and feelings each character has!! She shows both sides of each situation and really gets inside their 'skin.'We see over-achieving, fully-Americanized Neel living the 'good life' in Pacific Heights with no desire for anything 'Indian' including a wife!!We see lovely Leila still living with her parents at the age of 30 and teaching English in a local school in India. She has been rejected by so many suitors that she has lost hope of ever getting married.We see Neel's family frantic for him to come home and marry a 'local' girl.This is a wonderful, exciting, suspenseful book!!!! Read it!! You will be crying for more books by this author and you won't be disappointed. As soon as I finished it I ordered Anne Cherian's The Invitation!!! I plan to read every book she writes/has written!!

A Good Indian Wife starts out in San Francisco with Suneel or Neel as he goes by in his American life. Neel is a Sanford graduate and an anesthesiologist in a local hospital. Neel wants his future wife to be very American with blonde hair and on the same level of intellect as himself. Neel has been summoned back to India to visit his dying grandfather. When he gets there he is talked into seeing some girls while he's there. His Grandfather talks him into seeing at least one. Leila who is thirty and considered a spinster by her village is the one girl that Neel meets with while in India. After a series of misunderstandings between Neel and his family he ends up agreeing to marry Leila afraid if he backs out it will make his grandfather worse. The story continues as Leila tries to find her place in San Francisco and Neel tries to figure out how to divorce her as he continues on with his girlfriend of three years, Caroline.A Good Indian Wife captured my attention from the get go. I kept turning pages to see where it was going next and how it would turn out. I am disappointed by the way it ended. I also find the characters a little cliché in a lot of spots, the gold digging girlfriend, the prejudice brother, the lying husband, the forgiving wife.The contrast between the American way of life and India way of life was a strong theme in the book. There were lots of descriptions of the way of life in the village in India where Neel and Leila are from. When India things, food, customs and living conditions are described from Neel's point of view they are done so in a negative way, whereas from Leila's point of view they are much more accepted. She isn't trying to fight against her heritage like Neel is. The author also shows you San Francisco through Leila's eyes as she tries to build a life for herself in a completely different country without completely losing her India customs.

Once I started, I couldn't put this book down. Having read all reviews beforehand, I was prepared to encounter a 'jerk' Neel and a very submissive Leila. I found neither. While Leila isn't overtly aggressive, there is a hint of passive agressivity and a strong determination. And, as a result of those, she manages to break through Neel's anger, his intention to maintain his affair with his secretary and his decision to not accept her as his wife and divorce her soon.I enjoyed the insight in the South India culture.I would highly recommend this book; not as a piece of literature, but as a well written book and an enjoyable experience.

I had the good fortune of finding this book through amazon. I truly enjoyed the main story. I truly feel connected to Neel and Leila. I felt Leila's hope and many disappoinments when not being chosen. Neel going back to visit his grandfather one last time and realizing how much he has changed. He went back to his roots, but did not appreciate it. Such a struggle an immigrant coming to America may feel. The story also has the typical male who wanted the blond model like girlfriend because to him it symobolizes success. Leila a strong woman who learns to be independent and truly is able to flourish.The author is able to write which allows the reader to visualize the cahracters and their surroundings so well. The book is very well written. It shows this author takes her time to write and makes sure everything comes out so elegant.I am so glad to learn this author has another book coming out soon. I cannot wait to read her next book.

This book was a great introduction into the Indian culture and provides an indepth look into the values of family loyalty, respect and the traditions of arranged marriages, which still happen in today's society. The central characters; Suneel and Leila are brought together rather forcibly through their family's hands. It is surreal for us in America to have two people who did not want to marry/get married to each other do so, but through the cultural expose that Cherian offers us, we come to understand it.The reader fluctuates from feeling badly for both characters, to wanting to defend one against the other. Leila's character blossoms upon meeting Suneel and we get to see her transform from one who had self esteem issues into a more confident and acclimated woman once she settles in America and in her new life with Suneel. Suneel, once resigned of his new life, realizes all the things he thought he didn't like in India were still with him; his love of family, loyalty to his family and most importantly he comes to recognize his love of the country from which he was born.This was a first time read for me by Cherian and I will check out her other works. This was an easy and quick read, so give it a try if you want to be entertained as well as learning a bit about a new culture.