sophusface's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
jmatkinson1's review against another edition
5.0
This is a clever book based on Arnold Bennett's 'The Old Wives Tale', set in Wolverhampton and around the Bains family. The main narrator is Arjan Bains who, at the start of the book, is living a modern metropolitan life as a graphic designer in London. Through flashbacks we fill in the backstory; how Mr Bains came to England after partition and opened a shop in the West Midlands, how his wife and two daughters joined him, and how their lives echoed the lives of many immigrants during the late 1960s and 1970s. Kamaljit is the dutiful elder daughter and Surinder the rebellious, clever younger daughter, their lives diverge hugely as Surinder elopes with a white salesman and forges an independent life for herself and Kamaljit marries out of caste and continues to run the family shop. Their family friend Mr Dhanda diversifies and his shop becomes more successful under the management of his son, Ranjit, a drug-addled Sikh gangsta. Wound around this narrative is the background of racial tensions. Wolverhampton is the seat of Enoch Powell and his 'Rivers of blood' speech provokes violence, similarly the rioting of 2011 is depicted.
What is so clever is that the themes of family and immigrant displacement are embedded in a really entertaining story and that is what makes it so clever and thought-provoking.
What is so clever is that the themes of family and immigrant displacement are embedded in a really entertaining story and that is what makes it so clever and thought-provoking.
vanessav's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
heathssm's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
snoakes7001's review against another edition
4.0
You know when you find a new author you love and go back to their earlier works, but find they aren't quite as good as the one you've just read? That's how this novel felt. I enjoyed it, it's a good story (although nothing particularly new) and the main character and his immediate family are really well drawn. However a couple of the supporting cast felt slightly two dimensional and some of the prose is a little clunky. I don't think that this is the best novel Sathnam Sanghera will write but it's a good start, and I'll definitely look out for the next one.
kdhanda's review against another edition
4.0
Engaging read about a Sikh graphic designer who needs to move back to Wolverhampton to help his mother run their newsagent shop after his father passes away. The book is very much set against the backdrop of Wolverhampton and is generous with it's usage of desi phrases in Punjabi. However, there is no appendix for a non-desi and, hence, the cultural references might be completely lost for someone unfamiliar with the vernacular. I enjoyed the book since it does a decent job of the tension between duty and passion, between loyalty to the family or caste versus the need to simply get away. I would recommend this book to those who want to explore the experience of growing up in Britain as a child of immigrants. However, some of the experiences are uniquely British and might be lost on those who came of age in the US or Canada.
chrissireads's review against another edition
3.0
I picked up this book because I have been working my way through the Waterstones 11 debut novels for this year. Sathnam Sanghera has had work published before, but this is his debut novel. It’s an incredibly interesting, well written read. I’ve certainly enjoyed reading this talent author’s debut.
Marriage Material is essentially a story about family. It does include love, politics and a fantastic bit of humour. It depicts generations of an Indian family of shop owners in Wolverhampton. Sathnam Sanghera is writing from personal experience and I believe that truly shows. The story unfolds at a nice pace. It’s so easy to read and it’s incredibly enjoyable. I found myself reading chapter after chapter without wanting to put the book down. That’s always such a lovely feeling for a bookworm!
Marriage Material switches between first and third person narration, but it is done in such a seamless way, it really adds to the story. Sathnam Sanghera is a great writer and I look forward to checking out what he writes next!
Marriage Material is essentially a story about family. It does include love, politics and a fantastic bit of humour. It depicts generations of an Indian family of shop owners in Wolverhampton. Sathnam Sanghera is writing from personal experience and I believe that truly shows. The story unfolds at a nice pace. It’s so easy to read and it’s incredibly enjoyable. I found myself reading chapter after chapter without wanting to put the book down. That’s always such a lovely feeling for a bookworm!
Marriage Material switches between first and third person narration, but it is done in such a seamless way, it really adds to the story. Sathnam Sanghera is a great writer and I look forward to checking out what he writes next!
mazza57's review against another edition
1.0
Didn't really get on with this one. thought I would have to abandon it at one pint but in the end it was readable just not my cup of tea
bibliobethreads's review against another edition
3.0
This promising debut novel was part of the Waterstones Eleven for 2013, please see my previous post HERE. It is a contemporary work of fiction set in Wolverhampton which follows the lives of a British Asian (specifically Sikh) family who own a corner shop and have two daughters. Kamaljit is the elder sister and possibly more traditional than her younger sister, Surinder who is desperate to carve a career for herself away from the familial duties of the shop. Their father, Mr Bains is ill and spends most of his time in bed upstairs leaving the running of the shop to his wife, daughters and some family friends. The girls mother is a devout Sikh and takes great pains to try and arrange for both of her daughters to be married off. This is terrible for Surinder, who wants to carry on with her studies at school, and feels guilty for wanting to better herself against the traditional Sikh values.
The other narrative of this story is set slightly in the future, when the daughters have married. Our narrator is Arjan, who is the son of Kamaljit and her husband Tanvir, currently managing the family shop. Arjan is desperately worried about his mother who is left behind to run the business, and he questions her coping strategies after the loss of her husband. There is also a bit of a mystery going around surrounding Surinder, who eloped with an English salesman and hasn't been heard from since. Arjan ends up giving up his job as a graphic designer to help his mother and ends up re-evaluating his life and uncovering old family secrets threatening his own relationship with his fiancee Freya.
There is so much going on in this novel that at times it can be difficult to keep up, however it moves along at a nice pace keeping the reader interested as to what will come next. Parts of this story were very intriguing, especially the difference in Sikh castes and how individuals from lower castes are viewed and treated by other Sikhs. I also thought the issue of race was very well handled and there were certain parts that made me quite disgusted, as I believe racism of any kind is abhorrent. However, the author kept a nice balance of humour that did not make light of race issues, but put a smile on my face nevertheless.
Please see my full review at http://www.bibliobeth.com
The other narrative of this story is set slightly in the future, when the daughters have married. Our narrator is Arjan, who is the son of Kamaljit and her husband Tanvir, currently managing the family shop. Arjan is desperately worried about his mother who is left behind to run the business, and he questions her coping strategies after the loss of her husband. There is also a bit of a mystery going around surrounding Surinder, who eloped with an English salesman and hasn't been heard from since. Arjan ends up giving up his job as a graphic designer to help his mother and ends up re-evaluating his life and uncovering old family secrets threatening his own relationship with his fiancee Freya.
There is so much going on in this novel that at times it can be difficult to keep up, however it moves along at a nice pace keeping the reader interested as to what will come next. Parts of this story were very intriguing, especially the difference in Sikh castes and how individuals from lower castes are viewed and treated by other Sikhs. I also thought the issue of race was very well handled and there were certain parts that made me quite disgusted, as I believe racism of any kind is abhorrent. However, the author kept a nice balance of humour that did not make light of race issues, but put a smile on my face nevertheless.
Please see my full review at http://www.bibliobeth.com
taras_reading's review
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5