Scan barcode
A review by tagoreketabkhane31
Destination Wedding by Diksha Basu
3.0
I had always gone back and forth between reading this book, partially because the reviews for this book (both positive and negative) could never figure out what subgenre of fictional literature the book belonged to. To be fair, as an example of millennial diaspora literature, the novel does a good job (or perhaps, too good of a job) of displaying that ennui, and does rely on the fact that while the novel does follow one main character, it has a cast of supporting characters that also have POV chapters that enable for the plot and story to progress.
First, if you have as part of your story an event as part of the title, my expectation going into the story is that there will be some time reflected (either by the plot or the narrative) to the event. Here Basu failed to keep me enegaged with the wedding that was the point of the story and for the characters traveling to India in the first place. Even the bridge (and the groom) did not seem to be enjoying their own wedding, and at first I thought it was Basu making subtle commentaries on the convulted process and events that make up the expected traditional North India/Desi wedding - but it ended up being more because of her characters and their narratives being focused on their internal monologues and trying to rectify past events or mistakes that they made.
Second, Tina as a character was hard to appreciate. The support cast of characters around her felt more fascinating (her parents, her friend, and even the various LIs that she had) seemed not only more well rounded, but not rooted in a binary that Tina constantly wanted to put herself in. From agonizing about her parents and their divorice (a divorce that happened 10 years prior to the events in the book), he constand refrain that she does not fit in either worlds (US and India), and this idea that if she is not able to make her dreams, she will move to India to make it work. Tina, while presenting sympathetic reasons for her ennui, just seems a hashing of the stereotpical worries that many of the first generation children of the Desi diaspora seem to have in regards to balancing their American and Desi identity. However, Tina makes it seem like its *only* occurring to her, and that is where Tina loses me.
There are great side stories in the book for sure, and I did appreciate that Basu made this book to be understood for Desi Americans - it has a blend of American and Desi idiosyncrasies that would be easily identifiable and undstood for those in the community - however, the inability to understand if the book was supposed to be read as contemporary literature, or as a rom com that was gonna mix with Crazy Rich Asians (which it is not).
Not a bad read, but one that can be missed if need to be.
First, if you have as part of your story an event as part of the title, my expectation going into the story is that there will be some time reflected (either by the plot or the narrative) to the event. Here Basu failed to keep me enegaged with the wedding that was the point of the story and for the characters traveling to India in the first place. Even the bridge (and the groom) did not seem to be enjoying their own wedding, and at first I thought it was Basu making subtle commentaries on the convulted process and events that make up the expected traditional North India/Desi wedding - but it ended up being more because of her characters and their narratives being focused on their internal monologues and trying to rectify past events or mistakes that they made.
Second, Tina as a character was hard to appreciate. The support cast of characters around her felt more fascinating (her parents, her friend, and even the various LIs that she had) seemed not only more well rounded, but not rooted in a binary that Tina constantly wanted to put herself in. From agonizing about her parents and their divorice (a divorce that happened 10 years prior to the events in the book), he constand refrain that she does not fit in either worlds (US and India), and this idea that if she is not able to make her dreams, she will move to India to make it work. Tina, while presenting sympathetic reasons for her ennui, just seems a hashing of the stereotpical worries that many of the first generation children of the Desi diaspora seem to have in regards to balancing their American and Desi identity. However, Tina makes it seem like its *only* occurring to her, and that is where Tina loses me.
There are great side stories in the book for sure, and I did appreciate that Basu made this book to be understood for Desi Americans - it has a blend of American and Desi idiosyncrasies that would be easily identifiable and undstood for those in the community - however, the inability to understand if the book was supposed to be read as contemporary literature, or as a rom com that was gonna mix with Crazy Rich Asians (which it is not).
Not a bad read, but one that can be missed if need to be.