Until Death Do Us Part, or Our Families Get to Know Each Other

When my now-husband and I introduced that we had been getting married, my uncle referred to as to supply congratulations and knowledge. “Bear in mind,” he mentioned, “marriage is a merger of households, not simply two individuals.” On the time, I discovered this notion appallingly unromantic. I used to be going for extra of a Pablo Neruda vibe (“through which there isn’t a I otherwise you,/so intimate that your hand upon my chest is my hand, so intimate that/once I go to sleep your eyes shut”). I understood that corporate-speak would possibly apply to different nuptials, however to not ours, thanks very a lot.

20 years and lots of household meals and vacation negotiations later, I used to be reminded of my uncle’s prescience whereas studying Monica Ali’s fifth novel, LOVE MARRIAGE (Scribner, 419 pp., $27.99). This sprawling buffet of a narrative begins with the assembly of two households whose grownup youngsters — each seemingly mature and customarily of sound thoughts — are marrying one another. The extremely orchestrated breaking of bread (or, extra precisely, ladling of curry) will happen on the posh London house of Harriet Sangster, mom of the groom. On this setting, the betrothed couple, Yasmin and Joe, immediately lose the highlight to their dad and mom, who’re such energetic characters, they virtually waltz off the web page handy readers save-the-date playing cards.

However let’s not get forward of ourselves: We’re speaking a couple of difficult merger. On one aspect, we’ve got Harriet, an outspoken feminist recognized for polyamorous pursuits and intimate portraiture (think about a cross between Erica Jong and Gloria Steinem); Joe’s dad is generally out of the image. And on the opposite, we’ve got Yasmin’s dad and mom: Shaokat, a physician who’s immensely happy with his daughter for following in his footsteps (in contrast to her layabout brother, Arif); and Anisah, a cleaning soap opera fanatic who locations an excessive amount of deal with the home arts. The Ghoramis come from reverse backgrounds — “the well-to-do Calcutta lady and the poor however intelligent village boy.” In line with household lore, kismet introduced them collectively.

The assembly couldn’t be extra cringeworthy, with Yasmin hoping that Harriet received’t point out her newest challenge (a e book of interviews with males about their penises, accompanied by “de-eroticized” photographs) and Anisah pushing for a extra spiritual ceremony than the couple had in thoughts. You’ll be able to lower the awkwardness with a scalpel. However what follows makes Harriet’s condescending reveries about her time in India sound downright tactful.

Ali’s opening salvo is only a prelude to a barrage of secrets and techniques, missed connections and infidelities that not solely threaten to topple Yasmin and Joe’s alliance but in addition drive them to see the worlds they arrive from with recent eyes. I got here to care deeply about this flawed pair, whose future Ali unfurls with apparent glee and a contact of poetry. (Her debut novel, “Brick Lane,” was a essential darling, however my private favourite of her books is “Untold Story,” a reimagining of the lifetime of Princess Diana.) New alliances kind. One other household takes form. Skilled loyalties shift. I’m tap-dancing round a dozen spoilers right here — suffice it to say, there are many subplots (generally too many) and a humiliation of characters (some simpler to maintain monitor of than others). However one way or the other, like a loud wedding ceremony the place everybody finally ends up on the dance ground, the chaos is a part of the enjoyable.