Marrying Anita: A Quest for Love in the New India

By Anita Jain

Book Overview

Is arranged marriage any worse than Craigslist? One smart and feisty woman's year in India looking for a husband the old-fashioned way reveals a rapidly changing culture and a whole host of ideas... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1596911859
• ISBN13: 9781596911857
• Release Date: July 2008
• Publisher: Bloomsbury USA
• Length: 320 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.0" x 1.1" x 6.2"

Customer Reviews

An education for expats

Indians who have lived abroad for many years often have no idea how much the culture back home has changed, especially in the big cities. This book will bring them up to speed in no time. I found it very educational as well as entertaining, and finished it in one day. As for the hapless Anita, still husbandless at the end of her quest, I have one suggestion. As she herself suggests, small-town Indian men appear to be more inherently decent than the entitled and blasé big-city dwellers. Yet she persists in dating mostly Delhiites. Why not try and find herself a groom in a town like, let's say, Bhopal?

Enjoyable Read

I'm surprised by the many poor reviews Anita's book has received here. I found this book in a Bas Bleu book catalog and having traveled to India two years ago with my husband, quickly went to my public library to check it out. I read it in two days. There is certainly nothing dry about her prose; this book is funny! If I'm to judge her journey and person, then I'd agree that she went about her search for a husband the wrong way. Certainly many of the things she did were highly questionable and yes, self-destructive (she does a lot more drinking and making out than anything). But this is a review of Anita's book, not who she is as a woman, and her book is a very enjoyable read. Just don't expect a happily-ever-after tale.

The classic American tale: Anita attempts to bridge the chasm between the old world and new

I found this to be an entertaining and surprisingly deep confessional about one woman's quest for long-term partnership. Our protoganist is Anita Jain, a Harvard-educated journalist who has traveled the world. And like many women, she is looking for a man she can look up to. This proves to be a tall order, no doubt partly because of her enlightened upbringing under the roof of a father who prepares tea for his wife and even does the dishes. Her partner must not only be smart, handsome, and well-read to qualify. He'll also need to be a good cook. Anita examines her own foibles and feelings with the precision of a beat reporter. And she clearly likes to converse and talk a lot. We learn about her many friends and their ups and downs as well. She exposes us to a wide cast of characters in modern India and we learn that caste continues to matter even in the 21st century. We meet Rahul, Vikram, Vincent, Sanjeev, Arjun, Farhad and a host of others. Some of them represent the new India, others the old, and some like her friend Nandini, are haplessly caught in-between: one moment dancing in the hippest night club and another moment tending to a friend's acid-burned face. As we watch her various suitors begin the courtship ritual, Anita gives us the birds-eye view. One-by-one they make a fatal misstep that ends the dance. Anita is a tough one to please. But shouldn't she be? She asks for what every modern woman wants: respect. The challenge she faces is that so many of her male peers are looking for something more like a live-in domestic helper to breed with. And her parents aren't helping much by introducing round after round of engineers and doctors who have succumbed to the faithful son dogma of their own parents. There is little attempt at analysis or presumption which is refreshing. Anita simply tells us how she feels and what she wants. If only more women would learn to do that! And she gives us the facts in a surprisingly humble way. If there is any arrogance here it is Anita's belief that other people will want to read about her love-life. I think they will. If there is a lesson to be learned it is that getting married is not an achievement akin to a degree from Harvard or publishing a book. Millions of people do it every year! The real achievement regarding marraige is building a strong enough relationship to stay married. And Anita needs to look no further than her own parents to see how that is done.

I loved this book

I really did. First of all, the story is so charming and interesting. I was her - only not Indian - I was over 30 and not married and I wanted to be married. She gave a name to many of the feelings that I had during that period of my life. Second, I absolutely loved her description of India - I've never been there and she made it come alive for me. Read this book.

Beach Read or Pulitzer Prize winner? Maybe BOTH!

I read many novels, but I don't often take the time to write reviews of books here. Marrying Anita was so enjoyable, I am making the point to write on Ms Jain's behalf. She deserves an accolade here. A literary koosh ball, this book is easy to read and hard to put down. I was so endeared by her trials and prevails that I really do hope a sequel is percolating in her mind. She writes with the flow of a close friend's voice, but definitely a very SMART friend. Her vocabulary is far more advanced than mine, but it never got in the way of her story. In short, the story was a good one and very well told. Simple and sophisticated in one swift stroke. Her descriptions paint such a vivid picture, yet were never boring. And dealing with sometimes sensitive topics, she is so honest. I really respect her for voicing these thoughts we can all share, in the clear view of her Papa, who is mentioned so frequently and with such endearment. This can be an easy finish-in-one-day beach book, or a great book club read. It has been a long time since I have been so drawn in to a book. Thank you and congratulations to Anita Jain.