Book Review: The Mango Season

Following is a review from of the BC members...also, a little tweety told me that there are other books being read such as Pillars of the Earth and the Golden Compass to name a few. Hoping that this first review will be inspiration for others to send their thoughts on their person reading lists :)

As my fellow book club friends know, I'm new to reading and of the few gems I've read, Mango Season is one of those that you want to finish as soon as you start reading--my personal best in coming in the under-two days mark! And as with all page-turners, this book has the perfect blend of being small, easy to read and visualize, a character you can get behind and a light tone that gets you hooked all the way through to its twisty end.

I could relate to it more, not just because it's a story of an Indian girl but, more so because it's a story of an Indian girl living in the United States. After reading a lot of serious books, this one was a good change and made the reading even more enjoyable.

So instead of telling you bits 'n pieces of the story let me tell you what the book is about...It's a story of a woman (Priya) who lives in America and is returning home to inform her family that she wants to marry an American man (Nick),something that most Asian families would probably dread! As soon as she declares her intention, all the melodrama starts to unfold...the big fat Indian family members picking on each other to the eldest male in the family struggling to hold his position as the head of the family, the traditional bride seeing ceremony, all the drama that the girl staying in America will do when she returns about the way her city has developed..And the best part are the Mangoes that all Indians relish to the fullest, and the pickles we make from mangoes...yum!!


I think the part of the book which still makes me smile is that after all the melodrama and the struggle to make the family agree to the union of the Indian and the American there still remains a surprise in the end which the family still doesnt know about. Just when the reader cheers on the uber-conservative Indian family for coming along the acceptance route and becoming progressive, the author throws the reader a curve ball that makes you wonder whether prejudices are confined to certain countries, or are there some gaps that are just too vast for any family to overcome?
 
I don't want to give away the suspense so you guys have to read on and discover the funny twist....I think it is a good light read for everyone...enjoy!