I chose to read The Marriage Clock because I’m always interested in reading own voices writing about their culture. About this time last year I read a book the premise of which was finding a man through an on-line dating website. Though that book was comical, at the end I felt unsatisfied as a reader as the female protagonist didn’t seem to grow emotionally from her experiences. That is not true of The Marriage Clock.
Raheem’s writing style is simple, direct, and easy to read. I flew through this book in just a few hours. Her characters, particularly Leila, are fully developed, funny, and all-to-human. She is a first-generation American with Indian parents. Leila is frequently torn between her more liberal American self and her family-loving Muslim self. Often she’s frustrated by her more traditional parents who have decided it is time she fulfill her destiny and marry, thus starting the countdown on The Marriage Clock. Leila is convinced she’ll find a partner equal to the men her favorite Bollywood movies but with more liberal qualities of an American male tossed into the pot.
Raheem’s description of Leila’s trials in finding a husband range from sad to pathetic to hysterical. Her marital rejects are each individualized with traits that range from funny to totally bizarre: the guy who uses the sound “bam” to punctuate every sentence, the one who asks about the past medical history of Leila and her entire family; the one who’s far older than he admits to; the one who’s already engaged, but fails to divulge this to Leila; and finally, the one who “ghosts” her after a seemingly-great date in which she thinks they really connected.
This was not a typical romantic comedy, though those elements are present. There is depth to the narration, and the characters are all well-developed, especially Leila’s family and friends. In addition, the glimpses into the Muslim Indian community and culture are wonderful. I lived extensively in the Muslim world (though I’ve forgotten every word of Urdu I ever knew), and the world Raheem has created is very real. The Marriage Clock is also an amusing look into traditional arranged marriages with “auntie” matchmakers, biodata spreadsheets compiled by Leila’s parents, speed-dating, and dating apps. The joy of this book, as mentioned above, is the personal growth of Leila and her journey to self-acceptance.
********************
