The Marriage Bureau for Rich People

April 13, 2009
A thriving arranged-marriage bureau in contemporary India resides at the heart of Zama's charming debut. The customers who visit Mr. Ali's bureau—a project he began in retirement to pass the time—are mostly pragmatists: they look for mates based on height, complexion, caste, economic status and religion. As business picks up, Mr. Ali, a Muslim, takes on a young assistant, Aruna, a poor Hindu girl, who helps him formulate happy unions. While the bureau prospers, Mr. Ali and his wife contend with their headstrong son, a human rights advocate who worries them constantly, and Aruna faces her dismal home life and a handsome young client who may want more from her than lists of potential matches. Zama's strength is in showing the love that makes the matchmaking system possible, looking at the reciprocity, trust and devotion that underlie marriage. Though the dialogue can tend toward the wooden and some problems work out too tidily, Zama's delightful world of mid-morning tea breaks, afternoon siestas, picnics in mango groves and meddlesome aunties is a pleasant place to hang out.

In a modern city in India, Mr. Ali hangs a sign, places a classified ad, and launches a marriage bureau. Though not an expert in India's ancient custom of matchmaking, Mr. Ali finds quick success because of his tenacity and charming patience. Narrator Tania Rodrigues's gentle tone does little to enhance the novel's uneventful opening but serves well when the clever Mrs. Ali recruits a new assistant for Mr. Ali--Aruna. From a poor Hindu family, Aruna must forgo her advanced education to earn an income and is unlikely to marry because her family cannot afford a dowry. Rodrigues infuses Aruna's delicate optimism with intelligence and warmth, and adds graceful Indian pronunciations. With Rodrigues's subtle characterizations, this simple story becomes a soothing escape into a fascinating culture. N.M.C. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine