Book Review: Saris and the City

Book: Saris and the City (Little Black Dress)


Genre: Chick Lit/ Contemporary Fiction/ Romance


Author: Rekha Waheed


Cover critique:

The background that looks like intricate embroidered border of a cotton Sari is well-suited to the title of the book. The lovely soft teal and pink colors are feminine and soothing at the same time. The sketch of Asian lady wearing signature jewellery and dress gives a subtle hint of its oriental leaning. It certainly is attractive but not overpowering and I love it!

Review:

The book gives an insight into Muslim and South Asian culture as well as a peak into how British culture mingles in the lives of Asian/Desi people born or bred in UK. Among so many books of the same genre by British writers, this book is by a Desi British woman (Rekha Waheed is of Bengali descent, born and raised in London) and that is what makes this book appealing in terms of its character portrayal and scenario descriptions. In spite of being a romantic novel, the book paints different social and cultural issues that are faced by Asian woman living in the West, struggling for their identity.

The story revolves around the character of Yasmin Yusuf, who in spite of being smart, career-oriented woman, is a typical day-dreamer. She believes in “love at first sight” and “happily-ever-after tales”. But her wishful thinking is crushed when she finds out that her oh-so-loving boyfriend was actually too nasty to be trusted. To make things worse, she is fired from her existing job. This time in her life, Yasmin is determined to prove her worth again by focusing on her new job as a city analyst for a failing lingerie company. It is a chance for her to gain her self-esteem back, but as they say, nothing comes easy! I would not reveal anymore, so buy the book yourself to find out if she gets what she want and does her dream of Prince charming falling for her ever come true.

The opening chapters of the book are completely engrossing and fast-paced, good enough to keep me turning pages to find out what happens next. The book is full of witty descriptions and some really laugh-out-loud situations which is one of the strongest points of reading this romantic comedy. I could not control my laugh when Yasmin tries to resist her temptation for utterly gorgeous and handsome guy, Zachary Khan and the comedy of errors follows. Also, the time when she tries on some kinky lingerie items to write her report and is caught wearing it by her family in an embarrassing position. There are some touching moments as well, portrayed beautifully through family and friends bonding, especially Yasmin’s rapport with her father and brothers.

As the book moves on to the final chapters, it slows down a bit but nevertheless reaches to a satisfying climax which made me quite happy. The writer has used a lot of phrases in Urdu/Bengali to give it an oriental flavour, which works for me very well but it may be a bit of a put off for English readers. Though the terms she uses are well-known and pretty common such as the mention of “Chicken Jalfrezi (Curry)” or saying “Salaam” for greeting instead of “hello”, and they are easily understandable in the context of the novel, the publisher could have put a glossary in the end for reference.

Rekha Waheed maintains her “eastern inclination” throughout and keeps the characters well-woven into the structure of the plot. Given that this is only her second novel, after “The A-Z Guide to Arranged Marriage”, I think she has done a wonderful job and definitely shows potential for even better novels in the future. “Little Black Dress” books are known for their passionate, saucy and seductive romances and this one is no less than the rest.

Rating: 8.5/10