Specify Books Concering Marriage Material

ISBN:	0434021903 (ISBN13: 9780434021901)
Edition Language:	English

Marriage Material Hardcover | Pages: 301 pages

Identify About Books Marriage Material

Title	:	Marriage Material
Author	:	Sathnam Sanghera
Book Format	:	Hardcover
Book Edition	:	Special Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 301 pages
Published	:	September 26th 2013 by William Heinemann
Categories	:	Fiction. Contemporary

Chronicle As Books Marriage Material

If you’ve approached Bains Stores recently, you’d be forgiven for hesitating on doing so. A prominent window advert for a discontinued chocolate bar suggests the shop may have closed in 1994. The security shutters are stuck a quarter-open, adding to the general air of dilapidation. A push or kick of the door triggers something which is more grating car alarm than charming shop bell.

To Arjan Banga, returning to the Black Country after the unexpected death of his father, his family’s corner shop represents everything he has tried to leave behind – a lethargic pace of life, insular rituals and ways of thinking. But when his mother insists on keeping the shop open, he finds himself being dragged back, forced into big decisions about his imminent marriage back in London and uncovering the history of his broken family – the elopement and mixed-race marriage of his aunt Surinder, the betrayals and loyalties, loves and regrets that have played out in the shop over more than fifty years.

Taking inspiration from Arnold Bennett’s classic novel The Old Wives’ Tale, Marriage Material tells the story of three generations of a family through the prism of a Wolverhampton corner shop – itself a microcosm of the South Asian experience in the country: a symbol of independence and integration, but also of darker realities.

This is an epic tale of family, love, and politics, spanning the second half of the twentieth century, and the start of the twenty-first. Told with humour, tenderness and insight, it manages to be both a unique and urgent survey of modern Britain by one of Britain’s most promising young writers, and an ingenious reimagining of a classic work of fiction.

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Ratings: 3.57 From 681 Users | 105 Reviews

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I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it. I grew up in Wolverhampton at much the same time as this book is based and felt 'foreign' enough although I had only moved from Ayrshire so it was really interesting to see things so vividly portrayed from the point of view of an immigrant Sikh family. The characters in the novel are so credibly drawn and come to life on the page so that you feel you know them. Interesting, too, to see, yet again and in a completely different situation, how one

Sathnam Sangheras first novel, for me as a reader, brought back similar memories to his memoir The Boy With The Top Knot. As an adult with Pakistani heritage, I found myself resonating with Arjans non-existant Punjabi, the sometimes claustrophobic-ness of Asian family links and his dilemma on marriage within or outside the culture. As a reader, it was difficult to keep in touch with the story at times but not overly distracting to the point it affects your reading. The book touches upon issues

Such a fantastic read. It is so effective to switch back and forth between time periods and characters for an historical family saga and Sanghera has done that so well. Only slight criticisms I have is I wish he expanded more on Jims fate and wrapped up the ending (without the prologue) a bit more.

In this retelling of Arnold Bennett's "The Old Wives' Tale," Sathnam Sanghera has deftly spun a story that is as much about shop life and family dynamics as it is about the immigrant experience during a deeply racist time in British history.Told from two time periods and perspectives, we are first placed into the present day and introduced to Arjan who has returned to his childhood home of Wolverhampton to run he family shop after the sudden death of his father. He finds himself giving up his

Only recently became aware of this novel because of the anniversary , fifty years since Enoch Powell's speech, though it was published some time ago. Not sure I enjoyed it as much as Boy with the Top Knot but an interesting insight into other lives. I do hope Wolverhampton is less miserable and run down than it sounds but I suspect given the last few years that things certainly won't have got better.

So this is the British Asian (specifically Sikh) small family retailer experience 1960-2010. I bet if I rounded up say ten Goodreaders (that would be fun) and got you all to er brainstorm oh wait, you cant say that any more thought-shower is the new term about what might be in a novel about a Sikh cornershop family 1960-2010 based on The Old Wives Tale by Arnold Bennett youd come up with 95% of everything that happens in Marriage Material, which, by the way, is a really crap title. There

A very enjoyable novel about a family running an Indian corner shop in Wolverhampton from the 60's into to the 21st century. Yes there are stereotypes but the characters seemed genuine to me and I liked the rebellious Surinder and her attempt to break free from the overpowering patriarchy of the traditional way of life.