"It seemed incredible that it could be the same road, the same asphalt that they had travelled so many times together. You thought that you were the permanent part of your own experience, the net that held it all together- until you discovered that there were many selves, dissolving into one another so quickly over time that the buildings and the trees and even the pavement turned out to have more substance than you did."
I only got The Newlyweds out of the library* because I really really liked the cover. I mean, look at that cover. It's awesome. I did honestly believe that I would probably take it back unread after feeling guilty about it staring at me for three weeks, but then I ended up on a train and it was the only thing I had to read and it was Bout of Books time, so. It got read.
I feel like by telling the story like that, I'm doing this book a disservice, because I didn't only read it because I had nothing else to read. I mean, that was true of the twenty minute train journey, but then I was at home and I had, you know, all the other books in the universe to read but I didn't because The Newlyweds was good enough to make me want to keep reading, which is sort of the only thing I ask for from books. Sort of.
The Newlyweds is not so much the story of two newlyweds as the story of one of them. Amina is from Bangladesh, and when we first meet her she is married to George, an American she met online and left everything she knew for. The reasons for this are complicated- it's never hidden that Amina wanted to move to the US for the opportunities it held, but she also wouldn't have done it with any old man and she and George had a genuine connection. George's reasons for marrying Amina, it becomes clear, were also complicated and slightly messy, and so it's difficult to get a clear idea of exactly what their feelings are for each other. It's especially difficult in George's case, because this novel is told solely from Amina's perspective.
Amina's perspective, as the immigrant in the US (a muslim immigrant, at that) is undeniably the most interesting one in the novel, and it's the one it relies on to be appealing to the reader. If you don't find Amina sympathetic, you're probably not going to want to carry on reading The Newlyweds, because her thoughts and opinions are the only ones we get. Luckily I liked her a lot, but even so, I would have liked to have had some insight into the other characters heads because it's sometimes difficult to know where they're coming from. It strikes me, though, that this is probably intentional- Amina isn't aware of the motivations of all the other characters, and so we aren't either. Which is fair enough.
The one thing that urked me about this book is that, in spite of it being called The Newlyweds, it wasn't really about the newlyweds. It was at least about one of them, obviously, but the majority of this book is devoted to Amina being really really worried about her parents and the urgency of getting them to America. The final third of the book is SOLELY about this, and I don't know, I just didn't find it that interesting. It wasn't that I didn't want Amina to be reunited with her parents, or that I wanted them to not go to America, but I found the relationship between Amina and George (and his family) a lot more interesting, or intriguing, I should probably say. There's nothing intriguing about Amina's relationship with her parents- she loves them and wants to be near them and they all need each other in equal measure and this does not interest me so much (needy parents are something I might have too much experience of...) and I eventually got kind of frustrated with how much of the story was focused on this. But that might just be me.
So basically. This book was fine but I'm not desperate to discuss it with anyone, nor do I want everyone to read it because their lives would be complete without it. I think, in the end, I liked the premise more than the actual execution, and although it was pretty readable (I finished it in two days) I didn't really feel many things about it and I suspect I will have forgotten about it in a few weeks. So if it falls onto you somehow then I'll allow you to read it, but otherwise, don't even worry about it.
*and then bought it because I thought I wouldn't read it for ages but then I did straight away and I don't even want to keep it and grrrr this is why I'm poor
I feel like by telling the story like that, I'm doing this book a disservice, because I didn't only read it because I had nothing else to read. I mean, that was true of the twenty minute train journey, but then I was at home and I had, you know, all the other books in the universe to read but I didn't because The Newlyweds was good enough to make me want to keep reading, which is sort of the only thing I ask for from books. Sort of.
The Newlyweds is not so much the story of two newlyweds as the story of one of them. Amina is from Bangladesh, and when we first meet her she is married to George, an American she met online and left everything she knew for. The reasons for this are complicated- it's never hidden that Amina wanted to move to the US for the opportunities it held, but she also wouldn't have done it with any old man and she and George had a genuine connection. George's reasons for marrying Amina, it becomes clear, were also complicated and slightly messy, and so it's difficult to get a clear idea of exactly what their feelings are for each other. It's especially difficult in George's case, because this novel is told solely from Amina's perspective.
Amina's perspective, as the immigrant in the US (a muslim immigrant, at that) is undeniably the most interesting one in the novel, and it's the one it relies on to be appealing to the reader. If you don't find Amina sympathetic, you're probably not going to want to carry on reading The Newlyweds, because her thoughts and opinions are the only ones we get. Luckily I liked her a lot, but even so, I would have liked to have had some insight into the other characters heads because it's sometimes difficult to know where they're coming from. It strikes me, though, that this is probably intentional- Amina isn't aware of the motivations of all the other characters, and so we aren't either. Which is fair enough.
The one thing that urked me about this book is that, in spite of it being called The Newlyweds, it wasn't really about the newlyweds. It was at least about one of them, obviously, but the majority of this book is devoted to Amina being really really worried about her parents and the urgency of getting them to America. The final third of the book is SOLELY about this, and I don't know, I just didn't find it that interesting. It wasn't that I didn't want Amina to be reunited with her parents, or that I wanted them to not go to America, but I found the relationship between Amina and George (and his family) a lot more interesting, or intriguing, I should probably say. There's nothing intriguing about Amina's relationship with her parents- she loves them and wants to be near them and they all need each other in equal measure and this does not interest me so much (needy parents are something I might have too much experience of...) and I eventually got kind of frustrated with how much of the story was focused on this. But that might just be me.
So basically. This book was fine but I'm not desperate to discuss it with anyone, nor do I want everyone to read it because their lives would be complete without it. I think, in the end, I liked the premise more than the actual execution, and although it was pretty readable (I finished it in two days) I didn't really feel many things about it and I suspect I will have forgotten about it in a few weeks. So if it falls onto you somehow then I'll allow you to read it, but otherwise, don't even worry about it.
*and then bought it because I thought I wouldn't read it for ages but then I did straight away and I don't even want to keep it and grrrr this is why I'm poor
This has popped up on my radar a couple of times and the first thing that attracted me was the awesome cover. It looks so much like an old school advert. Amazing. But then I've read a few very 'meh' reviews so maybe I won't judge a book by it's cover this one time...
ReplyDeleteAlso, your little * point at the end made me smile, nod and mumble 'hear hear'in a very 'uh, that's why I'm poor too' way. So, yes.
THE COVER IS SO GOOD! I mean, it's a *fine* book, I'm just not really desperate for anyone to read it because I know it's not really going to stick with me for any amount of time. Which is sad, but meh.
DeleteWe should find some kind of book buyers anonymous meetings, seriously. It's troubling.
So when I started reading your review I was excited to check out this book. Then as I went on I was sorta "eh well. maybe I'll read it." to finally "If I get a copy of it for free I MIGHT make time for it". And then I read your last line and realized we're on the same page. So good job with this review!
ReplyDeleteSo you're saying that the review exactly reflected the way I think a person should feel about reading this book? That's soooort of entirely awesome! (Not sure that's ever happened before, so I'm pretty chuffed).
DeleteAnd, I mean, it's good enough that if you got a copy for free you should read it. Just... don't pay money for it?
I read this way back when it was first published and I had a similar "meh" reaction to it. I found that I enjoyed the last third more than you did - I felt it really came alive when she went back to India and all of the stuff with her parents. The writing was above average, but the story just never really grabbed me.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think I like that cover better than the US cover.
I don't think it was even that I disliked the last third necessarily, it was more that I wanted to read about The Newlyweds and I didn't feel like I got that? The writing was good though, wasn't it?! I think that's what kept me reading it instead of just dumping it.
DeleteThe cover remains spectacular. I still feel the same about that :)
I HATE when I buying something that I then don't even want to keep (hello, The Casual Vacancy). This is why we're broke, for real.
ReplyDeleteI can see myself having a VERY meh reaction to this, so I'll pass :)
I know right. Still, at least I just redonate them so the charity shops are making some money! (I WISH I OWNED THE CASUAL VACANCY!)
DeleteYou are totally allowed to pass on this one. It's fine, but meh. I wouldn't want to read it again or anything.
I bought this a few months ago, pretty much based on the cover.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I always end up only reading library books when I'm trapped on a train or at my boyfriends with only that to read!
I do kind of want to read it though, so I'm glad it's readable, if nothing else. I actually BOUGHT it though, so I'm slightly more invested in it being good!
THE COVER IS SO GOOD!
DeleteNo, no, Hanna, I think you misunderstood my story- I got it out of the library, THEN I bought it from a charity shop because I figured I could take it back to the library and not have to rush to read it, then READ IT STRAIGHT AWAY ANYWAY. That's how stupid I am.
It is definitely readable though! I wouldn't say 'this is so terrible that if you own it you should get rid of it' or anything, it's a good enough read, I just wouldn't really be bothered about re-reading it (which is how I judge books these days.)