The Marriage Bureau for Rich People

First of all if you enjoy the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series by Alexander McCall Smith, than you are going to enjoy this book. Though taking place in different parts of the world and the actual business of each lead character is different, the overall feel of both books are very much the same.

Mr. Ali has recently retired and finds himself bored, more than that, his wife can’t stand the fact that he is constantly under foot and he has to find something to fill his days and leave her alone. So, what is a self respecting Indian man to do, well, he opens a matching making business in Vizag, India.

The Marriage Bureau for Rich People caters to the wealthy of the area. But finding the right match is not always easy when you have caste, religion, dowry, age, skin color and height to contend with. Love marriages are an abomination so it is up to Mr. Ali and the relatives to get this right or else the whole family could be judged as unworthy and no marriage could ever take place.

Persnickety parents aside, Mr. Ali takes his job very seriously and when one day Aruna, an older once rejected woman comes to his enterprise for employment he find the perfect office girl. She has a knack for this business and see’s matches where Mr. Ali does not.

Due to her father’s past illness, Aruna has to support her family and in doing so has given up on her own hopes of furthering her education and ever getting married. But thankfully not all suitors are living in the past and fight for their right to make a love match, no matter what those around them think.

Farahad Zama keeps this story moving forward with just enough tradition to keep the reader interested in what is to become of the matches and the people that have brought them together.