This week’s Bookshelf is about two Atlanta authors whose books together cover the gamut of love, marriage and divorce. One revolves around a mystery and the other is full of laughs.
Looking for love. Aisha Saeed is a New York Times bestselling author of young adult novels that are steeped in Pakistani culture and explore themes of female empowerment and cultural identity.
Among her titles are “Amal Unbound,” an inspiring tale of a young girl’s escape from servitude, and “Written in the Stars,” about a woman’s effort to get out of an arranged marriage and be with the one she loves.
April 8 is publication day for Saeed’s first adult novel, “The Matchmaker” (Bantam, $18). Part cozy mystery, part romance, it shares a little in common with reality TV shows like “The Bachelor” and “Say Yes to the Dress” in mining the entertainment value found in looking for love and planning lavish weddings.
But it’s the mystery that really fuels this narrative.
Nura is a woman in her early 30s who has taken over the matchmaking business started by her Aunt Khala in Pakistan, and she has modernized it into a successful, tech-driven company based in Atlanta. “We help the elite, but we are not elitist,” Nura says.
Credit: Bindu Liang
Credit: Bindu Liang
Nevertheless, the service is exclusive and potential suitors are rejected if they don’t meet the criteria. As a result, emails and social media posts from angry rejects are not unusual. But one stands out as nastier than the others. Then a high-profile client and her betrothed mysteriously disappear on their wedding day, and Nura’s safety is threatened. The urgency to identify the culprit is kicked into overdrive.
There’s more at stake, too. A 32-year-old matchmaker who hasn’t found her love match is not a good look, and Nura’s employees are quick to remind her of that. The dilemma is, she’s in love with Azar, her best friend since childhood and her plus-one to clients’ weddings, but he’s a doctor and a ladies’ man who wants to keep things platonic.
Meanwhile, Khala is ill and her daughter Nina has abandoned her career in Portland, Oregon, to take care of her mother. But she’s not doing a very good job of it, in Nura’s opinion, and tension between the two cousins simmer. There’s also a pesky journalist popping up at the most inopportune times, dogging Nura for an interview.
In addition to Atlanta landmarks like Atlanta Botanical Garden and Hayakawa, woven throughout the novel are lush descriptions of super-luxe weddings featuring chefs flown in from Islamabad, backdrops made from bloodred roses, centerpieces of long-stemmed moth orchids and a garment “hand-stitched with one thousand and one diamonds that shimmer beneath the lights.”
Starting over. Fans of “The Matchmaker” might also enjoy “Nobody’s Perfect” (Montlake, $16.99) by Sally Kilpatrick, a USA Today bestselling author and Marietta resident who sets her seventh novel in Atlanta, too. Instead of love and marriage, her novel is about divorce and starting over, but told with a big dose of humor.
Vivian Quackenbush is a middle-aged empty nester living in an Atlanta suburb. The highlight of her week is joining two neighbors in lawn chairs on their cul-de-sac for a glass or two of wine every Wednesday evening. Looking for other ways to fill her free time, Vivian starts a YouTube channel called Mom Scouts.
While her husband is away on one of his increasingly frequent business trips, Vivian discovers divorce papers in his sock drawer. Her first reaction is to do what her often married and divorced mother warned against: “Don’t drink your feelings.” Tipsy on wine late one night, Vivian posts a video venting about her husband then goes to bed and forgets about it. A few days later, the video has gone viral and she discovers a whole chorus of virtual supporters who help empower her to take control of her life in unexpected ways.
Suzanne Van Atten is a book critic and contributing editor to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She may be reached at Suzanne.VanAtten@ajc.com.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
