An Enormously English Monsoon Wedding
An Enormously English Monsoon Wedding introduces us to Erin Boswell, a 27-year-old country girl from Berkshire who is madly in love with her fiance Jay Keskar. She is blissfully happy planning a 'fusion' wedding with Jay that will mix her English background with his Indian heritage, but with only a few months to go until the wedding the couple meet up for lunch with Jay's parents who make it very clear that they are expecting a very Indian wedding. Of course, Erin should be wearing a sari, and all of the pre and post Hindu wedding ceremonies will be taking place, much to the couple's dismay. Will they be able to come to a truce and have the wedding they both desperately want, or will there be all out war when East and West finally meet?
With many books behind her, Christina Jones is more than an experienced writer, and this is clear upon reading An Enormously English Monsoon Wedding. The book offers an immediately gripping story that will make you laugh and cry along with the characters. Her personal touches to the books make for interesting narratives, such as the love she has for animals and the influence her parents relationship has had upon her stories. She openly admits that the fact that they came from such drastically different backgrounds is still entrancing for her, and their love story is at the core of every book she writes. Similarly, she includes the tight community spirit she was brought up in within her books, all of these points are crystal clear in An Enormously English Monsoon Wedding.
It offers a realistic take upon how modern families and communities should respond to what would have been, not all that many years earlier, a great scandal. The couples love and devotion to oneanother is contagious and immediately sweeps away any potential racist comment from disapproving bystanders. And Christina didn't stop with the starring couple, she also featured two of the other Indian characters breaking out of their traditional roles; one female characters claims that she will probably never marry, while another also commits himself to a mixed race relationship.
Offering a great knowledge of Indian culture and the many rituals included in a Hindu wedding ceremony, the book is enlightening and educational to read. With Indian heritage becoming a more dominant subculture in Britain today, it's great to read about this topical issue in an all embracing way. The fusion of these two very different cultures is a unique take on an often controversial issue for many, and the tact that the two families take in accepting the couples choice to be together, without question, is encouraging. The overwhelmingly positive response form the sleepy English village the couple reside is also refreshing to read.
Like many before her, Christina has written a fairytale love story that will make women everywhere weak at the knees. The pure love between Erin and Jay allows them to overcome all obstacles thrust before them, such as the more serious issues of race and religion, but also more typical problems like the meddling mother-in-law and the drop-dead gorgeous ex-girlfriend/best friend. Ultimately An Enormously English Monsoon Wedding was a delight to read. It is inspirational, romantic, compelling and, most important of all, gives us a wonderful fairytale ending.
By Sophie Atherton @SophAthers
Harback and kindle versions of An Enormously English Monsoon Wedding are available to buy now and the paperback is due to be released on May 2nd.