Love Marriage

A Novel

By: Monica Ali

Narrated by: Ayesha Dharker

Named a Best Book of 2022 So Far by The New Yorker!

“Cultural clashes, political satire, Oedipal conflicts, elegant prose—they’re all here in this romp of a book.” —Oprah Daily

A Phenomenal Book Club Pick and a New York Times Book Review Group Text Selection, Love Marriage is a glorious moving novel from Booker Prize shortlisted Monica Ali, who has “an inborn generosity that cannot be learned” (The New York Times Book Review).

In present-day London, Yasmin Ghorami is twenty-six, in training to be a doctor (like her Indian-born father), and engaged to the charismatic, upper-class Joe Sangster, whose formidable mother, Harriet, is a famous feminist. The gulf between families is vast. So, too, is the gulf in sexual experience between Yasmin and Joe.

As the wedding day draws near, misunderstandings, infidelities, and long-held secrets upend both Yasmin’s relationship and that of her parents, a “love marriage,” according to the family lore that Yasmin has believed all her life.

A gloriously acute observer of class, sexual mores, and the mysteries of the human heart, Monica Ali has written a “riveting” (BookPage, starred review) social comedy and a moving, revelatory story of two cultures, two families, and two people trying to understand one another that’s “sure to please Ali’s fans and win some new ones” (Publishers Weekly).

Critic reviews

"Ayesha Dharker, a Bombay-born British actor, performs this darkly comic audiobook smartly and sensitively. She gives every character their due. Her intonations, whether for Brits or Indian immigrants, are subtle and unique. Her portrayal of the conflicted heroine, Dr. Yasmin Ghorami, is apt, capturing all her angst. Perhaps her most eloquent renditions are of Yasmin’s Bengali immigrant parents, whose story provides the novel’s title. The plot traces the family’s intersections with Yasmin’s coming marriage to another young doctor, Joe Sangster, whose shrouded backstory initiates the action. His mother, Helen, an activist and provocateur, represents the English progressive intelligentsia and is, by turns, funny and sad. Secrets are revealed, and lives are altered in this finely tuned fiction."

Wonderful narrator!

Great characters and narrator made them
Come alive in a very distinctive way. Very entertaining writing. Lots of “sex talk” - in a good way. Enjoyed the book very much!

Delightful

A well written story about family, about what's real & not real, coping, acceptance & growing up. There's a love story included too!

Great narration

The story was gentle, yet complex and, as always, good narration makes all the difference!

Good story ruined by narrator

The narration was awful. The same voice and enunciation was used for all characters making it impossible to even tell male from female. Recommend the book over the audiobook

Almost a 5 star

I loved most of the book, and it had a good ending… but for me it wasn’t great.