|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
|
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
A desperate lie leads to true love in Banerjee's predictable but fun debut. At the Kolkata, India, wedding of her younger sister, Indian-American matchmaker Lina, who lives in San Francisco, gets so fed up with her great-aunt's talk of arranged marriages that she tells everyone she's already engaged. Too bad Lina isn't even dating anyone, much less the rich, cosmopolitan fellow named Raja she claims as her fiancé (she invents him, based on the real Raja Presad, a prince she met at her sister's wedding). In what becomes a Bridget Jones's Diary meets Monsoon Wedding–style escapade, Lina must find the Mr. Right she's supposed to already have. Enter a series of humorously awful first-and-last dates. When the real Prince Raja drops by, seeking a match for his brother, Lina's day job takes a turn for the personal. Is it possible that Raja could actually be the One? Could Lina's California lifestyle ever meld with that of a wealthy Indian prince? Besides, with his home in India and antiquated views on women, Raja is hardly interested in Lina as his real-life betrothed—or is he? Of course he is! Banerjee's prose is workmanlike, but at least her narrator isn't afflicted with the logorrhea so many other chick-lit heroines suffer from, which makes this a quick, enjoyable read.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
From Booklist
Chick-lit meets Bollywood in this charming novel about a professional matchmaker who finally meets her match. Lina Ray loves her job and her life in San Francisco, but hasn't let anyone into her life since her fiance died. At her younger sister's wedding, Lina responds to her family's pressure to marry by inventing a fiance. Her family is soon eagerly awaiting an introduction to this imaginary man. Meanwhile, a prince comes into her life--literally. Prince Raja enlists Lina to find a wife for his brother, but they're finding themselves more interested in each other than in the matchmaking process. This fairy-tale-like story is filled with vivid descriptions of Indian customs that will enchant readers. Banerjee ably captures Lina's struggles with tradition and modernity in her interactions with her family. Avid readers of contemporary Indian literature may find this novel too light, but chick-lit enthusiasts will snap it right up. Aleksandra Kostovski
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
I'm allergic to India. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
I'm allergic to India. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.ca
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.8 out of 5 stars (25 customer reviews)
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Imaginary Man is a great read!, Oct 30 2005
By Dorrie Wheeler - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Imaginary Men (Paperback)
Anjali Banerjee has created an exciting, vivid almost cinematic story in her novel "Imaginary Men." Lina is a 29 year old Indian woman. She lives in San Francisco, but at the start of the book she is in India for her sisters wedding. Her aunt, who is a matriarch of the family, presses Lina about her own wedding plans. Secretly Lina is still harboring feelings of sadness regarding her short lived engagement to her love Nathu. Sadly, two years prior Nathu passed away.Lina's aunt is all set to arrange her engagement to an Indian man whose nick-name is Pee-Wee. Not trying to go along with her aunt's plan on the spur of the moment Lina tells her aunt that she is engaged to a jet setting, wealthy man. The news of her engagement spreads through the wedding party like wildfire and for months to come Lina is forced to keep up the charade of the mystery man which she has invented in her head. At the same time she finds herself thinking about Raja, a man who she originally pegged as a sexist chauvinist. Soon he arrives in San Francisco seeking her matchmaking services for his brother.
"Imaginary Man" is a really great book. The story reminded me of Sheila Goss' Essence best-selling book "My Invisible Husband." "Imaginary Man" is funny and the author really makes the character of Lina come alive and the situations were told with such detail the book read like you were watching a movie.
There are some Indian/Hindu words used throughout the books and these words are shown in italics. I thought the words were italicized because there would be a glossary in the back of the book but it seems they were only italicized for emphasis.
At the end of the book is a really great Q&A interview with the author.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
refreshing chick lit tale, Oct 25 2005
By Harriet Klausner - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Imaginary Men (Paperback)
San Franciscan professional matchmaker Lina Ray travels to Kolkata, India to attend her younger sister's wedding. At the gala her matchmaking Auntie Kiki tries to arrange a match with Nikhil Ghoge, an Indian version of Pee Wee Herman. Desperate Lina makes up a fiancé living in America. She flees the gala only to run into Raja Prasad. They talk, but she concludes he is old line chauvinistic Indian so she wants nothing to do with him though he gives her a star galaxy granite stone as a reminder of their brief connection.The next day Niki takes her niece to meet horoscope reader Pandit Parsus who says the fiancé seems unreal and that Niki needs to go to California to see if he is worthy of joining their family. As Lina's lies multiply, Raja hires her to find a spouse for his brother while he makes the case that they are right for another. Lina sees the "silvery threads" that she knows means they are right for each other, but first she must overcome the death over two years ago of her fiancé Nathu and her scorn of her Bengali heritage.
IMAGINARY MEN is a refreshing chick lit tale starring a wonderful second generation American struggling between her India heritage and her San Francisco lifestyle. Lina and her family members provide insight into the Brachmo Samaj Hinduism within the humorous family drama. Learning first hand how a simple fib can gain a goliath life of its own, Lina is a fabulous lead character who anchors IMAGINARY MEN as she compounds her lie in comedic ways. Fans will want sequels from author Anjali Banjerjee.
Harriet Klausner
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Dont know what the fuss is all about, Feb 9 2009
By bookaholic - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Imaginary Men (Paperback)
Let me just start by saying that I am huge fan of chick lit and I am very easily entertained by almost any kind of read. That being said...this book was a colossal disappointment!! I was very encouraged when I read the back cover and really thought the concept was sort of cute and held great potential and it probably would have been a great read if only the story line wasn't so rushed and predictable. I almost felt like the author was in a hurry to be done with the book and it seemed like a half-hearted effort where she didn't spend any time introducing the characters or any sort of interaction between them. Before you got to know a character or a scene, you realized that the writer had already moved on to the next. There are a couple of moderately amusing lines, but not enough to make me get past my not-so-mild irritation with the storyline. Honestly, I wouldn't waste any time on this one.
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
