Culture and marriage are woven into novel "The Groom to Have Been"

If you enjoyed movies such as "My Big Fat Greek Wedding," or "Ball and Chain," or other works with themes of culture and marriage, then you may enjoy the book, "The Groom to Have Been," by Saher Alam.

"The Groom to Have Been" gives deep insight into the individual and corporate lives of of the tight-knit Indian community of Montreal, Canada.

The reader follows Nasr, an Indian-Canadian, who works and lives in New York City. After several years of living the life of a cosmopolitan bachelor, Nasr allows his mother to search for a suitable bride.

Much of the modern story showcases the heavy interference of mothers and aunties in the process of mate-selection that depends on socioeconomic class and the reputations of potential brides and their families.

After a three-year search that stretched from Canada to London, and on to India, Nasr is finally engaged to Farah Ansari.

The reader sees how Nasr tries to balance modernity with Indian traditions. The rest of this story is made more interesting with the involvement of Jameela, Nasr's life-long family friend.

Thanks to Alam's obvious foreshadowing, the reader is not surprised to find that Nasr realizes Jameela is his true love. In contrast to Farah, Jameela is opinionated and rebellious and the only source of excitement in this predictable love story.

Both Jameela and Nasr struggle with their obligations to live according to their culture's expectations while wanting to satisfy their developing feelings for each other.

Saher Alam, who currently lives in St. Louis, moved to the United States from Lucknow, India in 1973, when she was five years old. Being Indian and growing up in the West, Alam is an excellent resource for telling a story such as this one.

Alam effectively uses the techniques of color writing to bring life to her story. Color writing, or regionalism, is a type of writing that tries to capture certain customs, manners and speech of a particular community. Another author who used color writing effectively was St. Louisan Kate Chopin.

Alam brings setting and cultural tones of the book to life with usage of Indian language in the dialogue between her characters. With every chapter, the story switches to different characters and situations, in efforts to give the reader a change of pace and an all-around insight to the progression of the novel.

Alam's writing is very detailed and generous, revealing the emotions and tones of each character in all the events of the story. Alam weaves complicated issues into a seemingly predictable love story.

Fortunately for the reader, the novel does not necessarily end in the typical manner novels about love tend to. Alam creates a multi-layered novel that is current with Muslim-Western relations since Sept. 11 and its affects on both communities whose lifestyles overlap.

In comparison to modern American novels of similar themes, "The Groom to Have Been" crosses geographical borders and shines light to modern marriages, arranged and otherwise.

The reader is given a glimpse of the intricate fine points of Indian arranged marriages and its place in the current Indian community. However, this novel steadily features a relatively serious tone and does not leave room for any playful humor that may be more popular in American books.

Overall, the book is a success. In its beginning, the story lags but gradually built more interest with introduction of more characters, like Jameela. If you are just looking for something that is light but does present some relatively well-rounded plots, then this book is for you.