Mr. Joshi’s Bride-Vani

Book: Mr. Joshi’s Bride
Author: Vani
Publisher: Vishwakarma Books

I was provided a media copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

How would you define your perfect spouse?

Parshuraman Joshi is every Indian girl’s dream husband. Who wouldn’t want to snap up a 27-year-old, well-educated, Punjabi NRI boy, after all? He was named after the axe-wielding warrior avatar of the mighty Lord Vishnu, meant to conquer hearts and have girls swooning all over him. However, Parshuraman works as an IT professional in Canada and has neither the time nor the inclination to pursue romantic interests. While the only motivation driving his grandmother, aunt, and sister is to get him married before he finds himself a ‘gori’, or worse, is considered too old to marry a nice, young girl from a good Indian family. He has bigger issues vexing him, such as dealing with Jennifer Graham, his ‘fireball’ of a colleague from Mumbai who is always creating trouble for him. With Parshuraman facing unforeseen problems in his quest, will he still be able to find his perfect bride? Read the book to find out.

Vani’s book is an interestingly written story of Parashuraman and his family who are desperate to find a wife for him. The book is a basically written as Parashuraman’s interactions with the girls who his family finds and the chaos that ensues after he meets them. The book is propelled by the series of events that unfold after each meeting. What I loved about the book was its linear storytelling and the simple plot that keeps you entertained. The interactions between Parashuraman and the prospective brides have been penned in a funny way, and each of the suitor comes with their own set of quirks that add a nice flavor to the story. The interactions between Parashuraman, Reyman and Jennifer are interesting as well. What did not work for me in the book was the fact that it felt more like a collection of anecdotes connected by a common thread. While the story was good in the individual moments, the overall theme felt a little bleak, specially the second half of the book. The climax, though quite fitting, also felt a bit flat to me. While the cliche did add to the fun of the story, it felt a bit forced to me.

Coming to the characters, the book primarily focuses on Parashuraman and how his life has been. His character has been detailed and we see how his personality is influenced by his family as well as his lifestyle in Canada. The characters of Ragini, Parvati auntie and Parashuraman’s grandmother have been detailed quite nicely as well. What I felt was that Jennifer’s character could have been explored a bit more as well to add a layer to the storytelling and to establish her importance in the plot.

Overall, the book is a nice and light read which can interest anyone who wishes to pick up a book to have a good time. The book scores a 4.25/5 for me.

Get a copy of the book on Amazon India.