As the title says, the book is based on the trials of a family to set up their son/brother/grandson with a female successfully in midst of which tragedy aka recession strikes. I always read the reviews of other readers before writing my own review of a book and when I checked out goodreads for this book’s review, I was astounded at how many raving reviews the book has! Let me see what I have to say about it now.

The Recession Groom Book Review by Vani

My Review

Let me skip telling you the story! It is just what it says.

Now, let me get over my grouches. I always hate Indian slangs which is a big deterrent for me to read Indian authors. The repeated invocation to Lord Shiva could have been just replaced with Oh God which is more common in the regular vocabulary of Indians.

Another huge issue I had was the name confusion. Parshuraman, the protagonist. I was confused till almost the middle of the book whether he hails from a South Indian family settled in Chandigarh or was actually a North Indian. I think it comes from being a South Indian. And, it turns out that the protagonist is a Punjabi! I wish the matrimonial description would also include ‘Punjabi’ word.

Parshuraman Joshi, 27, handsome, Hindu-Brahmin, IT Professional, settled in Canada, earns a high-figure salary.

should probably have been

Parshuraman Joshi, 27, handsome, Punjabi Brahmin, IT Professional, settled in Canada, earns a high-figure salary.

No racism intended here. I would rather like to be clear about my protagonist so as to visualize him clearly. The language is simple and good. The story flow is smooth and non-repetitive or huge on details. The protagonist is relate-able but the rest of the story not so much.

The second half of the book is a Bollywood movie with a twist in the story which has no relation with the first half and climax is somewhat akin to I, Me aur Main movie which starred John Abraham, Chitrangda and Prachi. No, the movie was not a hit but guess its songs were good.

The characters in the book are not well-developed. There are a few story lines which have been just wrapped up without complete conclusion. The one glaring thing I would say which happened in the climax.

Aunt Parvati and her daughter Anna went to meet the groom Bill and bride Jeniffer the day after they were supposed to fly to Hawaii. And, they meet them in San Jose itself as far as I could make out.

Back Cover of the Book

My Verdict

I am not sure if I would recommend the book. This one of the easy reads and you can carry it for a journey. But, I am sure you would love the book if you love light reads and rom-coms with plenty of humor and twists thrown in.

About the Author

I was born in Garian, Libya, in a traditional Hindu Punjabi family. My parents prized good education above all else, and when I was still small, they decided to move base to Chandigarh,a modern city in the North of India, famed for its educational institutions. As a child, I loved reading, but writing stories of my own never occurred to me, much like everything else. Becoming a doctor wasn’t an option, for the very sight of blood made me retch. Mathematics and Excel sheets bored me no end, leaving Humanities as a last resort. I could easily compete for the civil services, my parents reasoned, although, sitting for an exam with a million potential candidates vying for one job didn’t make much sense to me. Fortunately, life took a better turn and it was a Masters degree in Economics alongside a programme in Mass Communications that set my foundation for a career in business journalism. Luckily, I got to work in some of the best organizations in India, like ‘The Times of India’ and ‘The Financial Express’. In 2004, I was hit with the desire to write a novel. However, a few drafts and several ideas later, I gave it all up to pursue an MBA degree from Kingston University in London. Of course, I dreamt about MNC firms coveting me, the Deloittes and the McKinseys of the world chasing me with multiple job offers, the likes of Accenture begging me to work for them. The reality was quite different. The completion of my course coincided with the start of global recession and my dreams could never be realized. My situation, nevertheless, prompted me to write my first fiction novel, The Recession Groom.