Patty's Reviews > The Newlyweds

The Newlyweds
By 
Nell Freudenberger

In a nutshell...

George and Amina meet through an online dating service.  George is a rather stiff American.  Amina comes from Bangladesh.  They meet.  They marry.  Confusion reigns.

My thoughts after reading...

I felt immersed in George and Amina's issues as I read this lovely book.  The book is about how they came together and their efforts to stay together when Amina discovers that George has kept something from her.  It is an insight into what it is like for someone from a totally different culture to come to grips with life in America.  Amina's discoveries and trials are sweet and funny.  I loved her relationship with her parents as she tries to earn money and get George to understand that her parents will eventually come to live with them.  She does not want children until her mother is there to help her raise them.  Amina is sweet, funny, likable and naive.  She tries to make everyone happy.  George is sort of dry and does not seem to have a sense of humor.  I have a mental picture of Amina being petite and pretty while George is pale and rather dull.  I had doubts about their relationship from the beginning...it seemed sort of sparkless and odd.

What I loved about this book...

Oh my gosh...I loved Amina and her parents...her father seemed like an aging juvenile delinquent.  He was forever scheming get rich plans and his life and finances were always on the edge of disaster...thus making life difficult for Amina and her mom.  I loved reading about the "Desh" traditions...bathing in a pond, scrubbing with clay, living in one room or with relatives.  I loved getting to know the many and varied family members and all of their opinions about everything!  This includes George's family, too.

What I did not love...

Not a huge fan of George...he seemed too dispassionate.  I hated his secrets from Amina.
He just seemed so dull!  Not a huge fan of his cousin, either...she was too dishonest and weird!

Final thoughts about this book...

This book was a total lovely surprise for me...loved the writing, loved the clash of cultures, 
loved the gentle humor.  Loved the ending.  Loved  Amina's strength, humor, and growth.  Loved pretty much the entire tidy fun little book package called The Newlyweds!