Book Review: How to Escape an Arranged Marriage in High Heels

How to Escape an Arranged Marriage in High Heels. Tanima Kazi. T. Kactus Publishing, May 11, 2015, Paperback and Kindle editions, 333 pages.

Reviewed by Ed Sarna.

How to Escape an Arranged Marriage in High Heels, the debut novel of Tanima Kazi, tells the story of Maya Khan, a 26 year-old Indian woman living in a Chicago suburb and dreading her impending arranged marriage. On the day of her wedding, while her parents stand at the front door awaiting the future bride, she shimmies down the back of her house from her second story bedroom in her sequined wedding sari. With the help of her best friend, Angie, Maya escapes only to come to the realization that she has no job or means of support (she had dropped out of college to work as a receptionist for her father), no place to live, and no boyfriend. Unfortunately, the worst is yet to come.

Not wanting to give too much away and spoil any of the hilarious moments, suffice it to say she steps into and out of misadventure after misadventure, from working as a hostess in a hookah lounge to impersonating an intern in order to work at the Tribune. She falls in with a rogue’s gallery of characters, and yet somehow manages to not only survive but also become a more complete version of herself. Anyone who has ever had a misstep in romantic, parent/child, or career-related relationships should easily bond with Maya. Her ability to summon up an inner strength she didn’t know she had kept me cheering her on.

The story unfolds at a rapid pace, alternating between heart tugging and knee slapping. I found myself rooting for Maya on one page, scratching my head on the next page when she is about to do something that everyone else in the world knows will be disastrous, and marveling a page later when she comes out on top. Her timing, while often accidental, is impeccable and her refusal to give up or give in is admirable. The cast of characters is well developed, and there are subplots woven throughout that are nicely resolved at the end. 

If you are looking for a fun way to spend some hours this the summer, I highly recommend reading How to Escape an Arranged Marriage in High Heels. I found it to be a fast read, but that might have been because I had a hard time putting it down. While romantic comedy is not the genre I would normally seek out, once I started reading I could not stop. Well done, Tanima.  I am looking forward to your next book.

Tanima Kazi was born in Dhaka, Bangladesh and currently resides in Wheeling, Illinois where she is working on her second novel.    

Book Review: Man Is a Disaster, Air Conditioning Is Divine

Man Is a Disaster, Air Conditioning Is Divine. Mitchel Karbin. Black Rose Writing September 4, 2014, Kindle and Trade Paperback, 276 pages.

Reviewed by R. H. King, Jr.

A man is being treated at a hospital for the criminally insane. He thinks that he is an immortal – the creator of God and the devil – and has named himself “Purevil.” He professes all-powerful, unbounded by concepts of good or evil, and capable of the most heinous acts without fear or regret. Purevil brutally kills a fellow patient and escapes, seeking revenge on Charles Winters, whom Purevil hates, and his wife Cleva, who previously had an affair with Purevil but then jilted him. To exact his revenge, Purevil kidnaps the couple’s fourteen-year-old daughter Chloe. A private detective, Sam, is retained to find Chloe. With the help of his longtime secretary/paramour, Sam sorts through the clues and soon discovers that the Winters are far from an ordinary family, and that Purevil is no ordinary madman. 

Despite its somewhat playful title, this novel is dark and macabre, with a dash of the erotic thrown in for good measure.  Much in this novel is not what it initially appears to be, which keeps the reader guessing and wanting to discover the reality of the situation. The writing style is clear and concise. Some of the dialogue, particularly between the private detective and his secretary/paramour, seems labored and contrived. Several times, I noticed that the author ended sentences in such dialogue with a preposition (such as “of”) – something for which my English professor would have rapped my knuckles. 

As a prologue to each chapter, the reader witnesses either a Purevil monologue or an exchange between Purevil and his psychiatrist. Initially, I found these prologues distracting, making it difficult to get the rhythm of the story for the first few chapters. In retrospect, these glimpses into Purevil’s mind appear designed to first confirm the utter lunacy that consumes him, and then later as the plot unfolds, make one wonder whether there is some truth to Purevil’s claims or whether Purevil is the only one who is insane. The novel concludes with some surprising revelations, but leaves these questions unanswered, suggesting a sequel will follow. 

This book will appeal to fans of Alfred Hitchcock (think Psycho) and the exploits of Hannibal Lector.  It is not for those who walked out in the middle of the Silence of the Lambs movie. 

Book Review: Broken Grace

Broken Grace. E.C. Diskin. Seattle: Thomas & Mercer, August 25, 2015, Trade Paperback, 308 pages.

Reviewed by Renee James. 

A Mystery That Grabs You and Won't Let Go

Broken Grace opens with a spate of sheer terror as Grace Abbott flees from an ominous, unseen pursuer, nearly dies in a car crash, and wakes up in a hospital with no idea who she is.

All this occurs in the first three pages, and the tension never relents in this five-star page turner from E.C. Diskin.

Diskin's debut novel, The Green Line, gave readers an insider look at corporate law and a thrilling tour of Chicago's shadowy western suburbs, along with a cracking good mystery built around a smart, vulnerable heroine. Broken Grace is even more compelling. Set in the small cities along the southwest Michigan shores of Lake Michigan, this story unfolds in quick, fast-moving scenes as Grace unravels the mysteries of who she is, whom she can trust, and who was responsible for a series of grisly murders in her family.

The cast of characters includes a dead fiancé—and Grace is a prime suspect in his death—a doting sister she doesn't recognize and feels uneasy about, a handsome cop who warms her heart, and a steady stream of characters that seem murky and, in many cases, a little (or a lot) bent. As we view these people through the eyes of Grace and the detectives investigating the fiancé's murder, we're completely engaged in Grace's story and trying to tell the good guys from the bad guys.

This is a masterfully crafted story in the best traditions of classical murder mysteries. Every scene adds tension to Grace's plight and ends at the edge of another emotional cliff, daring the reader to put the book down. The story zigs and zags without feeling contrived and reveals its truths in unpredictable leaps and starts, right up to and including the very last page.

If you love a fast-moving mystery that keeps you guessing, Broken Grace is highly recommended.

Book Review: A Groovy Kind of Love

A Groovy Kind of Love. Karen Wojcik Berner. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, December 10, 2014, Trade Paperback and E-Book, 316 pages.

Reviewed by Julie S. Halpern.

A Groovy Kind of Love is the third and last book of Karen Wojcik Bernerʼs Bibliophiles trilogy. This unlikely love story focuses on two free-spirited book- obsessed Naperville residents and their unconventional-yet-compelling relationship.

Thaddeus Mumblegarden IV is a fiftyish computer programmer and Anglophile. Raised in Naperville by his ambitious baseball coach dad, Thaddeus III, and long-suffering mom, Maureen, he was a prodigious athlete driven so hard to excel that he suffered physical injuries and abandoned playing. Thaddeus shares his mother’s love of the beautiful and esoteric. Bernerʼs loving description of the former Marshall Field's and downtown Chicago Public Library branch will bring back wonderful memories to readers who experienced these marvels as children. When the elder Mumblegarden refuses to pay for his son’s college unless he studies computers, Thaddeus ultimately opts for a successful, if unfulfilling, career in computer programming. After a failed college romance, he seems destined for eternal bachelorhood.

Spring Pearson, a lonely young woman raised by counterculture parents, has worked at Ambrosia, the family juice bar, since the age of five. While her parents are affectionate, they are also self-absorbed potheads who often leave their daughter to her own devices, creating an unusual family dynamic. At college Spring makes many friends, notably Joshua, a brilliant, ambitious young man bound for law school. While they never quite mesh as lovers, they make a vow to marry if they have not found spouses by the time Joshua is thirty-five and Spring thirty-four. After graduation, they fall out of touch.

Fast forward to the recent past: Spring and Thaddeus meet at a book club run by a warm-hearted eccentric, Edwina Hipplewhite. The club is an oasis for intellectuals seeking a creative outlet in suburban, family-oriented Naperville. They have an immediate attraction, eventually overcome their reticence, and fall in love. As they plan their future together, who should turn up but Joshua, now a high-powered Washington, D.C. attorney wanting to hold Spring to her long-ago vow.

The road to happiness for the bibliophiles proves to be challenging in unexpected ways. Spring is critically injured in a tragic accident and faces a long and difficult rehabilitation. Bernerʻs empathetic description of Springʼs recovery was inspiring. What a pleasure to read such a life-affirming novel. A Groovy Kind of Love is the perfect summer read.

Book Review: There’s a Hamster in the Dashboard – A Life in Pets

There’s a Hamster in the Dashboard – A Life in Pets. David W. Berner. Dream of Things, April 23, 2015, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 138 pages.

Reviewed by Gerry Souter.

Reading David’s book is akin to putting on a pair of old comfortable house slippers, scuffing out to the patio with a tasty beverage in hand, and slouching into a comfy chair to take up a conversation with an old friend. The tweedle and chirp of the birds is cut short as my frowsy 19-year-old cat, Hemingway strolls up to my chair and puts his head in my dangling hand for an ear fluff. David and I are both animal people. I‘ve had a cat sharing the house since I was nine years old. He’s a dog person, but his taste also runs to exotica as hinted at by his book’s title, “There’s a Hamster in the Dashboard.” He has a droll sense of whimsy that never reaches the sappy, kissy-kissy, and fawning oozing from many animal writers. He lets his critters be critters.

If there is a common thread to his collection of abbreviated short stories, it’s respect for the heartbeat that shares his space: the industry of the ant farm, the driven flexibility of the hamster, the loyalty of Mike the yellow Lab with gender issues, the determination of the box turtle, and admiration for the piranha–though he had to settle for an angelfish. This is only a partial list of the menagerie that has accompanied David on his life’s journey. Besides granting him wisdom concerning their individual worlds, his animal friends sharpened his tolerance and appreciation of the people around him including his savvy parents, policemen tangled in his goofy pre-teen indiscretions, the neighborhood Nazi dog poisoner who wasn’t, and the newspaper customer with a raging aversion to invisible dog poop on her lawn.

Berner understands that the love in the eyes of his canine chums is real, and not just a ploy for a chewy treat or a Frisbee toss. For an animal person, reading Berner’s book is a return to childhood and growing up with companions that truly mattered along the way. David’s book, There’s a Hamster in the Dashboard, is meant to be read and re-read.