The author of the bestselling book, The Windfall, Diksha Basu, is back with another funny and exciting book, Destination Wedding. But the book is not at all about the wedding. Well, it does involve a big fat Indian wedding. However, you only see the bride and groom a few times during the whole wedding (which, just saying, ends up happening at most Indian weddings!). The main characters of the book are the Das family: Neel Das (the father), Radha Das (the mother), and Tina Das (their daughter) exploring themselves as they return to India after a very, very long time. This book represents India well and does tell you some of the most fundamental things about Indian society. But it does have its faults here and there.
First, let’s dive into the relationship between Neel and Radha, who are happily divorced. Radha currently has a boyfriend, David Smith, and Neel just started dating again. Now, these “boyfriend/girlfriend” relationships between the parents were a little uncomfortable to read. As a nineteen-year-old, I can never imagine my parents dating again. Hell, I can’t even imagine them being romantic around me. It’s a very Indian thing. But parents not only giving each other dating advice but also exploring their love lives in their 60s made me realize that life isn’t over when you are 30. That’s one thing I learned from this book – you can find romance anytime in your life. There is no fixed age for it.
However, I do have my reservations for the parents’ relationship because Radha’s introduction was (for me) made her an unlikeable character. Even though she is fierce, independent, and smart, I had to put in extra effort to like her. The same is not true for Neel, whom I liked and sympathized with instantly. I found the interaction between both Radha and Neel civil, fun, and many times wholesome. (Also, I never knew older people finding romance could be SO FUN TO READ!)
Now let’s talk about a problematic character: the protagonist, Tina Das. She is an American-born Indian who has an ongoing identity crisis and doesn’t know if she “fits” in anywhere i.e in America or in India. If you look at the timeline of the book, it’s clear that Tina was born at the time when not many Indians migrated to the US, hence her identity crisis is understandable. But she was also immature, a bit narcissist, and annoying along with her best friend, Marianne. She wanted to feel more “Indian” during this wedding, but she continuously fetishsizes India’s poverty (one example being, when she kept on “crushing” over Sid, a personal trainer from Dharavi) rather than immersing herself in India’s beauty and culture. She also thought of herself as a “bigger” person every time she made a “donation” (giving Rs. 500 note) to any needy person. She is a thirty-two year old woman with an almost dead career. Marianne is no better than her, as she confused me so much with her love life. As she claimed to be in love with Tom but thought he was boring and she needed some “adventurous” guy (and made mistakes). Although I am happy that Marianne got good character development, I only wished Tina had the same. Her character development was little, and of no significance.
Despite the faults in characters, Basu’s writing is extremely engaging and fun. She brings even the side characters to life and gives them depth (and backstory!). This book is genuinely insightful and touching and shows how India is divided, especially in a metropolitan area like Delhi. With some hilarious moments to heartwarming revelations, I would say this book was entertaining (despite all the complicated things). I won’t say the positive moments outweigh the characters’ negative personalities. Still, it somehow managed to capture the bigger picture and tell us stories of many characters at once, without it feeling overwhelming. Not to mention, this is the only book I read (so far) which represents happily divorced couples!
I would suggest you go for this book! The opinion can be very subjective, because I am very much familiar with Indian culture, and I know some things mentioned in the book are quite unrealistic, but it is a fun read. Some of the most annoying and funny characters like Bubbles Trivedi, Rajesh, Karan, etc. are quite memorable. Despite the uneasiness of the book, I still couldn’t put it down.
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