Pride and Prejudice in Pakistan

Unmarriageable is a fun, light-hearted, enjoyable read. Fans of the Austen original (and let’s face it, who isn’t?) will easily recognise the characters and events, but there’s plenty of chai, chaat and other Pakistani delicacies to spice things up.

Plus, there’s something truly delightful about the re-casting of Alys and Darsee and Jena and Bungles, not to mention Sherry Looclus and Farhat Kaleen.

The story translates well to a society where marriage still provides a means of climbing the ladder for many young women (and occasionally men!) from less fortunate families; however, the novel has been updated with a healthy dose of feminism, as well as a more critical view of certain key players.

Bingley-aka-Bungles is unsympathetically portrayed as “weak-willed” (he does abandon Jena based purely on his friend’s and sisters’ conjecture), while Mr Binat is seen as rather hopelessly withdrawn from the world and his parenting duties.

Alys remains healthily spirited and ready to spar with Darsee at a moment’s notice though, and their relationship is as entertaining as its 19th century mould. The book will challenge your notions of contemporary Pakistan too and, penned by a Pakistani-American author, it offers some real insights into a culture we don’t have enough opportunity to read about outside of a war-and-natural-disasters context.

All in all, this book will make the perfect gift for P&P lovers – or the perfect way to treat yourself next time you’re looking to snuggle up with a good book over a cool winter weekend. Spoiler alert – happily ever afters are guaranteed!!

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