An intimate and entertaining glimpse into the life of a young Muslim American woman whose family wants her married. Now! You’ll want to read this in one sitting.” — Susan Elizabeth Phillips, New York Times bestselling author
“Please cancel your weekend plans, because once you dive into The Marriage Clock, it’ll be impossible to tear yourself away. This romantic and insightful book introduces us to Leila Abid, who’s torn between her traditional parents trying to arrange her marriage and her own desire for agency.” — Cosmopolitan
“The Marriage Clock is a warm, funny debut novel about love, how we find it, and how we can keep it.” — Popsugar
“Zara Raheem’s The Marriage Clock, however, takes a unique and charming look at the beliefs we hold in regard to love and marriage. And that’s precisely why readers should be adding this novel to their August TBR piles.” — Culturess
“Raheem’s debut uses chick-lit tropes to smartly skewer modern ways of dating and to bring humor to more traditional South Asian ones.” — Booklist
“So fresh and charming and fun! I adored being in Leila’s world, from her girls’ nights with her friends to her conversations with her loving, pressuring parents to her many first dates. What a joy to read.” — Julia Phillips, author of Disappearing Earth
“Zara Raheem’s The Marriage Clock is a unique, beautiful story about a woman coming to accept herself – and the notion that maybe marriage isn’t everything.” — All About Romance
“Raheem dedicates the book to every woman who has ever been told she wasn’t enough. In the face of ubiquitous cultural traditions that measure a woman’s worth by her marriageability, Leila’s journey shows us that the true measure of a woman’s worth is that she values herself.” — BookTrib
Raheem dedicates the book to every woman who has ever been told she wasn’t enough. In the face of ubiquitous cultural traditions that measure a woman’s worth by her marriageability, Leila’s journey shows us that the true measure of a woman’s worth is that she values herself.
So fresh and charming and fun! I adored being in Leila’s world, from her girls’ nights with her friends to her conversations with her loving, pressuring parents to her many first dates. What a joy to read.
An intimate and entertaining glimpse into the life of a young Muslim American woman whose family wants her married. Now! You’ll want to read this in one sitting.
The Marriage Clock is a warm, funny debut novel about love, how we find it, and how we can keep it.
Please cancel your weekend plans, because once you dive into The Marriage Clock, it’ll be impossible to tear yourself away. This romantic and insightful book introduces us to Leila Abid, who’s torn between her traditional parents trying to arrange her marriage and her own desire for agency.
Zara Raheem’s The Marriage Clock is a unique, beautiful story about a woman coming to accept herself – and the notion that maybe marriage isn’t everything.
Zara Raheem’s The Marriage Clock, however, takes a unique and charming look at the beliefs we hold in regard to love and marriage. And that’s precisely why readers should be adding this novel to their August TBR piles.
Raheem’s debut uses chick-lit tropes to smartly skewer modern ways of dating and to bring humor to more traditional South Asian ones.
Raheem’s debut uses chick-lit tropes to smartly skewer modern ways of dating and to bring humor to more traditional South Asian ones.
Please cancel your weekend plans, because once you dive into The Marriage Clock, it’ll be impossible to tear yourself away. This romantic and insightful book introduces us to Leila Abid, who’s torn between her traditional parents trying to arrange her marriage and her own desire for agency.
In this fresh, captivating audiobook, narrator Ariana Delawari gives a bright voice to 26-year-old Leila Abid, an American-born Indian Muslim who has been given three months to find a husband—or her parents will find one for her. As naïve Leila wades through months of dreadful dates, well-meaning aunties, and an overbearing matriarch, Delawari draws in listeners with her distinctive accents and simple characterizations. She gracefully captures Leila's turmoil as she struggles to find the delicate balance between following cultural expectations and choosing her own desires. With smooth enunciation and a steady voice, Delawari skillfully sets an even pace and leaves listeners eager to discover whom Leila will choose in the end. E.P. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
In this fresh, captivating audiobook, narrator Ariana Delawari gives a bright voice to 26-year-old Leila Abid, an American-born Indian Muslim who has been given three months to find a husband—or her parents will find one for her. As naïve Leila wades through months of dreadful dates, well-meaning aunties, and an overbearing matriarch, Delawari draws in listeners with her distinctive accents and simple characterizations. She gracefully captures Leila's turmoil as she struggles to find the delicate balance between following cultural expectations and choosing her own desires. With smooth enunciation and a steady voice, Delawari skillfully sets an even pace and leaves listeners eager to discover whom Leila will choose in the end. E.P. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
2019-04-28
A South Asian Muslim woman who grew up in Los Angeles has three months to find a husband before her parents plan to arrange a marriage for her.
Leila Abid is the American-born daughter of Indian parents who have been happily married for almost 30 years. At 26, nondrinking Leila has been enjoying her quiet routine—work, regular Tuesday night hangouts with her friends—and everything in her life has unfolded nicely. Even if she is still living with her parents. But when her parents announce that they will arrange her marriage because of her advanced age, she negotiates a three-month reprieve while she looks for a suitable Muslim man to marry who makes both her and her parents happy. She is not a traditional South Asian Muslim, and her American independence is not something she's willing to compromise on despite her interest in a grand Bollywood-esque love story, as she continually tells herself, her family, and her friends. Leila's thought processes as she grapples with who she is, who her parents are, and what it means to be a Muslim woman jostle for narrative attention in between a series of awkward and uncomfortable dates. The first half of the book is choppy and repetitive while Leila is in Los Angeles, but when she travels to India with her mother for a cousin's wedding, the story settles into itself and the lush heat, rich food, and sense of community that surrounds the three-day nuptials. Unfortunately, Leila's final decision packs little punch.
Readers expecting a typical fairy-tale ending will be surprised.
