<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<GoodreadsResponse>
	<Request>
		<authentication>false</authentication>
		    <method><![CDATA[]]></method>
	</Request>
	
<book>
  <id>2524055</id>
  <title><![CDATA[Love Marriage: A Novel]]></title>
  <isbn><![CDATA[1400066697]]></isbn>
  <isbn13><![CDATA[9781400066698]]></isbn13>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <description><![CDATA[In this globe-scattered Sri Lankan family, we speak of only two kinds of marriage. The first is the Arranged Marriage. The second is the Love Marriage. In reality, there is a whole spectrum in between, but most of us spend years running away from the first toward the second. [p. 3]<br/><br/>The daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants who left their collapsing country and married in America, Yalini finds herself caught between the traditions of her ancestors and the lure of her own modern world. But when she is summoned to Toronto to help care for her dying uncle, Kumaran, a former member of the militant Tamil Tigers, Yalini is forced to see that violence is not a relic of the Sri Lankan past, but very much a part of her Western present.<br/><br/>While Kumaran’s loved ones gather around him to say goodbye, Yalini traces her family’s roots–and the conflicts facing them as ethnic Tamils–through a series of marriages. Now, as Kumaran’s death and his daughter’s politically motivated nuptials edge closer, Yalini must decide where she stands. <br/><br/>Lyrical and innovative, V. V. Ganeshananthan’s novel brilliantly unfolds how generations of struggle both form and fractures families. <br/><br/><strong><u>Praise for <em>Love Marriage</em></u></strong><br/>“A beautiful first novel. This intricately woven tale, with its universal themes of love and estrangement, presents an exciting new voice in American literature.” <br/>–Yiyun Li, author of <em>A Thousand Years of Good Prayers</em><br/><br/>“Complex and moving . . . an impressive debut.”<br/>–Daniel Alarcón, author of <em>Lost City Radio   </em><br/><br/>“V. V. Ganeshananthan has given us a riveting picture of the intersections of love and war that shape us all. A debut of incredible passion and wisdom.” <br/>–Rebecca Johns, author of <em>Icebergs</em><br/><br/>“At its best and simplest, Ganeshananthan can be profoundly moving. She captures the pain of exile poignantly.”  --<em>The San Francisco Chronicle</em><br/>“Ganeshananthan has created a slow-burning and beautifully written debut in Love Marriage.  It is an evocative examination of Sri Lankan cultural mores, and the way one family is affected by love and war” — <em>The Financial Times</em><br/>“Poignant and authentic…. Insight gained into Toronto's Tamil community is a welcome bonus in this gem of a book by a young writer who is sure to present more thought-provoking, entertaining prose in the future.” --<em>The Toronto Star</em><br/>“The book is at times witty and always beautifully written” — <em>The Irish Times</em><br/><em><br/></em>&quot;Innovative….this is an ambitious family drama about an underreported part of the world, filled with well-shaded characters [and] gorgeous flourish…Buy it.&quot;  -- <em>New York Magazine</em><br/><br/>&quot;As if she were stringing a necklace of bright beads, the author relates the stories of Yalini's Sri Lankan forebears in lapidary folkloric narratives…What she does here, she does quite affectingly.&quot;  -- <em>The Boston Globe </em><br/><br/>&quot;In spare, lyrical prose, V.V. Ganeshananthan's debut novel tells the story of two Sri Lankan Tamil families over four generations who, despite civil war and displacement, are irrevocably joined by marriage and tradition….Powerful.&quot; -- <em>Ms. Magazine<br/></em>]]></description>
  <work>
  <best_book_id type="integer">2524055</best_book_id>
  <books_count type="integer">4</books_count>
  <desc_user_id type="integer" nil="true"></desc_user_id>
  <id type="integer">2531559</id>
  <media_type>book</media_type>
  <original_language_id type="integer" nil="true"></original_language_id>
  <original_publication_day type="integer">8</original_publication_day>
  <original_publication_month type="integer">4</original_publication_month>
  <original_publication_year type="integer">2008</original_publication_year>
  <original_title>Love Marriage: A Novel</original_title>
  <rating_dist>total:132|5:14|4:48|3:54|2:14|1:2|</rating_dist>
  <ratings_count type="integer">132</ratings_count>
  <ratings_sum type="integer">454</ratings_sum>
  <reviews_count type="integer">278</reviews_count>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">50</text_reviews_count>
</work>

  <average_rating><![CDATA[3.44]]></average_rating>
  <ratings_count><![CDATA[131]]></ratings_count>
  <text_reviews_count><![CDATA[49]]></text_reviews_count>
  
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2524055.Love_Marriage_A_Novel]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2524055.Love_Marriage_A_Novel]]></link>
  <authors>
    <author>
    <id>1118095</id>
        <name><![CDATA[V.V. Ganeshananthan]]></name>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-200x266.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/1118095.V_V_Ganeshananthan]]></link>
    <average_rating>3.44</average_rating>
    <ratings_count>132</ratings_count>
    <text_reviews_count>50</text_reviews_count>
  </author>
  </authors>
    <reviews start="1" end="20" total="278">
      <review>
  <id>29781642</id>
    <user>
    <id>261662</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Christa]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Shreveport, LA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/261662-christa]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1210644139p3/261662.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1210644139p2/261662.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">2524055</id>
  <isbn>1400066697</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781400066698</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">49</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Love Marriage: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2524055.Love_Marriage_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.44</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>131</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In this globe-scattered Sri Lankan family, we speak of only two kinds of marriage. The first is the Arranged Marriage. The second is the Love Marriage. In reality, there is a whole spectrum in between, but most of us spend years running away from the first toward the second. [p. 3]<br/><br/>The daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants who left their collapsing country and married in America, Yalini finds herself caught between the traditions of her ancestors and the lure of her own modern world. But when she is summoned to Toronto to help care for her dying uncle, Kumaran, a former member of the militant Tamil Tigers, Yalini is forced to see that violence is not a relic of the Sri Lankan past, but very much a part of her Western present.<br/><br/>While Kumaran’s loved ones gather around him to say goodbye, Yalini traces her family’s roots–and the conflicts facing them as ethnic Tamils–through a series of marriages. Now, as Kumaran’s death and his daughter’s politically motivated nuptials edge closer, Yalini must decide where she stands. <br/><br/>Lyrical and innovative, V. V. Ganeshananthan’s novel brilliantly unfolds how generations of struggle both form and fractures families. <br/><br/><strong><u>Praise for <em>Love Marriage</em></u></strong><br/>“A beautiful first novel. This intricately woven tale, with its universal themes of love and estrangement, presents an exciting new voice in American literature.” <br/>–Yiyun Li, author of <em>A Thousand Years of Good Prayers</em><br/><br/>“Complex and moving . . . an impressive debut.”<br/>–Daniel Alarcón, author of <em>Lost City Radio   </em><br/><br/>“V. V. Ganeshananthan has given us a riveting picture of the intersections of love and war that shape us all. A debut of incredible passion and wisdom.” <br/>–Rebecca Johns, author of <em>Icebergs</em><br/><br/>“At its best and simplest, Ganeshananthan can be profoundly moving. She captures the pain of exile poignantly.”  --<em>The San Francisco Chronicle</em><br/>“Ganeshananthan has created a slow-burning and beautifully written debut in Love Marriage.  It is an evocative examination of Sri Lankan cultural mores, and the way one family is affected by love and war” — <em>The Financial Times</em><br/>“Poignant and authentic…. Insight gained into Toronto's Tamil community is a welcome bonus in this gem of a book by a young writer who is sure to present more thought-provoking, entertaining prose in the future.” --<em>The Toronto Star</em><br/>“The book is at times witty and always beautifully written” — <em>The Irish Times</em><br/><em><br/></em>&quot;Innovative….this is an ambitious family drama about an underreported part of the world, filled with well-shaded characters [and] gorgeous flourish…Buy it.&quot;  -- <em>New York Magazine</em><br/><br/>&quot;As if she were stringing a necklace of bright beads, the author relates the stories of Yalini's Sri Lankan forebears in lapidary folkloric narratives…What she does here, she does quite affectingly.&quot;  -- <em>The Boston Globe </em><br/><br/>&quot;In spare, lyrical prose, V.V. Ganeshananthan's debut novel tells the story of two Sri Lankan Tamil families over four generations who, despite civil war and displacement, are irrevocably joined by marriage and tradition….Powerful.&quot; -- <em>Ms. Magazine<br/></em>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="library" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Sep 24 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Aug 10 14:12:23 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Sep 24 17:08:17 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This was an interesting novel written from the perspective of a young girl who was born in America of Sri Lankan parents.  The main character, Yalini, is the only child of  parents who met after they each left Sri Lanka and settled in the United States.  The book is written in very short chapters th...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29781642">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29781642]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/29781642]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>20082874</id>
    <user>
    <id>141804</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Ashley]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Rutland, MA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/141804-ashley]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1194808516p3/141804.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1194808516p2/141804.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">7317021</id>
  <isbn nil="true"></isbn>
  <isbn13 nil="true"></isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">1</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Love Marriage: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1260755906m/7317021.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1260755906s/7317021.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7317021-love-marriage</link>
  <average_rating>3.00</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>1</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[<strong>This is the ARC edition, not the published paperback edition.</strong>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>1</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="arc" />
        <shelf name="books-i-own" />
        <shelf name="fiction" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri May 30 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Apr 13 16:25:17 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Dec 13 17:58:50 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[(3 1/2 stars)<br/><br/>Love Marriage was certainly a solid first novel.  Ganeshananthan explores not only the life of a young Sri Lankan woman living in America, but also the lives of several generations of her family and the history of her country.  <br/><br/>One thing I enjoyed about this nove...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20082874">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20082874]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/20082874]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>69789123</id>
    <user>
    <id>147605</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Beth]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Minneapolis, MN]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/147605-beth]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1204901191p3/147605.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1204901191p2/147605.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">2524055</id>
  <isbn>1400066697</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781400066698</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">49</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Love Marriage: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2524055.Love_Marriage_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.44</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>132</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In this globe-scattered Sri Lankan family, we speak of only two kinds of marriage. The first is the Arranged Marriage. The second is the Love Marriage. In reality, there is a whole spectrum in between, but most of us spend years running away from the first toward the second. [p. 3]<br/><br/>The daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants who left their collapsing country and married in America, Yalini finds herself caught between the traditions of her ancestors and the lure of her own modern world. But when she is summoned to Toronto to help care for her dying uncle, Kumaran, a former member of the militant Tamil Tigers, Yalini is forced to see that violence is not a relic of the Sri Lankan past, but very much a part of her Western present.<br/><br/>While Kumaran’s loved ones gather around him to say goodbye, Yalini traces her family’s roots–and the conflicts facing them as ethnic Tamils–through a series of marriages. Now, as Kumaran’s death and his daughter’s politically motivated nuptials edge closer, Yalini must decide where she stands. <br/><br/>Lyrical and innovative, V. V. Ganeshananthan’s novel brilliantly unfolds how generations of struggle both form and fractures families. <br/><br/><strong><u>Praise for <em>Love Marriage</em></u></strong><br/>“A beautiful first novel. This intricately woven tale, with its universal themes of love and estrangement, presents an exciting new voice in American literature.” <br/>–Yiyun Li, author of <em>A Thousand Years of Good Prayers</em><br/><br/>“Complex and moving . . . an impressive debut.”<br/>–Daniel Alarcón, author of <em>Lost City Radio   </em><br/><br/>“V. V. Ganeshananthan has given us a riveting picture of the intersections of love and war that shape us all. A debut of incredible passion and wisdom.” <br/>–Rebecca Johns, author of <em>Icebergs</em><br/><br/>“At its best and simplest, Ganeshananthan can be profoundly moving. She captures the pain of exile poignantly.”  --<em>The San Francisco Chronicle</em><br/>“Ganeshananthan has created a slow-burning and beautifully written debut in Love Marriage.  It is an evocative examination of Sri Lankan cultural mores, and the way one family is affected by love and war” — <em>The Financial Times</em><br/>“Poignant and authentic…. Insight gained into Toronto's Tamil community is a welcome bonus in this gem of a book by a young writer who is sure to present more thought-provoking, entertaining prose in the future.” --<em>The Toronto Star</em><br/>“The book is at times witty and always beautifully written” — <em>The Irish Times</em><br/><em><br/></em>&quot;Innovative….this is an ambitious family drama about an underreported part of the world, filled with well-shaded characters [and] gorgeous flourish…Buy it.&quot;  -- <em>New York Magazine</em><br/><br/>&quot;As if she were stringing a necklace of bright beads, the author relates the stories of Yalini's Sri Lankan forebears in lapidary folkloric narratives…What she does here, she does quite affectingly.&quot;  -- <em>The Boston Globe </em><br/><br/>&quot;In spare, lyrical prose, V.V. Ganeshananthan's debut novel tells the story of two Sri Lankan Tamil families over four generations who, despite civil war and displacement, are irrevocably joined by marriage and tradition….Powerful.&quot; -- <em>Ms. Magazine<br/></em>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="literary_fiction" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Sep 02 06:12:16 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Wed Sep 02 06:19:36 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[A novel and a meditation on the role of marriage in Sri Lankan culture, especially in the diaspora. The author uses an unusual structure in her book--not typical chapters, but sections of a few pages or less with the beginnings indicated by type treatment only. As a book designer I appreciated the s...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69789123">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69789123]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/69789123]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>50114500</id>
    <user>
    <id>2152288</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Elissa]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[West Palm Beach, FL]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2152288-elissa]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1239632197p3/2152288.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1239632197p2/2152288.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">2524055</id>
  <isbn>1400066697</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781400066698</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">49</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Love Marriage: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2524055.Love_Marriage_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.44</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>132</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In this globe-scattered Sri Lankan family, we speak of only two kinds of marriage. The first is the Arranged Marriage. The second is the Love Marriage. In reality, there is a whole spectrum in between, but most of us spend years running away from the first toward the second. [p. 3]<br/><br/>The daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants who left their collapsing country and married in America, Yalini finds herself caught between the traditions of her ancestors and the lure of her own modern world. But when she is summoned to Toronto to help care for her dying uncle, Kumaran, a former member of the militant Tamil Tigers, Yalini is forced to see that violence is not a relic of the Sri Lankan past, but very much a part of her Western present.<br/><br/>While Kumaran’s loved ones gather around him to say goodbye, Yalini traces her family’s roots–and the conflicts facing them as ethnic Tamils–through a series of marriages. Now, as Kumaran’s death and his daughter’s politically motivated nuptials edge closer, Yalini must decide where she stands. <br/><br/>Lyrical and innovative, V. V. Ganeshananthan’s novel brilliantly unfolds how generations of struggle both form and fractures families. <br/><br/><strong><u>Praise for <em>Love Marriage</em></u></strong><br/>“A beautiful first novel. This intricately woven tale, with its universal themes of love and estrangement, presents an exciting new voice in American literature.” <br/>–Yiyun Li, author of <em>A Thousand Years of Good Prayers</em><br/><br/>“Complex and moving . . . an impressive debut.”<br/>–Daniel Alarcón, author of <em>Lost City Radio   </em><br/><br/>“V. V. Ganeshananthan has given us a riveting picture of the intersections of love and war that shape us all. A debut of incredible passion and wisdom.” <br/>–Rebecca Johns, author of <em>Icebergs</em><br/><br/>“At its best and simplest, Ganeshananthan can be profoundly moving. She captures the pain of exile poignantly.”  --<em>The San Francisco Chronicle</em><br/>“Ganeshananthan has created a slow-burning and beautifully written debut in Love Marriage.  It is an evocative examination of Sri Lankan cultural mores, and the way one family is affected by love and war” — <em>The Financial Times</em><br/>“Poignant and authentic…. Insight gained into Toronto's Tamil community is a welcome bonus in this gem of a book by a young writer who is sure to present more thought-provoking, entertaining prose in the future.” --<em>The Toronto Star</em><br/>“The book is at times witty and always beautifully written” — <em>The Irish Times</em><br/><em><br/></em>&quot;Innovative….this is an ambitious family drama about an underreported part of the world, filled with well-shaded characters [and] gorgeous flourish…Buy it.&quot;  -- <em>New York Magazine</em><br/><br/>&quot;As if she were stringing a necklace of bright beads, the author relates the stories of Yalini's Sri Lankan forebears in lapidary folkloric narratives…What she does here, she does quite affectingly.&quot;  -- <em>The Boston Globe </em><br/><br/>&quot;In spare, lyrical prose, V.V. Ganeshananthan's debut novel tells the story of two Sri Lankan Tamil families over four generations who, despite civil war and displacement, are irrevocably joined by marriage and tradition….Powerful.&quot; -- <em>Ms. Magazine<br/></em>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Mar 22 18:10:41 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Mar 22 18:13:30 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I wrote a longer review on this, then facebook lost my goodreads acct... can't recreate it... but simply put, this was a fabulous opportunity for a writer to give insight inside the Tamil Tigers, and is horribly disappointing for being so poorly written.  The writer tries to do that &quot;I'm being ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/50114500">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/50114500]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/50114500]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>45559795</id>
    <user>
    <id>1888594</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Claire]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Minneapolis, MN]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1888594-claire-s]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1235005193p3/1888594.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1235005193p2/1888594.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">2524055</id>
  <isbn>1400066697</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781400066698</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">49</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Love Marriage: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2524055.Love_Marriage_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.44</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>132</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In this globe-scattered Sri Lankan family, we speak of only two kinds of marriage. The first is the Arranged Marriage. The second is the Love Marriage. In reality, there is a whole spectrum in between, but most of us spend years running away from the first toward the second. [p. 3]<br/><br/>The daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants who left their collapsing country and married in America, Yalini finds herself caught between the traditions of her ancestors and the lure of her own modern world. But when she is summoned to Toronto to help care for her dying uncle, Kumaran, a former member of the militant Tamil Tigers, Yalini is forced to see that violence is not a relic of the Sri Lankan past, but very much a part of her Western present.<br/><br/>While Kumaran’s loved ones gather around him to say goodbye, Yalini traces her family’s roots–and the conflicts facing them as ethnic Tamils–through a series of marriages. Now, as Kumaran’s death and his daughter’s politically motivated nuptials edge closer, Yalini must decide where she stands. <br/><br/>Lyrical and innovative, V. V. Ganeshananthan’s novel brilliantly unfolds how generations of struggle both form and fractures families. <br/><br/><strong><u>Praise for <em>Love Marriage</em></u></strong><br/>“A beautiful first novel. This intricately woven tale, with its universal themes of love and estrangement, presents an exciting new voice in American literature.” <br/>–Yiyun Li, author of <em>A Thousand Years of Good Prayers</em><br/><br/>“Complex and moving . . . an impressive debut.”<br/>–Daniel Alarcón, author of <em>Lost City Radio   </em><br/><br/>“V. V. Ganeshananthan has given us a riveting picture of the intersections of love and war that shape us all. A debut of incredible passion and wisdom.” <br/>–Rebecca Johns, author of <em>Icebergs</em><br/><br/>“At its best and simplest, Ganeshananthan can be profoundly moving. She captures the pain of exile poignantly.”  --<em>The San Francisco Chronicle</em><br/>“Ganeshananthan has created a slow-burning and beautifully written debut in Love Marriage.  It is an evocative examination of Sri Lankan cultural mores, and the way one family is affected by love and war” — <em>The Financial Times</em><br/>“Poignant and authentic…. Insight gained into Toronto's Tamil community is a welcome bonus in this gem of a book by a young writer who is sure to present more thought-provoking, entertaining prose in the future.” --<em>The Toronto Star</em><br/>“The book is at times witty and always beautifully written” — <em>The Irish Times</em><br/><em><br/></em>&quot;Innovative….this is an ambitious family drama about an underreported part of the world, filled with well-shaded characters [and] gorgeous flourish…Buy it.&quot;  -- <em>New York Magazine</em><br/><br/>&quot;As if she were stringing a necklace of bright beads, the author relates the stories of Yalini's Sri Lankan forebears in lapidary folkloric narratives…What she does here, she does quite affectingly.&quot;  -- <em>The Boston Globe </em><br/><br/>&quot;In spare, lyrical prose, V.V. Ganeshananthan's debut novel tells the story of two Sri Lankan Tamil families over four generations who, despite civil war and displacement, are irrevocably joined by marriage and tradition….Powerful.&quot; -- <em>Ms. Magazine<br/></em>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="--id-constructs----race--gender" />
        <shelf name="fiction" />
        <shelf name="form_complexia" />
        <shelf name="f_interpretations" />
        <shelf name="f_truth-mixt-q" />
        <shelf name="global" />
        <shelf name="g_india-and--" />
        <shelf name="historical" />
        <shelf name="novel" />
        <shelf name="on-writing" />
        <shelf name="pol-historical" />
        <shelf name="politics-learning" />
        <shelf name="pov-content_indian-am" />
        <shelf name="psyche--of" />
        <shelf name="religion-morality" />
        <shelf name="sobriety-spirituality" />
        <shelf name="unplsnt" />
        <shelf name="war-mltry-conflt-occ" />
        <shelf name="women" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[People interested in the ideas explored (listed in review).]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Feb 06 09:28:52 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat May 02 06:13:10 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count>1</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Love and Marriage: Review<br/><br/><br/>This review may contain spoilers, I didn’t check that box because it isn’t really that kind of book. However if you’re a reader who likes to know things only via the author, and beforehand to know only what’s on the book covers, you probably don’t...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45559795">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45559795]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/45559795]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>37152250</id>
    <user>
    <id>1693924</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Jlelliott]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1693924-jlelliott]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-U-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">2524055</id>
  <isbn>1400066697</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781400066698</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">49</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Love Marriage: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2524055.Love_Marriage_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.44</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>132</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In this globe-scattered Sri Lankan family, we speak of only two kinds of marriage. The first is the Arranged Marriage. The second is the Love Marriage. In reality, there is a whole spectrum in between, but most of us spend years running away from the first toward the second. [p. 3]<br/><br/>The daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants who left their collapsing country and married in America, Yalini finds herself caught between the traditions of her ancestors and the lure of her own modern world. But when she is summoned to Toronto to help care for her dying uncle, Kumaran, a former member of the militant Tamil Tigers, Yalini is forced to see that violence is not a relic of the Sri Lankan past, but very much a part of her Western present.<br/><br/>While Kumaran’s loved ones gather around him to say goodbye, Yalini traces her family’s roots–and the conflicts facing them as ethnic Tamils–through a series of marriages. Now, as Kumaran’s death and his daughter’s politically motivated nuptials edge closer, Yalini must decide where she stands. <br/><br/>Lyrical and innovative, V. V. Ganeshananthan’s novel brilliantly unfolds how generations of struggle both form and fractures families. <br/><br/><strong><u>Praise for <em>Love Marriage</em></u></strong><br/>“A beautiful first novel. This intricately woven tale, with its universal themes of love and estrangement, presents an exciting new voice in American literature.” <br/>–Yiyun Li, author of <em>A Thousand Years of Good Prayers</em><br/><br/>“Complex and moving . . . an impressive debut.”<br/>–Daniel Alarcón, author of <em>Lost City Radio   </em><br/><br/>“V. V. Ganeshananthan has given us a riveting picture of the intersections of love and war that shape us all. A debut of incredible passion and wisdom.” <br/>–Rebecca Johns, author of <em>Icebergs</em><br/><br/>“At its best and simplest, Ganeshananthan can be profoundly moving. She captures the pain of exile poignantly.”  --<em>The San Francisco Chronicle</em><br/>“Ganeshananthan has created a slow-burning and beautifully written debut in Love Marriage.  It is an evocative examination of Sri Lankan cultural mores, and the way one family is affected by love and war” — <em>The Financial Times</em><br/>“Poignant and authentic…. Insight gained into Toronto's Tamil community is a welcome bonus in this gem of a book by a young writer who is sure to present more thought-provoking, entertaining prose in the future.” --<em>The Toronto Star</em><br/>“The book is at times witty and always beautifully written” — <em>The Irish Times</em><br/><em><br/></em>&quot;Innovative….this is an ambitious family drama about an underreported part of the world, filled with well-shaded characters [and] gorgeous flourish…Buy it.&quot;  -- <em>New York Magazine</em><br/><br/>&quot;As if she were stringing a necklace of bright beads, the author relates the stories of Yalini's Sri Lankan forebears in lapidary folkloric narratives…What she does here, she does quite affectingly.&quot;  -- <em>The Boston Globe </em><br/><br/>&quot;In spare, lyrical prose, V.V. Ganeshananthan's debut novel tells the story of two Sri Lankan Tamil families over four generations who, despite civil war and displacement, are irrevocably joined by marriage and tradition….Powerful.&quot; -- <em>Ms. Magazine<br/></em>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="arc" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Nov 07 17:57:22 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Nov 07 17:57:22 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count>1</read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I almost immediately fell in love with the staccato rhythm of the blunt sentences and short chapters in V. V. Ganeshananthan’s first novel, Love Marriage. Love Marriage is the aggregate love story of narrator Yalini’s Sri Lankan ancestors, a compare and contrast of the many different forms the s...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37152250">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37152250]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/37152250]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>24816842</id>
    <user>
    <id>1100880</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Ms. Online]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1100880-ms-online]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1239899415p3/1100880.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1239899415p2/1100880.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">2524055</id>
  <isbn>1400066697</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781400066698</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">49</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Love Marriage: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2524055.Love_Marriage_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.44</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>132</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In this globe-scattered Sri Lankan family, we speak of only two kinds of marriage. The first is the Arranged Marriage. The second is the Love Marriage. In reality, there is a whole spectrum in between, but most of us spend years running away from the first toward the second. [p. 3]<br/><br/>The daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants who left their collapsing country and married in America, Yalini finds herself caught between the traditions of her ancestors and the lure of her own modern world. But when she is summoned to Toronto to help care for her dying uncle, Kumaran, a former member of the militant Tamil Tigers, Yalini is forced to see that violence is not a relic of the Sri Lankan past, but very much a part of her Western present.<br/><br/>While Kumaran’s loved ones gather around him to say goodbye, Yalini traces her family’s roots–and the conflicts facing them as ethnic Tamils–through a series of marriages. Now, as Kumaran’s death and his daughter’s politically motivated nuptials edge closer, Yalini must decide where she stands. <br/><br/>Lyrical and innovative, V. V. Ganeshananthan’s novel brilliantly unfolds how generations of struggle both form and fractures families. <br/><br/><strong><u>Praise for <em>Love Marriage</em></u></strong><br/>“A beautiful first novel. This intricately woven tale, with its universal themes of love and estrangement, presents an exciting new voice in American literature.” <br/>–Yiyun Li, author of <em>A Thousand Years of Good Prayers</em><br/><br/>“Complex and moving . . . an impressive debut.”<br/>–Daniel Alarcón, author of <em>Lost City Radio   </em><br/><br/>“V. V. Ganeshananthan has given us a riveting picture of the intersections of love and war that shape us all. A debut of incredible passion and wisdom.” <br/>–Rebecca Johns, author of <em>Icebergs</em><br/><br/>“At its best and simplest, Ganeshananthan can be profoundly moving. She captures the pain of exile poignantly.”  --<em>The San Francisco Chronicle</em><br/>“Ganeshananthan has created a slow-burning and beautifully written debut in Love Marriage.  It is an evocative examination of Sri Lankan cultural mores, and the way one family is affected by love and war” — <em>The Financial Times</em><br/>“Poignant and authentic…. Insight gained into Toronto's Tamil community is a welcome bonus in this gem of a book by a young writer who is sure to present more thought-provoking, entertaining prose in the future.” --<em>The Toronto Star</em><br/>“The book is at times witty and always beautifully written” — <em>The Irish Times</em><br/><em><br/></em>&quot;Innovative….this is an ambitious family drama about an underreported part of the world, filled with well-shaded characters [and] gorgeous flourish…Buy it.&quot;  -- <em>New York Magazine</em><br/><br/>&quot;As if she were stringing a necklace of bright beads, the author relates the stories of Yalini's Sri Lankan forebears in lapidary folkloric narratives…What she does here, she does quite affectingly.&quot;  -- <em>The Boston Globe </em><br/><br/>&quot;In spare, lyrical prose, V.V. Ganeshananthan's debut novel tells the story of two Sri Lankan Tamil families over four generations who, despite civil war and displacement, are irrevocably joined by marriage and tradition….Powerful.&quot; -- <em>Ms. Magazine<br/></em>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>0</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="2008-spring-reviews" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jun 18 11:17:39 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Apr 07 13:45:54 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[<strong>TIGER BURNING BRIGHT<br/>Gail Tsukiyama</strong><br/><br/>A Review of <em>Love Marriage</em><br/>By V.V. Ganeshananthan<br/>Random House<br/><br/>IN SPARE, LYRICAL PROSE, V.V. Ganeshananthan’s debut novel tells the story of two Sri Lankan Tamil families over four generations who, despite civil war and displa...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/24816842">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/24816842]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/24816842]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>23836774</id>
    <user>
    <id>1125236</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Sarah]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Kittredge, CO]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1125236-sarah]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1240451872p3/1125236.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1240451872p2/1125236.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">2524055</id>
  <isbn>1400066697</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781400066698</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">49</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Love Marriage: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2524055.Love_Marriage_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.44</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>132</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In this globe-scattered Sri Lankan family, we speak of only two kinds of marriage. The first is the Arranged Marriage. The second is the Love Marriage. In reality, there is a whole spectrum in between, but most of us spend years running away from the first toward the second. [p. 3]<br/><br/>The daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants who left their collapsing country and married in America, Yalini finds herself caught between the traditions of her ancestors and the lure of her own modern world. But when she is summoned to Toronto to help care for her dying uncle, Kumaran, a former member of the militant Tamil Tigers, Yalini is forced to see that violence is not a relic of the Sri Lankan past, but very much a part of her Western present.<br/><br/>While Kumaran’s loved ones gather around him to say goodbye, Yalini traces her family’s roots–and the conflicts facing them as ethnic Tamils–through a series of marriages. Now, as Kumaran’s death and his daughter’s politically motivated nuptials edge closer, Yalini must decide where she stands. <br/><br/>Lyrical and innovative, V. V. Ganeshananthan’s novel brilliantly unfolds how generations of struggle both form and fractures families. <br/><br/><strong><u>Praise for <em>Love Marriage</em></u></strong><br/>“A beautiful first novel. This intricately woven tale, with its universal themes of love and estrangement, presents an exciting new voice in American literature.” <br/>–Yiyun Li, author of <em>A Thousand Years of Good Prayers</em><br/><br/>“Complex and moving . . . an impressive debut.”<br/>–Daniel Alarcón, author of <em>Lost City Radio   </em><br/><br/>“V. V. Ganeshananthan has given us a riveting picture of the intersections of love and war that shape us all. A debut of incredible passion and wisdom.” <br/>–Rebecca Johns, author of <em>Icebergs</em><br/><br/>“At its best and simplest, Ganeshananthan can be profoundly moving. She captures the pain of exile poignantly.”  --<em>The San Francisco Chronicle</em><br/>“Ganeshananthan has created a slow-burning and beautifully written debut in Love Marriage.  It is an evocative examination of Sri Lankan cultural mores, and the way one family is affected by love and war” — <em>The Financial Times</em><br/>“Poignant and authentic…. Insight gained into Toronto's Tamil community is a welcome bonus in this gem of a book by a young writer who is sure to present more thought-provoking, entertaining prose in the future.” --<em>The Toronto Star</em><br/>“The book is at times witty and always beautifully written” — <em>The Irish Times</em><br/><em><br/></em>&quot;Innovative….this is an ambitious family drama about an underreported part of the world, filled with well-shaded characters [and] gorgeous flourish…Buy it.&quot;  -- <em>New York Magazine</em><br/><br/>&quot;As if she were stringing a necklace of bright beads, the author relates the stories of Yalini's Sri Lankan forebears in lapidary folkloric narratives…What she does here, she does quite affectingly.&quot;  -- <em>The Boston Globe </em><br/><br/>&quot;In spare, lyrical prose, V.V. Ganeshananthan's debut novel tells the story of two Sri Lankan Tamil families over four generations who, despite civil war and displacement, are irrevocably joined by marriage and tradition….Powerful.&quot; -- <em>Ms. Magazine<br/></em>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="early-review" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Jun 04 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Jun 06 01:37:08 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Jun 06 01:40:09 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[An Ameircan-born daughter of Sri Lankan Tamil immigrants, Yalini has always been caught between cultures. Now off at college, she is asked to rejoin her family and help to care for her estranged uncle, Kumaran, who has come to spend his final dying days with his family. As Yalini looks after her unc...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23836774">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23836774]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/23836774]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>22848370</id>
    <user>
    <id>1063380</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Camille]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Highland Park, NJ]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1063380-camille-thompson]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1207594123p3/1063380.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1207594123p2/1063380.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">2524055</id>
  <isbn>1400066697</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781400066698</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">49</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Love Marriage: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2524055.Love_Marriage_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.44</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>132</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In this globe-scattered Sri Lankan family, we speak of only two kinds of marriage. The first is the Arranged Marriage. The second is the Love Marriage. In reality, there is a whole spectrum in between, but most of us spend years running away from the first toward the second. [p. 3]<br/><br/>The daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants who left their collapsing country and married in America, Yalini finds herself caught between the traditions of her ancestors and the lure of her own modern world. But when she is summoned to Toronto to help care for her dying uncle, Kumaran, a former member of the militant Tamil Tigers, Yalini is forced to see that violence is not a relic of the Sri Lankan past, but very much a part of her Western present.<br/><br/>While Kumaran’s loved ones gather around him to say goodbye, Yalini traces her family’s roots–and the conflicts facing them as ethnic Tamils–through a series of marriages. Now, as Kumaran’s death and his daughter’s politically motivated nuptials edge closer, Yalini must decide where she stands. <br/><br/>Lyrical and innovative, V. V. Ganeshananthan’s novel brilliantly unfolds how generations of struggle both form and fractures families. <br/><br/><strong><u>Praise for <em>Love Marriage</em></u></strong><br/>“A beautiful first novel. This intricately woven tale, with its universal themes of love and estrangement, presents an exciting new voice in American literature.” <br/>–Yiyun Li, author of <em>A Thousand Years of Good Prayers</em><br/><br/>“Complex and moving . . . an impressive debut.”<br/>–Daniel Alarcón, author of <em>Lost City Radio   </em><br/><br/>“V. V. Ganeshananthan has given us a riveting picture of the intersections of love and war that shape us all. A debut of incredible passion and wisdom.” <br/>–Rebecca Johns, author of <em>Icebergs</em><br/><br/>“At its best and simplest, Ganeshananthan can be profoundly moving. She captures the pain of exile poignantly.”  --<em>The San Francisco Chronicle</em><br/>“Ganeshananthan has created a slow-burning and beautifully written debut in Love Marriage.  It is an evocative examination of Sri Lankan cultural mores, and the way one family is affected by love and war” — <em>The Financial Times</em><br/>“Poignant and authentic…. Insight gained into Toronto's Tamil community is a welcome bonus in this gem of a book by a young writer who is sure to present more thought-provoking, entertaining prose in the future.” --<em>The Toronto Star</em><br/>“The book is at times witty and always beautifully written” — <em>The Irish Times</em><br/><em><br/></em>&quot;Innovative….this is an ambitious family drama about an underreported part of the world, filled with well-shaded characters [and] gorgeous flourish…Buy it.&quot;  -- <em>New York Magazine</em><br/><br/>&quot;As if she were stringing a necklace of bright beads, the author relates the stories of Yalini's Sri Lankan forebears in lapidary folkloric narratives…What she does here, she does quite affectingly.&quot;  -- <em>The Boston Globe </em><br/><br/>&quot;In spare, lyrical prose, V.V. Ganeshananthan's debut novel tells the story of two Sri Lankan Tamil families over four generations who, despite civil war and displacement, are irrevocably joined by marriage and tradition….Powerful.&quot; -- <em>Ms. Magazine<br/></em>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Jul 09 00:00:00 -0700 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri May 23 19:04:33 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jul 21 15:25:40 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I would not have finished this book if I hadn't been reading it for a review.  Here is the LibraryThing Early Reviewer Review I wrote:<br/>This book explores the story of a family across time, geography, and culture. It is told from the perspective of the daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants, Yalini, ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22848370">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22848370]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/22848370]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>27162835</id>
    <user>
    <id>134374</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Alea]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/134374-alea]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1248995511p3/134374.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1248995511p2/134374.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">2524055</id>
  <isbn>1400066697</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781400066698</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">49</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Love Marriage: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2524055.Love_Marriage_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.44</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>132</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In this globe-scattered Sri Lankan family, we speak of only two kinds of marriage. The first is the Arranged Marriage. The second is the Love Marriage. In reality, there is a whole spectrum in between, but most of us spend years running away from the first toward the second. [p. 3]<br/><br/>The daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants who left their collapsing country and married in America, Yalini finds herself caught between the traditions of her ancestors and the lure of her own modern world. But when she is summoned to Toronto to help care for her dying uncle, Kumaran, a former member of the militant Tamil Tigers, Yalini is forced to see that violence is not a relic of the Sri Lankan past, but very much a part of her Western present.<br/><br/>While Kumaran’s loved ones gather around him to say goodbye, Yalini traces her family’s roots–and the conflicts facing them as ethnic Tamils–through a series of marriages. Now, as Kumaran’s death and his daughter’s politically motivated nuptials edge closer, Yalini must decide where she stands. <br/><br/>Lyrical and innovative, V. V. Ganeshananthan’s novel brilliantly unfolds how generations of struggle both form and fractures families. <br/><br/><strong><u>Praise for <em>Love Marriage</em></u></strong><br/>“A beautiful first novel. This intricately woven tale, with its universal themes of love and estrangement, presents an exciting new voice in American literature.” <br/>–Yiyun Li, author of <em>A Thousand Years of Good Prayers</em><br/><br/>“Complex and moving . . . an impressive debut.”<br/>–Daniel Alarcón, author of <em>Lost City Radio   </em><br/><br/>“V. V. Ganeshananthan has given us a riveting picture of the intersections of love and war that shape us all. A debut of incredible passion and wisdom.” <br/>–Rebecca Johns, author of <em>Icebergs</em><br/><br/>“At its best and simplest, Ganeshananthan can be profoundly moving. She captures the pain of exile poignantly.”  --<em>The San Francisco Chronicle</em><br/>“Ganeshananthan has created a slow-burning and beautifully written debut in Love Marriage.  It is an evocative examination of Sri Lankan cultural mores, and the way one family is affected by love and war” — <em>The Financial Times</em><br/>“Poignant and authentic…. Insight gained into Toronto's Tamil community is a welcome bonus in this gem of a book by a young writer who is sure to present more thought-provoking, entertaining prose in the future.” --<em>The Toronto Star</em><br/>“The book is at times witty and always beautifully written” — <em>The Irish Times</em><br/><em><br/></em>&quot;Innovative….this is an ambitious family drama about an underreported part of the world, filled with well-shaded characters [and] gorgeous flourish…Buy it.&quot;  -- <em>New York Magazine</em><br/><br/>&quot;As if she were stringing a necklace of bright beads, the author relates the stories of Yalini's Sri Lankan forebears in lapidary folkloric narratives…What she does here, she does quite affectingly.&quot;  -- <em>The Boston Globe </em><br/><br/>&quot;In spare, lyrical prose, V.V. Ganeshananthan's debut novel tells the story of two Sri Lankan Tamil families over four generations who, despite civil war and displacement, are irrevocably joined by marriage and tradition….Powerful.&quot; -- <em>Ms. Magazine<br/></em>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
            <shelf name="read-for-review" />
      </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Jul 13 19:01:46 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Dec 13 19:53:51 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Love Marriage is the story of Yalini, an American born daughter of a Sri Lankan family. She and her family care for her dying uncle she had never met and through this she learns and keeps a record of the past generations of her family and the turmoil in Sri Lanka. <br/><br/>I really enjoyed the wr...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/27162835">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/27162835]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/27162835]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>76731005</id>
    <user>
    <id>1692386</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Geetly]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[London/Reading, The United Kingdom]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1692386-geetly]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">2524055</id>
  <isbn>1400066697</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781400066698</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">49</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Love Marriage: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2524055.Love_Marriage_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.44</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>132</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In this globe-scattered Sri Lankan family, we speak of only two kinds of marriage. The first is the Arranged Marriage. The second is the Love Marriage. In reality, there is a whole spectrum in between, but most of us spend years running away from the first toward the second. [p. 3]<br/><br/>The daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants who left their collapsing country and married in America, Yalini finds herself caught between the traditions of her ancestors and the lure of her own modern world. But when she is summoned to Toronto to help care for her dying uncle, Kumaran, a former member of the militant Tamil Tigers, Yalini is forced to see that violence is not a relic of the Sri Lankan past, but very much a part of her Western present.<br/><br/>While Kumaran’s loved ones gather around him to say goodbye, Yalini traces her family’s roots–and the conflicts facing them as ethnic Tamils–through a series of marriages. Now, as Kumaran’s death and his daughter’s politically motivated nuptials edge closer, Yalini must decide where she stands. <br/><br/>Lyrical and innovative, V. V. Ganeshananthan’s novel brilliantly unfolds how generations of struggle both form and fractures families. <br/><br/><strong><u>Praise for <em>Love Marriage</em></u></strong><br/>“A beautiful first novel. This intricately woven tale, with its universal themes of love and estrangement, presents an exciting new voice in American literature.” <br/>–Yiyun Li, author of <em>A Thousand Years of Good Prayers</em><br/><br/>“Complex and moving . . . an impressive debut.”<br/>–Daniel Alarcón, author of <em>Lost City Radio   </em><br/><br/>“V. V. Ganeshananthan has given us a riveting picture of the intersections of love and war that shape us all. A debut of incredible passion and wisdom.” <br/>–Rebecca Johns, author of <em>Icebergs</em><br/><br/>“At its best and simplest, Ganeshananthan can be profoundly moving. She captures the pain of exile poignantly.”  --<em>The San Francisco Chronicle</em><br/>“Ganeshananthan has created a slow-burning and beautifully written debut in Love Marriage.  It is an evocative examination of Sri Lankan cultural mores, and the way one family is affected by love and war” — <em>The Financial Times</em><br/>“Poignant and authentic…. Insight gained into Toronto's Tamil community is a welcome bonus in this gem of a book by a young writer who is sure to present more thought-provoking, entertaining prose in the future.” --<em>The Toronto Star</em><br/>“The book is at times witty and always beautifully written” — <em>The Irish Times</em><br/><em><br/></em>&quot;Innovative….this is an ambitious family drama about an underreported part of the world, filled with well-shaded characters [and] gorgeous flourish…Buy it.&quot;  -- <em>New York Magazine</em><br/><br/>&quot;As if she were stringing a necklace of bright beads, the author relates the stories of Yalini's Sri Lankan forebears in lapidary folkloric narratives…What she does here, she does quite affectingly.&quot;  -- <em>The Boston Globe </em><br/><br/>&quot;In spare, lyrical prose, V.V. Ganeshananthan's debut novel tells the story of two Sri Lankan Tamil families over four generations who, despite civil war and displacement, are irrevocably joined by marriage and tradition….Powerful.&quot; -- <em>Ms. Magazine<br/></em>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Nov 10 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Nov 04 14:17:58 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Nov 19 14:31:40 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[The novel explores the ways in which war(in this case the civil war of Sri Lanka) affects not only the ones directly involved but the families and even the forthcoming generations. And not just war. Its all about how the characteristics, attitudes and even philosophies run down generations in a fami...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76731005">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76731005]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/76731005]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>39267835</id>
    <user>
    <id>862584</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Emily]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Phnom Penh, Cambodia]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/862584-emily]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1209955141p3/862584.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1209955141p2/862584.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">2524055</id>
  <isbn>1400066697</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781400066698</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">49</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Love Marriage: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2524055.Love_Marriage_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.44</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>132</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In this globe-scattered Sri Lankan family, we speak of only two kinds of marriage. The first is the Arranged Marriage. The second is the Love Marriage. In reality, there is a whole spectrum in between, but most of us spend years running away from the first toward the second. [p. 3]<br/><br/>The daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants who left their collapsing country and married in America, Yalini finds herself caught between the traditions of her ancestors and the lure of her own modern world. But when she is summoned to Toronto to help care for her dying uncle, Kumaran, a former member of the militant Tamil Tigers, Yalini is forced to see that violence is not a relic of the Sri Lankan past, but very much a part of her Western present.<br/><br/>While Kumaran’s loved ones gather around him to say goodbye, Yalini traces her family’s roots–and the conflicts facing them as ethnic Tamils–through a series of marriages. Now, as Kumaran’s death and his daughter’s politically motivated nuptials edge closer, Yalini must decide where she stands. <br/><br/>Lyrical and innovative, V. V. Ganeshananthan’s novel brilliantly unfolds how generations of struggle both form and fractures families. <br/><br/><strong><u>Praise for <em>Love Marriage</em></u></strong><br/>“A beautiful first novel. This intricately woven tale, with its universal themes of love and estrangement, presents an exciting new voice in American literature.” <br/>–Yiyun Li, author of <em>A Thousand Years of Good Prayers</em><br/><br/>“Complex and moving . . . an impressive debut.”<br/>–Daniel Alarcón, author of <em>Lost City Radio   </em><br/><br/>“V. V. Ganeshananthan has given us a riveting picture of the intersections of love and war that shape us all. A debut of incredible passion and wisdom.” <br/>–Rebecca Johns, author of <em>Icebergs</em><br/><br/>“At its best and simplest, Ganeshananthan can be profoundly moving. She captures the pain of exile poignantly.”  --<em>The San Francisco Chronicle</em><br/>“Ganeshananthan has created a slow-burning and beautifully written debut in Love Marriage.  It is an evocative examination of Sri Lankan cultural mores, and the way one family is affected by love and war” — <em>The Financial Times</em><br/>“Poignant and authentic…. Insight gained into Toronto's Tamil community is a welcome bonus in this gem of a book by a young writer who is sure to present more thought-provoking, entertaining prose in the future.” --<em>The Toronto Star</em><br/>“The book is at times witty and always beautifully written” — <em>The Irish Times</em><br/><em><br/></em>&quot;Innovative….this is an ambitious family drama about an underreported part of the world, filled with well-shaded characters [and] gorgeous flourish…Buy it.&quot;  -- <em>New York Magazine</em><br/><br/>&quot;As if she were stringing a necklace of bright beads, the author relates the stories of Yalini's Sri Lankan forebears in lapidary folkloric narratives…What she does here, she does quite affectingly.&quot;  -- <em>The Boston Globe </em><br/><br/>&quot;In spare, lyrical prose, V.V. Ganeshananthan's debut novel tells the story of two Sri Lankan Tamil families over four generations who, despite civil war and displacement, are irrevocably joined by marriage and tradition….Powerful.&quot; -- <em>Ms. Magazine<br/></em>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Thu Dec 04 02:47:32 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Thu Dec 04 02:49:22 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[this book was lovely. i came to it knowing sugi (now v.v.), having gone to school with her, and left feeling very enriched. i also realized how little i knew about why the tamil tigers became a militant movement. she really weaves it in gracefully. ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39267835]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39267835]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>39157431</id>
    <user>
    <id>1761905</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Elizabeth]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Alton, IL]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1761905-elizabeth]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">2524055</id>
  <isbn>1400066697</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781400066698</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">49</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Love Marriage: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2524055.Love_Marriage_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.44</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>132</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In this globe-scattered Sri Lankan family, we speak of only two kinds of marriage. The first is the Arranged Marriage. The second is the Love Marriage. In reality, there is a whole spectrum in between, but most of us spend years running away from the first toward the second. [p. 3]<br/><br/>The daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants who left their collapsing country and married in America, Yalini finds herself caught between the traditions of her ancestors and the lure of her own modern world. But when she is summoned to Toronto to help care for her dying uncle, Kumaran, a former member of the militant Tamil Tigers, Yalini is forced to see that violence is not a relic of the Sri Lankan past, but very much a part of her Western present.<br/><br/>While Kumaran’s loved ones gather around him to say goodbye, Yalini traces her family’s roots–and the conflicts facing them as ethnic Tamils–through a series of marriages. Now, as Kumaran’s death and his daughter’s politically motivated nuptials edge closer, Yalini must decide where she stands. <br/><br/>Lyrical and innovative, V. V. Ganeshananthan’s novel brilliantly unfolds how generations of struggle both form and fractures families. <br/><br/><strong><u>Praise for <em>Love Marriage</em></u></strong><br/>“A beautiful first novel. This intricately woven tale, with its universal themes of love and estrangement, presents an exciting new voice in American literature.” <br/>–Yiyun Li, author of <em>A Thousand Years of Good Prayers</em><br/><br/>“Complex and moving . . . an impressive debut.”<br/>–Daniel Alarcón, author of <em>Lost City Radio   </em><br/><br/>“V. V. Ganeshananthan has given us a riveting picture of the intersections of love and war that shape us all. A debut of incredible passion and wisdom.” <br/>–Rebecca Johns, author of <em>Icebergs</em><br/><br/>“At its best and simplest, Ganeshananthan can be profoundly moving. She captures the pain of exile poignantly.”  --<em>The San Francisco Chronicle</em><br/>“Ganeshananthan has created a slow-burning and beautifully written debut in Love Marriage.  It is an evocative examination of Sri Lankan cultural mores, and the way one family is affected by love and war” — <em>The Financial Times</em><br/>“Poignant and authentic…. Insight gained into Toronto's Tamil community is a welcome bonus in this gem of a book by a young writer who is sure to present more thought-provoking, entertaining prose in the future.” --<em>The Toronto Star</em><br/>“The book is at times witty and always beautifully written” — <em>The Irish Times</em><br/><em><br/></em>&quot;Innovative….this is an ambitious family drama about an underreported part of the world, filled with well-shaded characters [and] gorgeous flourish…Buy it.&quot;  -- <em>New York Magazine</em><br/><br/>&quot;As if she were stringing a necklace of bright beads, the author relates the stories of Yalini's Sri Lankan forebears in lapidary folkloric narratives…What she does here, she does quite affectingly.&quot;  -- <em>The Boston Globe </em><br/><br/>&quot;In spare, lyrical prose, V.V. Ganeshananthan's debut novel tells the story of two Sri Lankan Tamil families over four generations who, despite civil war and displacement, are irrevocably joined by marriage and tradition….Powerful.&quot; -- <em>Ms. Magazine<br/></em>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008</read_at>
  <date_added>Tue Dec 02 18:49:04 -0800 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Tue Dec 02 18:53:16 -0800 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[It's been awhile since I've read this book but I recall that I enjoyed seeing how relationships for Sri Lankan women are formed and how culture influences it in turn.  Mostly this book made me hungry for a curry.<br/><br/><em>Kidding.</em> ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39157431]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/39157431]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>81382182</id>
    <user>
    <id>56292</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Dominique]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/56292-dominique]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1261149901p3/56292.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1261149901p2/56292.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">2524055</id>
  <isbn>1400066697</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781400066698</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">49</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Love Marriage: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2524055.Love_Marriage_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.44</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>132</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In this globe-scattered Sri Lankan family, we speak of only two kinds of marriage. The first is the Arranged Marriage. The second is the Love Marriage. In reality, there is a whole spectrum in between, but most of us spend years running away from the first toward the second. [p. 3]<br/><br/>The daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants who left their collapsing country and married in America, Yalini finds herself caught between the traditions of her ancestors and the lure of her own modern world. But when she is summoned to Toronto to help care for her dying uncle, Kumaran, a former member of the militant Tamil Tigers, Yalini is forced to see that violence is not a relic of the Sri Lankan past, but very much a part of her Western present.<br/><br/>While Kumaran’s loved ones gather around him to say goodbye, Yalini traces her family’s roots–and the conflicts facing them as ethnic Tamils–through a series of marriages. Now, as Kumaran’s death and his daughter’s politically motivated nuptials edge closer, Yalini must decide where she stands. <br/><br/>Lyrical and innovative, V. V. Ganeshananthan’s novel brilliantly unfolds how generations of struggle both form and fractures families. <br/><br/><strong><u>Praise for <em>Love Marriage</em></u></strong><br/>“A beautiful first novel. This intricately woven tale, with its universal themes of love and estrangement, presents an exciting new voice in American literature.” <br/>–Yiyun Li, author of <em>A Thousand Years of Good Prayers</em><br/><br/>“Complex and moving . . . an impressive debut.”<br/>–Daniel Alarcón, author of <em>Lost City Radio   </em><br/><br/>“V. V. Ganeshananthan has given us a riveting picture of the intersections of love and war that shape us all. A debut of incredible passion and wisdom.” <br/>–Rebecca Johns, author of <em>Icebergs</em><br/><br/>“At its best and simplest, Ganeshananthan can be profoundly moving. She captures the pain of exile poignantly.”  --<em>The San Francisco Chronicle</em><br/>“Ganeshananthan has created a slow-burning and beautifully written debut in Love Marriage.  It is an evocative examination of Sri Lankan cultural mores, and the way one family is affected by love and war” — <em>The Financial Times</em><br/>“Poignant and authentic…. Insight gained into Toronto's Tamil community is a welcome bonus in this gem of a book by a young writer who is sure to present more thought-provoking, entertaining prose in the future.” --<em>The Toronto Star</em><br/>“The book is at times witty and always beautifully written” — <em>The Irish Times</em><br/><em><br/></em>&quot;Innovative….this is an ambitious family drama about an underreported part of the world, filled with well-shaded characters [and] gorgeous flourish…Buy it.&quot;  -- <em>New York Magazine</em><br/><br/>&quot;As if she were stringing a necklace of bright beads, the author relates the stories of Yalini's Sri Lankan forebears in lapidary folkloric narratives…What she does here, she does quite affectingly.&quot;  -- <em>The Boston Globe </em><br/><br/>&quot;In spare, lyrical prose, V.V. Ganeshananthan's debut novel tells the story of two Sri Lankan Tamil families over four generations who, despite civil war and displacement, are irrevocably joined by marriage and tradition….Powerful.&quot; -- <em>Ms. Magazine<br/></em>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Fri Dec 18 06:18:33 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Fri Dec 18 06:24:30 -0800 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is surprisingly not as cheesy as the title implies. The author is one of the few Sri Lankan Tamil author's who has a better grip on the reality of the LTTE -- their purpose, funding, and future. ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81382182]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/81382182]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>66063148</id>
    <user>
    <id>33630</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Hazel]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Seattle, WA]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/33630-hazel]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1177266565p3/33630.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1177266565p2/33630.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">2524055</id>
  <isbn>1400066697</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781400066698</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">49</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Love Marriage: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2524055.Love_Marriage_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.44</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>132</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In this globe-scattered Sri Lankan family, we speak of only two kinds of marriage. The first is the Arranged Marriage. The second is the Love Marriage. In reality, there is a whole spectrum in between, but most of us spend years running away from the first toward the second. [p. 3]<br/><br/>The daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants who left their collapsing country and married in America, Yalini finds herself caught between the traditions of her ancestors and the lure of her own modern world. But when she is summoned to Toronto to help care for her dying uncle, Kumaran, a former member of the militant Tamil Tigers, Yalini is forced to see that violence is not a relic of the Sri Lankan past, but very much a part of her Western present.<br/><br/>While Kumaran’s loved ones gather around him to say goodbye, Yalini traces her family’s roots–and the conflicts facing them as ethnic Tamils–through a series of marriages. Now, as Kumaran’s death and his daughter’s politically motivated nuptials edge closer, Yalini must decide where she stands. <br/><br/>Lyrical and innovative, V. V. Ganeshananthan’s novel brilliantly unfolds how generations of struggle both form and fractures families. <br/><br/><strong><u>Praise for <em>Love Marriage</em></u></strong><br/>“A beautiful first novel. This intricately woven tale, with its universal themes of love and estrangement, presents an exciting new voice in American literature.” <br/>–Yiyun Li, author of <em>A Thousand Years of Good Prayers</em><br/><br/>“Complex and moving . . . an impressive debut.”<br/>–Daniel Alarcón, author of <em>Lost City Radio   </em><br/><br/>“V. V. Ganeshananthan has given us a riveting picture of the intersections of love and war that shape us all. A debut of incredible passion and wisdom.” <br/>–Rebecca Johns, author of <em>Icebergs</em><br/><br/>“At its best and simplest, Ganeshananthan can be profoundly moving. She captures the pain of exile poignantly.”  --<em>The San Francisco Chronicle</em><br/>“Ganeshananthan has created a slow-burning and beautifully written debut in Love Marriage.  It is an evocative examination of Sri Lankan cultural mores, and the way one family is affected by love and war” — <em>The Financial Times</em><br/>“Poignant and authentic…. Insight gained into Toronto's Tamil community is a welcome bonus in this gem of a book by a young writer who is sure to present more thought-provoking, entertaining prose in the future.” --<em>The Toronto Star</em><br/>“The book is at times witty and always beautifully written” — <em>The Irish Times</em><br/><em><br/></em>&quot;Innovative….this is an ambitious family drama about an underreported part of the world, filled with well-shaded characters [and] gorgeous flourish…Buy it.&quot;  -- <em>New York Magazine</em><br/><br/>&quot;As if she were stringing a necklace of bright beads, the author relates the stories of Yalini's Sri Lankan forebears in lapidary folkloric narratives…What she does here, she does quite affectingly.&quot;  -- <em>The Boston Globe </em><br/><br/>&quot;In spare, lyrical prose, V.V. Ganeshananthan's debut novel tells the story of two Sri Lankan Tamil families over four generations who, despite civil war and displacement, are irrevocably joined by marriage and tradition….Powerful.&quot; -- <em>Ms. Magazine<br/></em>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Aug 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Aug 03 17:02:34 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Aug 10 17:59:40 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[The story was so good and informative. But I didn't find it totally cohesive. The narrator only exposes herself to us at the very end, and it is somewhat unsettling, and I don't feel if all of the stories fit together. However the content is wonderful.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/66063148]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/66063148]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>43806396</id>
    <user>
    <id>201127</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Julia]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Houston, TX]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/201127-julia]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1242425413p3/201127.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://photo.goodreads.com/users/1242425413p2/201127.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">2524055</id>
  <isbn>1400066697</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781400066698</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">49</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Love Marriage: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2524055.Love_Marriage_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.44</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>132</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In this globe-scattered Sri Lankan family, we speak of only two kinds of marriage. The first is the Arranged Marriage. The second is the Love Marriage. In reality, there is a whole spectrum in between, but most of us spend years running away from the first toward the second. [p. 3]<br/><br/>The daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants who left their collapsing country and married in America, Yalini finds herself caught between the traditions of her ancestors and the lure of her own modern world. But when she is summoned to Toronto to help care for her dying uncle, Kumaran, a former member of the militant Tamil Tigers, Yalini is forced to see that violence is not a relic of the Sri Lankan past, but very much a part of her Western present.<br/><br/>While Kumaran’s loved ones gather around him to say goodbye, Yalini traces her family’s roots–and the conflicts facing them as ethnic Tamils–through a series of marriages. Now, as Kumaran’s death and his daughter’s politically motivated nuptials edge closer, Yalini must decide where she stands. <br/><br/>Lyrical and innovative, V. V. Ganeshananthan’s novel brilliantly unfolds how generations of struggle both form and fractures families. <br/><br/><strong><u>Praise for <em>Love Marriage</em></u></strong><br/>“A beautiful first novel. This intricately woven tale, with its universal themes of love and estrangement, presents an exciting new voice in American literature.” <br/>–Yiyun Li, author of <em>A Thousand Years of Good Prayers</em><br/><br/>“Complex and moving . . . an impressive debut.”<br/>–Daniel Alarcón, author of <em>Lost City Radio   </em><br/><br/>“V. V. Ganeshananthan has given us a riveting picture of the intersections of love and war that shape us all. A debut of incredible passion and wisdom.” <br/>–Rebecca Johns, author of <em>Icebergs</em><br/><br/>“At its best and simplest, Ganeshananthan can be profoundly moving. She captures the pain of exile poignantly.”  --<em>The San Francisco Chronicle</em><br/>“Ganeshananthan has created a slow-burning and beautifully written debut in Love Marriage.  It is an evocative examination of Sri Lankan cultural mores, and the way one family is affected by love and war” — <em>The Financial Times</em><br/>“Poignant and authentic…. Insight gained into Toronto's Tamil community is a welcome bonus in this gem of a book by a young writer who is sure to present more thought-provoking, entertaining prose in the future.” --<em>The Toronto Star</em><br/>“The book is at times witty and always beautifully written” — <em>The Irish Times</em><br/><em><br/></em>&quot;Innovative….this is an ambitious family drama about an underreported part of the world, filled with well-shaded characters [and] gorgeous flourish…Buy it.&quot;  -- <em>New York Magazine</em><br/><br/>&quot;As if she were stringing a necklace of bright beads, the author relates the stories of Yalini's Sri Lankan forebears in lapidary folkloric narratives…What she does here, she does quite affectingly.&quot;  -- <em>The Boston Globe </em><br/><br/>&quot;In spare, lyrical prose, V.V. Ganeshananthan's debut novel tells the story of two Sri Lankan Tamil families over four generations who, despite civil war and displacement, are irrevocably joined by marriage and tradition….Powerful.&quot; -- <em>Ms. Magazine<br/></em>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>3</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Mon Mar 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Wed Jan 21 08:09:04 -0800 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Mar 23 13:45:25 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[I enjoyed the style of this book, and the fact that it grew out of events that took place in my life time.  The book weaves together a history of the Tamil Tigers with a portrait of a Sri Lankan family, and a sociological look at Sri Lankan marriage traditions.  I enjoyed the book until the end; I t...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/43806396">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/43806396]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/43806396]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>55475526</id>
    <user>
    <id>1719995</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Margaret]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Wheeling, IL]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1719995-margaret]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">2524055</id>
  <isbn>1400066697</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781400066698</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">49</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Love Marriage: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2524055.Love_Marriage_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.44</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>132</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In this globe-scattered Sri Lankan family, we speak of only two kinds of marriage. The first is the Arranged Marriage. The second is the Love Marriage. In reality, there is a whole spectrum in between, but most of us spend years running away from the first toward the second. [p. 3]<br/><br/>The daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants who left their collapsing country and married in America, Yalini finds herself caught between the traditions of her ancestors and the lure of her own modern world. But when she is summoned to Toronto to help care for her dying uncle, Kumaran, a former member of the militant Tamil Tigers, Yalini is forced to see that violence is not a relic of the Sri Lankan past, but very much a part of her Western present.<br/><br/>While Kumaran’s loved ones gather around him to say goodbye, Yalini traces her family’s roots–and the conflicts facing them as ethnic Tamils–through a series of marriages. Now, as Kumaran’s death and his daughter’s politically motivated nuptials edge closer, Yalini must decide where she stands. <br/><br/>Lyrical and innovative, V. V. Ganeshananthan’s novel brilliantly unfolds how generations of struggle both form and fractures families. <br/><br/><strong><u>Praise for <em>Love Marriage</em></u></strong><br/>“A beautiful first novel. This intricately woven tale, with its universal themes of love and estrangement, presents an exciting new voice in American literature.” <br/>–Yiyun Li, author of <em>A Thousand Years of Good Prayers</em><br/><br/>“Complex and moving . . . an impressive debut.”<br/>–Daniel Alarcón, author of <em>Lost City Radio   </em><br/><br/>“V. V. Ganeshananthan has given us a riveting picture of the intersections of love and war that shape us all. A debut of incredible passion and wisdom.” <br/>–Rebecca Johns, author of <em>Icebergs</em><br/><br/>“At its best and simplest, Ganeshananthan can be profoundly moving. She captures the pain of exile poignantly.”  --<em>The San Francisco Chronicle</em><br/>“Ganeshananthan has created a slow-burning and beautifully written debut in Love Marriage.  It is an evocative examination of Sri Lankan cultural mores, and the way one family is affected by love and war” — <em>The Financial Times</em><br/>“Poignant and authentic…. Insight gained into Toronto's Tamil community is a welcome bonus in this gem of a book by a young writer who is sure to present more thought-provoking, entertaining prose in the future.” --<em>The Toronto Star</em><br/>“The book is at times witty and always beautifully written” — <em>The Irish Times</em><br/><em><br/></em>&quot;Innovative….this is an ambitious family drama about an underreported part of the world, filled with well-shaded characters [and] gorgeous flourish…Buy it.&quot;  -- <em>New York Magazine</em><br/><br/>&quot;As if she were stringing a necklace of bright beads, the author relates the stories of Yalini's Sri Lankan forebears in lapidary folkloric narratives…What she does here, she does quite affectingly.&quot;  -- <em>The Boston Globe </em><br/><br/>&quot;In spare, lyrical prose, V.V. Ganeshananthan's debut novel tells the story of two Sri Lankan Tamil families over four generations who, despite civil war and displacement, are irrevocably joined by marriage and tradition….Powerful.&quot; -- <em>Ms. Magazine<br/></em>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Fri May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat May 09 08:45:29 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat May 09 08:50:36 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[Good, insteresting writing style.  Story of different types of marriages interesting, story of Tamil Tigers fascinating. Probably first book I've read set mostly in Sri Lanka.]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55475526]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/55475526]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>64142057</id>
    <user>
    <id>2539348</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Kavita]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[The United States]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2539348-kavita-das]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">2524055</id>
  <isbn>1400066697</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781400066698</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">49</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Love Marriage: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2524055.Love_Marriage_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.44</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>132</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In this globe-scattered Sri Lankan family, we speak of only two kinds of marriage. The first is the Arranged Marriage. The second is the Love Marriage. In reality, there is a whole spectrum in between, but most of us spend years running away from the first toward the second. [p. 3]<br/><br/>The daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants who left their collapsing country and married in America, Yalini finds herself caught between the traditions of her ancestors and the lure of her own modern world. But when she is summoned to Toronto to help care for her dying uncle, Kumaran, a former member of the militant Tamil Tigers, Yalini is forced to see that violence is not a relic of the Sri Lankan past, but very much a part of her Western present.<br/><br/>While Kumaran’s loved ones gather around him to say goodbye, Yalini traces her family’s roots–and the conflicts facing them as ethnic Tamils–through a series of marriages. Now, as Kumaran’s death and his daughter’s politically motivated nuptials edge closer, Yalini must decide where she stands. <br/><br/>Lyrical and innovative, V. V. Ganeshananthan’s novel brilliantly unfolds how generations of struggle both form and fractures families. <br/><br/><strong><u>Praise for <em>Love Marriage</em></u></strong><br/>“A beautiful first novel. This intricately woven tale, with its universal themes of love and estrangement, presents an exciting new voice in American literature.” <br/>–Yiyun Li, author of <em>A Thousand Years of Good Prayers</em><br/><br/>“Complex and moving . . . an impressive debut.”<br/>–Daniel Alarcón, author of <em>Lost City Radio   </em><br/><br/>“V. V. Ganeshananthan has given us a riveting picture of the intersections of love and war that shape us all. A debut of incredible passion and wisdom.” <br/>–Rebecca Johns, author of <em>Icebergs</em><br/><br/>“At its best and simplest, Ganeshananthan can be profoundly moving. She captures the pain of exile poignantly.”  --<em>The San Francisco Chronicle</em><br/>“Ganeshananthan has created a slow-burning and beautifully written debut in Love Marriage.  It is an evocative examination of Sri Lankan cultural mores, and the way one family is affected by love and war” — <em>The Financial Times</em><br/>“Poignant and authentic…. Insight gained into Toronto's Tamil community is a welcome bonus in this gem of a book by a young writer who is sure to present more thought-provoking, entertaining prose in the future.” --<em>The Toronto Star</em><br/>“The book is at times witty and always beautifully written” — <em>The Irish Times</em><br/><em><br/></em>&quot;Innovative….this is an ambitious family drama about an underreported part of the world, filled with well-shaded characters [and] gorgeous flourish…Buy it.&quot;  -- <em>New York Magazine</em><br/><br/>&quot;As if she were stringing a necklace of bright beads, the author relates the stories of Yalini's Sri Lankan forebears in lapidary folkloric narratives…What she does here, she does quite affectingly.&quot;  -- <em>The Boston Globe </em><br/><br/>&quot;In spare, lyrical prose, V.V. Ganeshananthan's debut novel tells the story of two Sri Lankan Tamil families over four generations who, despite civil war and displacement, are irrevocably joined by marriage and tradition….Powerful.&quot; -- <em>Ms. Magazine<br/></em>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>4</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sun Jul 19 16:45:12 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sun Jul 19 16:47:20 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[This is a great novel that weaves a story that links modern day Sri Lanka and the US and illucidates the Sri Lanka ethnic conflicts.               ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/64142057]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/64142057]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>52365167</id>
    <user>
    <id>1013747</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Marty]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[colombo, Sri Lanka]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1013747-marty]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-U-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">2524055</id>
  <isbn>1400066697</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781400066698</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">49</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Love Marriage: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2524055.Love_Marriage_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.44</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>132</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In this globe-scattered Sri Lankan family, we speak of only two kinds of marriage. The first is the Arranged Marriage. The second is the Love Marriage. In reality, there is a whole spectrum in between, but most of us spend years running away from the first toward the second. [p. 3]<br/><br/>The daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants who left their collapsing country and married in America, Yalini finds herself caught between the traditions of her ancestors and the lure of her own modern world. But when she is summoned to Toronto to help care for her dying uncle, Kumaran, a former member of the militant Tamil Tigers, Yalini is forced to see that violence is not a relic of the Sri Lankan past, but very much a part of her Western present.<br/><br/>While Kumaran’s loved ones gather around him to say goodbye, Yalini traces her family’s roots–and the conflicts facing them as ethnic Tamils–through a series of marriages. Now, as Kumaran’s death and his daughter’s politically motivated nuptials edge closer, Yalini must decide where she stands. <br/><br/>Lyrical and innovative, V. V. Ganeshananthan’s novel brilliantly unfolds how generations of struggle both form and fractures families. <br/><br/><strong><u>Praise for <em>Love Marriage</em></u></strong><br/>“A beautiful first novel. This intricately woven tale, with its universal themes of love and estrangement, presents an exciting new voice in American literature.” <br/>–Yiyun Li, author of <em>A Thousand Years of Good Prayers</em><br/><br/>“Complex and moving . . . an impressive debut.”<br/>–Daniel Alarcón, author of <em>Lost City Radio   </em><br/><br/>“V. V. Ganeshananthan has given us a riveting picture of the intersections of love and war that shape us all. A debut of incredible passion and wisdom.” <br/>–Rebecca Johns, author of <em>Icebergs</em><br/><br/>“At its best and simplest, Ganeshananthan can be profoundly moving. She captures the pain of exile poignantly.”  --<em>The San Francisco Chronicle</em><br/>“Ganeshananthan has created a slow-burning and beautifully written debut in Love Marriage.  It is an evocative examination of Sri Lankan cultural mores, and the way one family is affected by love and war” — <em>The Financial Times</em><br/>“Poignant and authentic…. Insight gained into Toronto's Tamil community is a welcome bonus in this gem of a book by a young writer who is sure to present more thought-provoking, entertaining prose in the future.” --<em>The Toronto Star</em><br/>“The book is at times witty and always beautifully written” — <em>The Irish Times</em><br/><em><br/></em>&quot;Innovative….this is an ambitious family drama about an underreported part of the world, filled with well-shaded characters [and] gorgeous flourish…Buy it.&quot;  -- <em>New York Magazine</em><br/><br/>&quot;As if she were stringing a necklace of bright beads, the author relates the stories of Yalini's Sri Lankan forebears in lapidary folkloric narratives…What she does here, she does quite affectingly.&quot;  -- <em>The Boston Globe </em><br/><br/>&quot;In spare, lyrical prose, V.V. Ganeshananthan's debut novel tells the story of two Sri Lankan Tamil families over four generations who, despite civil war and displacement, are irrevocably joined by marriage and tradition….Powerful.&quot; -- <em>Ms. Magazine<br/></em>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>5</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at>Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009</read_at>
  <date_added>Sat Apr 11 23:46:31 -0700 2009</date_added>
  <date_updated>Sat Apr 11 23:48:31 -0700 2009</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[An insightful story of the situation of Sri Lanka from the USA and how it impacts...love/marriage. A fantastic story. Reads like non-fiction. ]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/52365167]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/52365167]]></link>
</review>
      <review>
  <id>28503721</id>
    <user>
    <id>52765</id>
    <name><![CDATA[Zenia]]></name>
    <location><![CDATA[Canada]]></location>
    <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/52765-zenia]]></link>
    <image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-111x148.jpg]]></image_url>
    <small_image_url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg]]></small_image_url>
  </user>
    <book>
  <id type="integer">2524055</id>
  <isbn>1400066697</isbn>
  <isbn13>9781400066698</isbn13>
  <text_reviews_count type="integer">49</text_reviews_count>
  <title>
    <![CDATA[Love Marriage: A Novel]]>
  </title>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-111x148.jpg</image_url>
  <small_image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nocover-60x80.jpg</small_image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2524055.Love_Marriage_A_Novel</link>
  <average_rating>3.44</average_rating>
  <ratings_count>132</ratings_count>
  <description>
    <![CDATA[In this globe-scattered Sri Lankan family, we speak of only two kinds of marriage. The first is the Arranged Marriage. The second is the Love Marriage. In reality, there is a whole spectrum in between, but most of us spend years running away from the first toward the second. [p. 3]<br/><br/>The daughter of Sri Lankan immigrants who left their collapsing country and married in America, Yalini finds herself caught between the traditions of her ancestors and the lure of her own modern world. But when she is summoned to Toronto to help care for her dying uncle, Kumaran, a former member of the militant Tamil Tigers, Yalini is forced to see that violence is not a relic of the Sri Lankan past, but very much a part of her Western present.<br/><br/>While Kumaran’s loved ones gather around him to say goodbye, Yalini traces her family’s roots–and the conflicts facing them as ethnic Tamils–through a series of marriages. Now, as Kumaran’s death and his daughter’s politically motivated nuptials edge closer, Yalini must decide where she stands. <br/><br/>Lyrical and innovative, V. V. Ganeshananthan’s novel brilliantly unfolds how generations of struggle both form and fractures families. <br/><br/><strong><u>Praise for <em>Love Marriage</em></u></strong><br/>“A beautiful first novel. This intricately woven tale, with its universal themes of love and estrangement, presents an exciting new voice in American literature.” <br/>–Yiyun Li, author of <em>A Thousand Years of Good Prayers</em><br/><br/>“Complex and moving . . . an impressive debut.”<br/>–Daniel Alarcón, author of <em>Lost City Radio   </em><br/><br/>“V. V. Ganeshananthan has given us a riveting picture of the intersections of love and war that shape us all. A debut of incredible passion and wisdom.” <br/>–Rebecca Johns, author of <em>Icebergs</em><br/><br/>“At its best and simplest, Ganeshananthan can be profoundly moving. She captures the pain of exile poignantly.”  --<em>The San Francisco Chronicle</em><br/>“Ganeshananthan has created a slow-burning and beautifully written debut in Love Marriage.  It is an evocative examination of Sri Lankan cultural mores, and the way one family is affected by love and war” — <em>The Financial Times</em><br/>“Poignant and authentic…. Insight gained into Toronto's Tamil community is a welcome bonus in this gem of a book by a young writer who is sure to present more thought-provoking, entertaining prose in the future.” --<em>The Toronto Star</em><br/>“The book is at times witty and always beautifully written” — <em>The Irish Times</em><br/><em><br/></em>&quot;Innovative….this is an ambitious family drama about an underreported part of the world, filled with well-shaded characters [and] gorgeous flourish…Buy it.&quot;  -- <em>New York Magazine</em><br/><br/>&quot;As if she were stringing a necklace of bright beads, the author relates the stories of Yalini's Sri Lankan forebears in lapidary folkloric narratives…What she does here, she does quite affectingly.&quot;  -- <em>The Boston Globe </em><br/><br/>&quot;In spare, lyrical prose, V.V. Ganeshananthan's debut novel tells the story of two Sri Lankan Tamil families over four generations who, despite civil war and displacement, are irrevocably joined by marriage and tradition….Powerful.&quot; -- <em>Ms. Magazine<br/></em>]]>
  </description>
  <published>2008</published>
</book>

    <rating>2</rating>
  <votes>0</votes>
  <spoiler_flag>false</spoiler_flag>
  <shelves>
        <shelf name="read" />
          </shelves>
  <recommended_for><![CDATA[]]></recommended_for>
  <recommended_by><![CDATA[]]></recommended_by>
  <read_at></read_at>
  <date_added>Mon Jul 28 08:32:21 -0700 2008</date_added>
  <date_updated>Mon Jul 28 08:37:21 -0700 2008</date_updated>
  <read_count></read_count>
    <body><![CDATA[So I had a like/dislike feeling (love/hate was too strong) for this book.  Parts of it were really great and well written and had me intrigued.  Other parts were either annoyingly written in terms of a repetitive style or seemed out of place in the book or were just off the wall.  As such, the book ...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/28503721">more...</a>]]></body>
    
  <url><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/28503721]]></url>
  <link><![CDATA[http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/28503721]]></link>
</review>
    </reviews>
  <popular_shelves>
          <shelf name="to-read" />
          <shelf name="currently-reading" />
          <shelf name="fiction" />
          <shelf name="arc" />
          <shelf name="south-asia" />
          <shelf name="sri-lanka" />
          <shelf name="traded-given-away" />
          <shelf name="on-shelf-to-read" />
      </popular_shelves>
  <book_links>
    <book_link>
  <id>8</id>
  <name><![CDATA[WorldCat]]></name>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=2524055</link>
</book_link>
  </book_links>
</book>
</GoodreadsResponse>