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

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

Reviewed by Ed Sarna.

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

Not wanting to give too much away and spoil any of the hilarious moments, suffice it to say she steps into and out of misadventure after misadventure, from working as a hostess in a hookah lounge to impersonating an intern in order to work at the Tribune. 

She falls in with a rogue’s gallery of characters, and yet somehow manages to not only survive but also become a more complete version of herself. Anyone who has ever had a misstep in romantic, parent/child, or career-related relationships should easily bond with Maya. Her ability to summon up an inner strength she didn’t know she had kept me cheering her on.

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

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

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