"Four score and seven years ago my grandfather looked out of the window of his train and saw the most beautiful woman in the world." So begins Coovadia's delightful debut novel, the story of how Ismet Nassin, "Bombay Registered Clerk," wins the heart of one Khateja Haveri, the village girl he has spied from the train. Though her father is eager to be rid of his "one big galoot of a daughter," especially since Ismet is willing to pay a handsome price, Khateja is loathe to be married and contemptuous of "Mr. Blushing-blushing ur-ur
Man," as she calls Ismet. And once married, she remains contemptuous, doing everything she can—from insulting her mother-in-law to overspicing the food—to make her husband send her home. To escape the rancor between mother and daughter-in-law and to seek better opportunities, Ismet takes his wife to Durban, South Africa, where they make a new and happy life—sort of, for in this battle of the sexes, Coovadia allows Ismet the final punch. Coovadia delivers all this in rollicking, entertaining prose. His dialogue is especially delicious, making the reader wish he'd avoid the abstract passages: his characters don't need a narrator to speak for them. In the final chapter, Coovadia moves the story from the first quarter of the 20th century to its last decade, shifting his focus from the foreground love story to the background immigration story. While this bittersweet coda doesn't address the questions raised about Ismet and Khateja, it does address the narrator's need to tell their story. If the narrator bears any postmodern resemblance to Coovadia, then one happy result of Ismet and Khateja's contentious marriage is this talented and promising young novelist. (Nov.)
Forecast:A colorful, witty jacket and a prominently featured blurb from J.M. Coetzee should attract browsers.
