Marriage, family, race

Marriage Material by Sathnam Sanghera is another title I received through Netgalley.
I found it to be a very amusing, endearing and engaging story about multiple generations of a Sikh family in Wolverhampton. The story revolves around a newsagent shop from the 60s to the present day and covers love, religion, race and prejudice big subjects but done with humour and pathos. I really cared and liked this family and enjoyed seeing how their stories developed. Sanghera told the story of 2 generations of the famiy in alternating chapters.
In the 60s the newly immigrant family are dealing with a Wolverhampton that is trying o come to terms with an increasing Asian population, Enoch Powell is delivering his 'rivers of blood' speech, Sikhs are threatening to burn themselves in protest in the ban on turbans and the 2 daughters are contending with the possibility of arranged marriages. Surinder takes drastic action to this situation by eloping whilst Kamaljit marries 'beneath' herself and outside her caste.
30 years later Arjan returns to Wolverhampton from his life in London to help his mother in the wake of his father's death. This action results in his life being turned upside down as his tries to contend with life back in the city he tried to escape. Secrets from the past start to be unearthed as Arjan tries to take stock of his life, his relationship with his white fiancee, his mother's refusal to sell-up and the casual racism of the present coupled with the 2011 riots. The re-appearance of his runaway aunt and the shocking revelation at the end of the book all serve to make for an engaging story. The author admits that he has'borrowed' elements of the The Old Wives Tale by Arnold Bennett. I have to admit that I have not read the classic story but this modern retelling with an Asian slant has made me want to read it. A thoroughly enjoyable book that I would highly recommend.