Unmarriageable: A Novel

Publishers Weekly- Starred Review

[A] funny, sometimes romantic, often thought-provoking glimpse into Pakistani culture, one which adroitly illustrates the double standards women face when navigating sex, love, and marriage. This is a must-read for devout Austenites.

Library Journal- Starred Review

Pride and Prejudice in Pakistan may seem like an unusual pairing to some, but the rich cultural backdrop only enhances and breathes new life into Jane Austen’s classic. Kamal boldly embraces this treasured love story, creating a version solely her own. An Austen fan herself, the author remains faithful to the original story while giving readers insight into Pakistani culture in a modern retelling both enlightening and entertaining. The dialog sparkles with sharp humor, which will dazzle readers with counterparts of the original. Austen devotees will rejoice in this respectful cross-cultural update of a beloved classic.

Katherine Chen, author of Mary B

Kamal’s UNMARRIAGEABLE is a book simmering with life, language, intellect – and delicious Pakistani cuisine. It will leave readers’ hearts and souls content and their mouths watering.

Joshilyn Jackson, NYT bestselling author of The Almost Sisters

A delight from start finish, Soniah Kamal’s retelling of Pride and Prejudice has all the sly social commentary and bright, biting humor of the original, but aimed at thoroughly modern issues. It’s also the perfect book for the armchair traveler, offering an insider’s view into a fascinating country and culture—including a peek at what the wedding of the year looks like in Pakistan. This one is going directly on my keeper shelf; I loved it.

Booklist

Alys Binat, the second of five daughters, is an independent, forward-thinking English teacher in Pakistan or, as Alys likes to call it, “[t]he home of the marriage-industrial complex.” When the rich and handsome Bungles becomes smitten with Alys’ older sister, her family eagerly awaits an advantageous proposal. The classic plot unfolds, but with rich descriptions of colorful, chiffon anarkalis instead of empire-waist gowns, chai and samosas instead of tea and scones.

Kamal’s adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is faithful, with scene-by-scene recreations that will inevitably cause the reader to picture Austen’s original at the same time. Mrs. Binat beautifies her daughters with chickpea masks; Mari bores her sisters with Islamic preachings. That juxtaposition along with plenty of metareferential allusions are what makes this version so much fun. Even the most devoted Austenites will be surprised with how much they judge Darsee as arrogant in the beginning of the novel yet suddenly adore him in the end. This love letter to Austen reexamines sisterhood, society, and marriage in Pakistani culture and includes a fleshed-out epilogue that will satisfy today’s readers.

Kat In The Library

We can all agree that it is rare for a reboot to rival the original. But in this world, where #MeToo and #WeNeedDiverseBooks live, I have found you a single novel that can be a gateway drug to fine literature, world literature, and women’s literature.

Unmarriageable is indeed “Pride and Prejudice in Pakistan”…more importantly, it is the version of Pride and Prejudice modern students NEED to read. Unmarriageable not only presents the plight of women, especially “older” unmarried women, but also touches upon the struggles of gay men, interracial couples, unwed pregnant women, plus sized women, and class biases. And while the setting is Pakistan, many of these biases hit disturbingly close to the mark in Western society too. This book will also give educators an opportunity to teach about Partition, colonial occupation, India-Pakistan relations, Islam, the importance of education to women. And it may help some students realize how little they know about this important, populous and critical area of the world.

Forbes

Endearing… Kamal’s story seems to have all the ingredients that make Pride and Prejudice’s re-telling an exciting, dramatic and fun South Asian adaptation complete with big, fat desi weddings, modern Pakistani women, affluent bachelors and the unrelenting quest for love.

Kirkus Reviews

A charming update to the orginal…Kamal’s version of the classic novel highlights issues of colonialism, race, and Pakistani identity. Her insights are pointed and smart. Put your feet up and enjoy. It’s a delicious book.

Jasmine Guillory, USA Today bestselling author of The Wedding Date

Unmarriageable is a joy to read! It transforms a familiar story into something new and fresh and different, but keeps all of the warmth and intelligence of the original. I loved everything about these characters and spending time in their world.

Balli Jaswal Kaur, author of Erotic Widows for Punjabi Widows a Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick

Soniah Kamal has gifted us a refreshing update of a timeless classic. ‘Unmarriageable’ raises an eyebrow at a society which views marriage as the ultimate prize for women. This atmospheric novel does more than simply retell ‘Pride and Prejudice’ though. Crackling with dialogue, family tensions, humour and rich details of life in contemporary Pakistan, ‘Unmarriageable’ tells an entirely new story about love, luck and literature.

Devoney Looser, 2018 Guggenheim fellow and author of The Making of Jane Austen

A brilliant fictional homage to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, reimagined in 21st-century Pakistan, Unmarriageable offers an incisive, loving look at the society it puts under the microscope. Kamal’s splendid novel is not only light, bright, and sparkling. It’s sassy, direct, sharp, and funny. Heroine Alysba Binat is transformed into a gifted, defiant English literature teacher at a British school for girls in provincial Dilipabad. Alys and her sisters—Jena, Mari, Lady, and Quitty—navigate a shallow world of luxury and privilege that pushes them toward advantageous, empty marriages, rather than happily-ever-afters. Fortunately, some of them have read their Austen. Unmarriageable is a beautiful novel.

Thrity Umrigar, bestselling author of The Space Between Us and The Secrets Between Us

An irreverent, witty, imaginative novel that is part homage and part interrogation of Jane Austen’s classic. Readers will be surprised by the similarities between the customs, manners and moral codes of 19th century England and those of modern-day Pakistan. Austen herself would have enjoyed Kamal’s deft retelling of her novel, while sipping a cup of chai.

Amulya Malladi, bestselling author of The Copenhagen Affair and A House for Happy Mothers

A delicious retelling of Pride & Prejudice! Instead of “high tea” with finger sandwiches, we have “high chai” with samosas and chicken patties. Soniah Kamal opens up the drawing rooms of the South East, where women wear Gucci and Qazi but the prize is still a ring on the finger and a man’s arm to hang onto. UNMARRAIAGABLE is a joyride where you meet all the lovable Austen characters with a Pakistani twist, drawing on universal themes of love, passion and the healing nature of tea.

Vanessa Hua, author of A River of Stars

Charming and insightful, Soniah Kamal’s Unmarriageable connects the concerns of women across time and cultures in this delightful debut.”

V. V. Ganeshananthan, author of Love Marriage

An addictively smart, funny, genuinely modern novel that amplifies Austen’s feminism for our times, while brilliantly calling Eurocentrism on the carpet. Unmarriageable is a total delight! Once I had opened it, I really couldn’t put it down. I snuck it everywhere with me when I was supposed to be reading other things.

SJ Sindu, author of Marriage of A Thousand Lies

Unmarriageable is a rollicking good ride. The opulent landscape of Pakistan’s moneyed (and unmoneyed) social elite is exactly the kind of modern update Pride and Prejudice needs. This is one of those books that are hard to put down.