Rating: 
Summary: Beautifully written
Review: "Madras on Rainy Days" provides a rare glimpse into the life of a traditional Hyderabadi family. This helps fill a gap in recent South Asian literature especially given the uniqueness of Hyderabadi culture within India. The writing is atmospheric and sharp and the story gripping. Would highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Gripping and Insightful
Review: Ali has written a gripping and insightful book about the challenges of identity and expectations. The book follows Layla, a woman raised both in the US and India through her arranged marriage to Sameer. Along the way we discover, along with Layla, how her relationships define her identity and how the choices she has and will make affects it. I highly recommend this book as not only a great novel, but an intriguing look at how a woman wrestles with identity and the definition of that identity.Gripping from beginging to end.
Rating:
Summary: Splendid first novel
Review: Ali has written a splendid first novel that is hard to put down. The writing is superb, and the themes explored are many, and fascinating. The author brings a new perspective to the question of arranged marriages, intercultural and intergenerational relations, and those age-old questions of love, and religion.
Rating:
Summary: Best weekend spent in quite a while....!!!!!
Review: Ali manages to entwine a collection of issues that, to outsiders, dismisses the stereotypes that have evolved in the post 9/11 Western mentality. The usual Indian motifs of vibrant color, heat, food, nature etc are paralleled with some interesting insights into the life of a Muslim Indian girl, returning from the US to her native city. While the subject of arranged marriages takes on a backdrop there is no shortage of issues such as pre-marital sex, familial relationships, divorce and homosexuality to remind readers that the Muslim female isn't quite as 'downtrodden' as we, in the West, might 'like' to believe her to be. The political undercurrent and tension between Hindu and Muslim offers another sad example of fanaticism but doesn't distract itself from the brilliant story line that took me only a weekend to read. All in all, Samina Ali enlightens the ignorant, plays for the romantic, educates the anthropologist and smiles for the feminist. We should all be happy with this read. The book offers a different genre but compliments the Indian novels that have arrived in mainstream book clubs. Two further books that might be an interesting read here..... Rajeev Balasubramanyam's In Beautiful Disguises and Badruddin Khan's Sex Longing and Not Belonging.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow and Insipid
Review: Ali's storytelling is richly and beautifully detailed, even as it describes the dark and oppressive themes that run throughout the story. Her description of Hyderabadi life and culture was so vivid and visceral, I felt as though I was standing there even though I have never seen the place. I think the reason that it so enveloped me was her deliberate choice to introduce each character (Layla, her parents, Sameer, and the rest of the family members) as sort of a blank slate, onto which the reader naturally imposes his or her own presuppositions. Then she slowly reveals details about each character that pique the reader's interest and often run counter to these presuppositions. However, I should add that the whole idea of this mystery with its nebulous characters never seemed to clarify itself to me. Sameer's "secret" seemed too much a contrived plot to bridge Eastern and Western social culture, and the ending seemed to beg for a little more summarization of how Layla's character had grown through all this. It is not clear what our protagonist has gained from all these trying experiences, aside from learning that she can "hide behind her veil" if she remains in Hyderabad where she now feels at home; perhaps a short epilogue would have given readers some closure on Layla's future on her own.
Rating: 
Summary: a very engrossing story, but left me wanting in the end
Review: Ali's storytelling is richly and beautifully detailed, even as it describes the dark and oppressive themes that run throughout the story. Her description of Hyderabadi life and culture was so vivid and visceral, I felt as though I was standing there even though I have never seen the place. I think the reason that it so enveloped me was her deliberate choice to introduce each character (Layla, her parents, Sameer, and the rest of the family members) as sort of a blank slate, onto which the reader naturally imposes his or her own presuppositions. Then she slowly reveals details about each character that pique the reader's interest and often run counter to these presuppositions. However, I should add that the whole idea of this mystery with its nebulous characters never seemed to clarify itself to me. Sameer's "secret" seemed too much a contrived plot to bridge Eastern and Western social culture, and the ending seemed to beg for a little more summarization of how Layla's character had grown through all this. It is not clear what our protagonist has gained from all these trying experiences, aside from learning that she can "hide behind her veil" if she remains in Hyderabad where she now feels at home; perhaps a short epilogue would have given readers some closure on Layla's future on her own.
Rating:
Summary: Slow and Insipid
Review: Almost half the book was very slow. It begins with an endless description of a Hyderabadi Muslim wedding. The bride, Layla, is a young Muslim girl raised party in the U.S. and partly in Hyderabad. She agrees to an arranged marriage and lives under burkha while in Hyderabad. The book goes on to detail how she tries to blend in with her new husband and his orthodox family. The description of Old City culture and values was interesting and insightful. However, the latter part of the book turns tragic because of religious violence. The author makes Hindus out to be intolerant people who eye Muslims with hatred and suspicion. The only religious violence that is described is that perpetrated by Hindus against Muslims. The author describes this violence as happening at the time of the annual Ganesh festival, and so she asks "Where was he [Ganesh]?" when the violence against Muslims was being committed. Tens of millions of Muslims live in peace and prosperity on India because Hinduism is a religion that teaches its followers that every religion is a different path to the same God. We are not taught to hate or look down upon any other religion. I was angered and offended by this book. I should not have wasted my time on such a slow and insipid book.
Rating:
Summary: Good book club choice
Review: Good first novel; I would have liked a little more detail on the wedding (when were they actually considered to be married? what was the significance of some of the customs?) and explaination of some of the terms used, and a little less repetition of some of the other details of Layla's past. I enjoyed learning about the culture and the Hindu/Muslim conflict. This would be an excellent choice for a book club as it supplies much to discuss.
Rating:
Summary: A must read
Review: I personally would recommed this book to anyone who is interested in cross cultural battles faced by this generation. Layla on one hand wants to live life with freedom and on the other hand is bound by customs and traditions. This book not only gives us an insight into the inner turmoils a girl could go through but also makes us aware that as girls we are ready to go to any extent to live up to the traditions and cultural standards set by our ancestors & elders.
Rating:
Summary: just read the book, OK?
Review: I saw this book on a shelf at the local library and thought it looked a bit too fem for a guy like me. Still, because of it's relation to my beloved India, I knew that I had to read it. I must say that I disagree with most of the negative comments found above. Firstly, it was a relief that the author did not launch into a hackneyed and drawn out description of the Indian wedding - it's been done before and once the description starts...it never ends, much like an Indian wedding (though I know little of the Muslim version, I imagine it is similar). Better to leave something to our imagination. The book is pleasingly devoid of the cerebral, post modern psychobabble that you find in other writers in this genre. Moreover, this is a personal story of this young woman's choices and those thrust upon her. I like the fact that it wasn't playing up on India's exotic appeal, but rather it's a personal journey that just happens to be taking place in Hyderbad. India is in cast, for sure, but it is not the lead role.
Although some of the scenarios may be a bit forced (like the Hindu violence against the Muslims), it is fiction, after all and the author has a right to take such liberties. As a *Hindu* (a meaningless word which I am using for convention's sake)I was pleased with her description of Hindu beliefs: sensative and not judgemental. Although that crack about Ganesh mentioned above was a faux pas, it was an understandable one and appropriate to the story.
I get the feeling the other Western reviewers never have had the distinct pleasure of residing in, or maybe even visiting, India. Frankly, what Samina Ali has written is %100 accurate. Yes, even Sameer's "secret" is far more likely to be the truth than that other reviewer could ever imagine. Probably as likely to happen in India, if not more so.
In any case, I absolutely loved the story and I had to put the book down and cry so many times as it did not just reminded me of India and my failed marriage there, but because it brought India back to me, hitting me like a tsunami; that's powerful writing. This is a good story that will move you, plain and simple. I will certainly never forget it. I am giving it 4 stars, not 5, only because there is always room for improvement. I highly recommend it.
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