The Spice Bazaar is the story of a second-generation Indian woman mistakenly looking for a soul- mate through the centuries old tradition of 'arranged marriage.' The awkward situation in which she places herself leads her through various misadventures in turn poignant and funny. While Ms. Johnson's story blends in with the others in the anthology by way of the generally formulaic plot and the theme of Love overcoming all, the author's authentic rendering of colorful details in an easy readable style plunge the reader into the complicated web of expatriate Indian society, still (and perhaps forever), clinging to everything Indian that even the Indians back home are eager to shed.
The tale opens with the female protagonist Nalini meeting yet another prospective Indian groom, set up for her by a middle-aged matchmaker, in a little restaurant called the Spice Bazaar. However, the man she meets is not the intended groom but his friend Lokesh, owner of the restaurant and the adjoining grocery store. The two instantly fall in love with each other as Nalini mistakes him for the groom and Lokesh continues the deception, allowing Nalini to believe that he is in fact the intended groom. The rest of the story revolves around the events that follow when Nalini, to whom he finally confesses, walks out of his life but finds herself haunted by him. Meanwhile, future spouses have been arranged for both of them by their respective families, hers the 'real' groom, a jet-setting businessman and Lokesh's a desirably light-skinned young doctor from Bombay. Ms. Johnson brings to vivid life the whole Indian community as plans for Nalini's wedding speed up and relatives arrive from around the world. Nalini now in Chicago and Lokesh at the Spices Bazaar pine for the love that must die for duty. The story has all the ingredients of a suspense-filled romance and the reader is kept guessing the fate of the lovers upto the last page.
Author previously of Harlequin Temptation's 'The Better Man' Ms Johnson not only tells a good story but has a flair for authenticity and an easy narrative style. Her vivid evocation of the India that we left behind through the male protagonist Lokesh's reminiscences and her description of Indian customs is sure to keep the reader turning the pages and leave him/her with a feeling of having not just read a book but actually stepped into the world of the bewildered lovers. However, while Ms. Johnson uses all the traditional devices for a successful romance story, with settings in glamorous restaurants and interesting minor characters like the mysterious Showla Aunty who sets up the match, the portrayal of a deceptively homogeneous Indian community in the USA and the intrigues and hypocrisies of the tradition of arranged marriage can hardly be done justice to through a genre such as this. Perhaps this was never the intention of either the author or the publisher and surely the ills that beset a fledgling society in the throes of its growth in a foreign land are not the burden of a writer who aims chiefly to entertain. But with over one million Indians now permanently residing in the USA and growing evidence that the Indian community has come to stay, one wonders if the strange and largely inexplicable tradition of match-making could not have been portrayed in a way that would not relegate it to a mere parody of itself. Nevertheless the book will entertain on a rainy afternoon and is a good buy for some light-hearted reading. And perhaps with stories like 'The Spice Bazaar,' Indian culture, like others, will have found its place in popular and not just esoteric fiction. Indians of all generations will find something interesting in Ms. Johnson's story and the young people will be amused, if not alarmed at the heart-aches of the protagonist.
Excerpt from review in India West, 18 Apr 2003
These authors have dealt with the same topic: matchmaking, but each has written from a different ethnic angle. Greyle's is Chinese, Harbaugh's is Japanese, Yardley's is Vietnamese and Johnson's is Indian.
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Johnson's "Spice Bazaar" is the story of the twenty-something Nalini whose apparent date with a possible fiance has unintended consequences. The person she's supposed to date is Dilip, an accountant, but as he is out of town, he decides to send his friend Lokesh to check Nalini out. The two like each other immediately, and Lokesh cannot bring himself to tell Nalini that he is Dilip's friend. The chemistry between them gets more romantic as Nalini and Lokesh keep meeting each other. However, denouement is not far away.
Johnson's story blends the social mores of expatriate Indians with the generic characteristics of popular romance stories. Vivid detail on South Asian sensibilities are wrapped in breathless romantic prose and melodramatic situations. Not a bad read, though romance novels are admittedly not everybody's cup of tea.
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