Small Talk and Simple Things: Real Life Stories that will inspire you to take a chill pill towards “Arranged Marriage” by Meryl Mathew is a curation of twelve short and sweet real-life stories with the central theme of arranged marriage. One of the short stories, The Unaware Mistress revolves around Rahul and Maya. After just a couple of dates, they clicked. While Maya dreamed of a beautiful future together, Rahul kept disappearing every now and then. Since he was not on any of the social media platforms, the normal convenience of locating anyone with a couple of clicks was not available to her. Finally, when she got a hold of him, she insisted that he talk to his parents about her and that they get married. Her parents had already begun their search for a suitable partner for their daughter by creating her profile on a matrimonial website. When Rahul went missing after promising to convince his parents yet another time, Maya finally gave in to her parents’ wishes and agreed to arranged marriage a try. What she found on one of the matches on the matrimonial app, however, turned her world upside down.
I was browsing through the profile and the pictures posted when I came across a family picture and I saw a familiar face on it. I was astonished, it was Rahul standing next to the guy’s sister and parents. It took me a while to realize what I was looking at as I zoomed in and out of the picture a few times to make sure if it was really him.
– Small Talk and Simple Things by Meryl Mathew
Each of the twelve short stories of Small Talk and Simple Things is just as intriguing as The Unaware Mistress. Ranging from the matrimonial scams to language barriers, it is amazing how many areas Meryl Elizabeth Mathew has covered in the bite-sized real stories. As the real people take the audience on a walk down their cherished, amusing, or eye-opening experiences, Meryl Mathew achieves her mission to remove the stigma that all arranged marriages are forced and backward or something to be ashamed of. Although a quick read, Small Talk and Simple Things is abundant in emotions. The smiles, frowns, and sympathies make way for an understanding, acceptance, and, in some cases, caution with the idea of the first few steps in arranged marriages and matrimonial apps.
After church that day my Dad came up to me and asked me if I noticed a girl who was wearing a light green salwar. I was surprised at the question, as I would have never expected my Dad to ask me if I had checked out a girl at church.
“Hmmm, No I don’t think so, I wasn’t really paying attention.” I replied.
“I was talking to her and her father after the service. You didn’t see her?”
“No Dad, I didn’t.”
Even if I did, I would not have admitted that to him, but this time I actually did not notice.
– Small Talk and Simple Things by Meryl Mathew
While some tales, like Pretty Picture, Language Hiccups, The Interview were light-hearted, others like How Tall Are You, Free Chicken Wings Anyone, ‘Matrimony Matrimony on the Phone, Who is the fairest of Them All,’ highlighted the prevalent biases in the society. The readers take a deep dive into the pool of heartbreaks, funny episodes, infuriating scams, and happy endings: all in one book named Small Talk and Simple Things: Real Life Stories that will inspire you to take a chill pill towards “Arranged Marriage” by Meryl Mathew. On top of that, the cute graphics and interesting titles further enhance the appearance factor of the book. The readers who enjoy a quick read with tales related to the matters of heart and marriage would read and recommend Small Talk and Simple Things by Meryl Elizabeth Mathew.
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