Review: Diksha Basu's DESTINATION WEDDING.

A comedy of manners set in India, Diksha Basu’s Destination Wedding is an entertaining portrayal of a large number of nuanced personalities coming together in Delhi for a wedding.

Tina Das, a reality tv show programmer, is the main character of the novel though it frequently switches to different perspectives throughout.

Having lived in the US since she was born but having been “conceived” in India, as she says, Tina has long been aware of the challenges associated with others' responses to her dual heritage & wonders again & again if she could/should live in India.

Traveling to India with her best friend Marianne as well as her parents gives her an opportunity to explore the place her parents are from & the place she visited often as a child.

Filled with moments that are by turns moving & absurd Destination Wedding seems to celebrate humanity. The characters are flawed, they are sometimes selfish and/or oblivious, sometimes unlikable, they show love & care, & they are hopeful.

There’s only a small amount of romance here and what there is isn’t super convincing to me but that’s not the focus of the story as I see it.

Though the switches in perspective are often jarring I also appreciated seeing things from so many different points of view, from Tina & Marianne, to the former’s parents, to the driver, a matchmaker, & more.

The various narrators’s thoughts on wealth, the complexity of India beyond any stereotype, & the complexity of the people in the story, are compelling.

While there are times the book feels a little too glossy to me, I enjoyed it *&* getting to meet characters who feel real to me.

3.5⭐️. Destination Wedding is available now. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the complimentary ARC. All opinions provided are my own.