fiction (Bangladeshi Muslim woman meets American bachelor online; each family and couple has secrets/problems). Interesting enough to finish reading but not one of my favorite reads; things work out unrealistically well for Amina so it does feel contrived (and lots of other people point out that she is not all that likeable or very authentic/believable as a modern Muslim woman, though there is a little value at least in exposing us Westerners to an unfamiliar culture and customs). ( )

The sense of place in this novel is amazing. I loved seeing America for the first time through Munni's eyes and when see goes back to visit Bangladesh and retrieve her parents the author's descriptions are incredible. The characters all have such depth. The exploration of what it's like to be an immigrant was very interesting. Also, there are several love stories in the book (Amina's and George's, Amina's and Nasir's, between Amina and her country, and her and her parents, George and the cousin . . .) and Freudenberger carefully crafted each to show the complexities of love. ( )

I remember reading and enjoying Freudenberger's short story in the New Yorker's "20 Under 40" short story anthology, but I did not realize that this story had been expanded and developed into the novel that I had seen reviewed on so many must-read lists.

The story follows Amina, a Bangladesh woman who meets an American man online; after several months of e-mailing back and forth, he comes to visit her and proposes. Amina and her family are excited about her going to America, and look forward to the day when she becomes a citizen and is able to bring her parents to live with her and her husband. However, once Amina arrives in America, there is much to learn about American cultures, her husband's family, taking ESL classes, and finding a job so that she can send money home to her parents.

I really enjoy Freudenberger's writing style; her characters are vivid and emotional, dialogue and interactions are rendered clearly. Although not as poignantly powerful as the other contemporary fiction that I am reading by Lionel Shriver, I liked this novel and its glimpse into modern immigration. ( )

When Amina meets George on an online dating site in the early 2000s, she can hardly believe her good fortune. She is in Bangladesh, he is in America, and yet they seem to be perfect for one another. She admires his old-fashioned values, while he appreciates her pragmatic and unmaterialistic spirit. They message for eleven months – with one brief interruption; he comes from America to visit her and her parents in Bangladesh; he produces a ring; she applies for a fiancee visa. And suddenly here they are: in a three-bedroom house in Rochester, New York, freshly married, at the beginning of their life’s journey together. Freundenberger’s novel traces – with clear-sighted compassion – the choices we make when we select a spouse: the futures we cross out in doing so, the futures we assume without ever actually talking about them, the pasts on which we turn our backs. What initially seems to be a simple story about domestic adjustment becomes something much bigger and, perhaps, much sadder...

For the full review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2020/01/25/the-newlyweds-nell-freudenberger/ ( )

Meeting a future spouse on the internet is not so unusual these days and so Amina Mazid from Bangladesh meets George Stillman from Rochester, NY. After preliminary email exchanges George agrees to meet Amina in Bangladesh. From this, comes an engagement, and the immigration of Amina to America to become his wife. The story follows many threads including the promise that America offers great expectations to immigrants but it also explores the cultural differences that can become problematic. In the story both Amina and George are hiding past secrets that could easily destroy the new marriage. There are ongoing new hurdles for the "newlyweds" in the story that develop the characters and hold the attention of the reader. ( )