cover image Imaginary Men

Imaginary Men

Anjali Banerjee, . . Downtown, $13 (236pp) ISBN 978-1-4165-0943-1

A desperate lie leads to true love in Banerjee's predictable but fun debut. At the Kolkata, India, wedding of her younger sister, Indian-American matchmaker Lina, who lives in San Francisco, gets so fed up with her great-aunt's talk of arranged marriages that she tells everyone she's already engaged. Too bad Lina isn't even dating anyone, much less the rich, cosmopolitan fellow named Raja she claims as her fiancé (she invents him, based on the real Raja Presad, a prince she met at her sister's wedding). In what becomes a Bridget Jones's Diary meets Monsoon Wedding –style escapade, Lina must find the Mr. Right she's supposed to already have. Enter a series of humorously awful first-and-last dates. When the real Prince Raja drops by, seeking a match for his brother, Lina's day job takes a turn for the personal. Is it possible that Raja could actually be the One? Could Lina's California lifestyle ever meld with that of a wealthy Indian prince? Besides, with his home in India and antiquated views on women, Raja is hardly interested in Lina as his real-life betrothed—or is he? Of course he is! Banerjee's prose is workmanlike, but at least her narrator isn't afflicted with the logorrhea so many other chick-lit heroines suffer from, which makes this a quick, enjoyable read. Agent, Winifred Golden . (Oct.)