Love Comes Later

Rajakumar’s pedestrian romance uncovers the tensions of a long-arranged engagement between two Qataris who want nothing to do with marriage. After Abdulla’s pregnant wife dies in a car crash, he refuses to remarry. When his family finally arranges his marriage to cousin Hind, he is relieved that she insists on completing a master’s degree in England first. Secretly rebellious Hind relishes the freedom of Europe, happily postponing her wedding for a year. She moves in with an Indian-American classmate, Sangita, whose impulsive brother, Ravi, turns Hind’s head. When Abdulla arrives in London unannounced, Sangita’s attempts to occupy him (and thereby hide Hind’s clandestine trip to India with Ravi) blossom into mutual attraction. The characters’ tendency to blurt trivial facts makes for some awkward conversation. More disorienting is Rajakumar’s odd pacing, which makes Hind’s year abroad fly by while dragging out the character development. Readers wanting to peer into Arab customs will enjoy the anthropological details that provide intriguing insights into Qatari culture, but the story’s wooden dialogue and obvious ending disappoint. (BookLife)