My guesses - feel free to correct and critique:
Khalid’s two proposals are almost identical to Mr. Darcy’s proposals to Elizabeth.
Khalid’s mother = Lady Catherine de Bourgh
Hafsa = Elizabeth Bennett’s sister Lydia
Tarek = Mr. Wickham
Clara Taylor = Elizabeth’s sister Jane
Zareena = Darcy’s sister Georgiana
Masood = Mr. Collins (and yeah the marriage to Hafsa doesn’t match)
And from a review I happened across: “While I delighted in Clara’s solution to her own relationship problem, I do not see romantic happiness in her future, which makes me sad. I believe she wasted a clever solution on a guy who wasn’t worth the effort.”
I totally agree.
@Colorado_mom Yes, those last Ellie chapters were also very disturbing! I skipped through those, too, once I realized what was happening. I also hoped that story would work out. But instead of ordinary mismatches and treachery, Marrs favored the overly dramatic–also with Sally dying unexpectedly during childbirth and Mandy falling down the stairs, leading to a slew of over-the-top plot points. Jade’s story was the only somewhat relatable one, which is probably why many here listed that as a favorite.
Well done, thanks for that list @ignatius
I agree that Marrs’ book might be better with a little less drama. I was interested after reading the interview with him that my copy of the book has a slightly different cover. Instead of the lipstick heart for the “O” it has a fingerprint in what looks like a bloods platter. I think that’s appropriate for a book that is more thriller than love story. So what’s the verdict, are they going to find Ellie guilty or not guilty?
I can’t decide if Clara will end up with a happy marriage or not.
I’d guess guilty. If she had only thrown the lead crystal decanter with accidentally fatal results, she would probably have been convicted of involuntary manslaughter. But to have followed up “coolly and calmly” with another blow to Matthew’s head–on video, no less–well, I think that sealed her fate. Her defense was “diminished responsibility,” but per Wikipedia, “this does not mean that the defendant is entitled to an acquittal. The defendant still might be convicted of second degree murder which only requires that the defendant act with general malice.”
Mine, too! This: https://www.amazon.com/One-John-Marrs/dp/1335005102
^ Speaking of covers, I liked the one for Ayesha at Last. A clever drawing with the heart lips; plus, I think I have a thing for gold edging.
When I started Ayesha at Last, I had to take a minute to picture our hero Khalid in a white robe, skull cap and bushy beard, but it was a pretty quick adjustment. How did you feel about his makeover at the end? I know he was an old school fuddy duddy, but that was his personality. Going fashionable felt a little like a sell-out. Sort of like those old sexist stories where the woman gets kudos for taking off her glasses and letting down her hair.
I know part of the reason for the change was to pull off the ruse trapping the boss Sheila, but it’s more than that. Khalid says: “I think I held on to the robe for too long. Just like I held on to some other things. But I’m learning to let go and ‘edit,’ as Amir would say” (p. 326).
That said, he IS back in a white robe and planning to grow out his beard at the end of the novel. But maybe now he’ll just dress better overall, like these guys: 4 Fashion Essentials For The Modern Muslim Man — Bahath | Redefining Muslim Media
Thoughts on peripheral characters:
I imagine Amir was there for comic relief, but I thought he was coarse and unfunny. I wondered why he and Khalid were friends.
The blatant racism and xenophobia of Sheila seemed over the top. I’d like to think such thoughts wouldn’t come out of an employer’s mouth in this day and age, but I’m probably being naive.
I didn’t understand why Ayesha’s mom felt the need to hide her husband’s cause of death. I understand not wanting to talk about him because it was too painful, but it went beyond that — his death was a deep, dark secret. His fate was tragic of course, but it didn’t seem like the details needed to be hidden from the children (and surprising that Ayesha wouldn’t have pushed harder for answers once she was a grown woman).
I was fine with Khalid’s traditional dress and behavior. In fact, I had a bit of inner turmoil being so tolerant of Khalid’s avoidance of female handshake while I’ve scoffed at VP Pence limitations with female coworker interfaces (“never eats alone with a woman other than his wife, Karen, and that he won’t attend events featuring alcohol without her by his side.”). Not wanting to start a political debate here. It’s just a comment about how books can make us think about topics beyond the actual story.
I think there are some things in some religions and cultures that come from a place of deep seated misogyny and I’m fine with being disapproving things that come out of some misbegotten idea that women are unclean or untrustworthy.
I’m fine with his beard and white shirt. I also googled to see that I was imagining things correctly, but I can’t seem to find my favorite site any more. I loved when he asked Sheila, why she could wear a dress but he couldn’t.
Totally agree Sheila was over the top and I didn’t think Ayesha’s mother’s refusal to talk about her father made sense.
I think the avoidance of the handshake applies to both sexes, so not exactly misogyny, but an opposition to any physical contact with the opposite sex outside family. At least, that’s what I garnered from this article in the NYT. It looks like Farah Alhajeh met her “Sheila”!
I think what bothered me in Ayesha at Last was that everyone’s character flaw was so extreme. There really wasn’t much subtlety. That and you knew pretty much how it was going to end.
The pandemic has turned the world upside down in so many ways. Today, if you reached out to shake a co-worker’s hand, you would almost certainly be politely rebuffed. The handshake–such a staple of polite business–is no longer expected, required or desired.
Sadly, I don’t remember some details about Ayesha book.
Could someone remind why Ayesha’s mother couldn’t talk about the husband and I recall there was a pivotal moment when she finally did ? Ugh, memory.
Like others, I didn’t care for Sheila’s outrage, BUT I struggled with the idea of religious rights, vs cultural adaptation.
I’m still unsure whether Kahlid should have assimilated more.
I leaned a lot about orthodox beliefs, ( ie no touch rule between men and women) when I watched an Israeli tv drama - Shitzel, about arranged marriages in the Haredi ULTRA Orthodox Jewish community in Jerusalem !
I followed that with another similar show Unorthodox, and woman flees her arranged marriage.
,mmmmmmm I like this gesture
she placed her hand on her heart as a greeting, smiled, and explained that she avoided physical contact because she was Muslim.
Knowing that Ayesha and Khalid will end up together did not bother me at all. That’s the central tenet of a romance novel, it’s the journey that is interesting. The author lets you know very early that we are in romance world with the Austen quotes/paraphrases. I did not know what would happen with all the minor characters, so it’s not like everything was written in stone.
I do agree that the flaws often seemed exaggerated. That’s something that sometimes bothers me in Jane Austen’s books too and I have to remind myself one, that she was practically inventing a genre, and two, they are meant to be comedies.
I liked that, too! It seemed like a lovely substitute for a handshake.
In that regard (and somewhat off-topic), what are all of you noticing about greetings, both socially and at work, as a result of the pandemic? I have found that the men tend to bump elbows, and the women tend to offer a brief nod or slight wave.
I retired in summer, and the last months were all by zoom call - no handshaking.
My last days on site were for 3 weeks of meetings with international team, ending 3/13. By the last week, most of us (mix of mostly males, some females) tried to avoid handshakes. Instead we laughed and did “jazz hands”.
That’s the central tenet of a romance novel,
I guess that’s why I’m not a fan of romance novels unless they are a lot more complicated and have other elements. Never was a Jane Austen fan.
Since we don’t come close to anyone anymore a slight wave is all we do. I don’t even get close enough to bump elbows.
My Muslim neighbors sent their children to an Islamic school till high school. The mother mentioned to me that separation of the sexes begins in elementary school: no more playing together and absolutely no touching allowed.
I’m catching up.
I absolutely hated the Chris/Amy storyline. It could have been better, just like the book could have been better, but wasn’t. I felt it was too forced and too shallow. As I’m writing this I’m thinking the lack of depth in the book may be the problem for me. The author tried to do too much. Too many couples and too many story lines for the length of the book. Some of the actions of the characters in the story weren’t believable to me because I didn’t know them well enough to know what they were capable of doing.
@stradmom: For me, the question is not so much about a DNA match, but love itself. Is love at first sight real?
@Mary13: I think “chemistry at first sight” is real, and for some people that pull (pheromones?) might be very strong.
I think love at first sight can happen and so can chemistry at first sight. In college we called it “lust at first sight.”
@HImom: I find it hard to imagine there would only be ONE biological match for each person rather than a group of people that are closer or further from matching.
I agree. I have a great husband who really is a perfect match for me. We have been married 38 years. I was attracted to him from the start, but falling in love took time to get to know him and his character. I met him at the beginning of my last semester in college, but we didn’t really connect until an end of the year pizza party that he almost didn’t attend. If he hadn’t gone would I still be single? Who knows? I tend to think there would have been someone else for both of us. Whether the relationships would have had the same compatibility is something we will never know.
@mathmom: So what’s the verdict, are they going to find Ellie guilty or not guilty?
I’m going with guilty! The murder was on video!
@Mary13: How did you feel about his (Khalid’s) makeover at the end?
When I first read about it I was disappointed. Thinking about it now, I believe it was part of Khalid’s journey of getting to know and understand himself. He was learning where his beliefs could fit comfortably in his current world. Until he met Ayesha he was okay going along with the path his mother picked for him. For most of his life he believed without considering alternatives. Growing out his beard and going back to the robes seems real for him, but now he is doing it with a greater understanding of himself.