Mansi Choksi, "The Newlyweds: Rearranging Marriage in Modern India" (Atria Books, 2022)
Two neighbors from the same village fall in love and elope to a shelter for couples that break caste norms. A Hindu woman falls in love with a Muslim man, drawing the ire of Hindu nationalists. Two women start a lesbian relationship.\nThese three couples are the protagonists of Mansi Choksi\u2019s\xa0The Newlyweds: Rearranging Marriage in Modern India\xa0(Atria Book, 2022). This work charts the lives of Dawinder and Neetu, Monika and Arif, Reshma and Preethi, who all break social norms in their relationships, and are forced to endure the sometimes-violent consequences\u2014not always successfully.\nIn this interview, Mansi and I talk about the three couples in her book\u2014and what their struggles tell us about love, relationships and social pressure in today\u2019s India.\nMansi Choksi is a graduate of the Columbia School of Journalism and two-time Livingston Award Finalist. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Harper\u2019s Magazine, National Geographic, The Atlantic, and more. She lives in Dubai with her husband and son. The Newlyweds is her first book.\nYou can find more reviews, excerpts, interviews, and essays at\xa0The Asian Review of Books, including its review of\xa0The Newlyweds. Follow on Twitter at\xa0@BookReviewsAsia.\nNicholas Gordon is an associate editor for a global magazine, and a reviewer for the Asian Review of Books. He can be found on Twitter at@nickrigordon.\nLearn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices\nSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/gender-studies