Salaam, Paris

I really like Indian Food and I love Paris. I know this isn't exactly how you're supposed to choose a book but I went out on a limb here. Salaam, Paris hooked me with the first line of the first page. Anyone intersted in cross-cultural stories, the lives of women and their likes and dislikes as well as societies prejudices, both internal and external will like this book. Don't be put off, some of the characters come across as very "Bollywood", but I'm all about the Bollywood. Ok, I admit it, it's my dirty little secret. Pick this book up, make a pot of tea, get comfortable and enjoy this delightful story. Salaam, Paris I want to recommend three other reads, all just as good, ranging from the Mughal Empire to present day. Imaginery Men Imaginary Men], The Twentieth Wife [[ASIN:0743428188 The Twentieth Wife: A Novel and Serving Crazy with Curry Serving Crazy with Curry,every one of them will give you a glimpse of a fascinating India and it's people, mores and morays. Enjoy

A great book. Perfect for a day by the beachside or a serious moment to reflect back on your roots.

I initally approached this book with much skepticism and trepidation but it turned out to be an interesting read. I was so sure this would be yet another story about an Eastern/Muslim woman running off to the West and finding that indeed, she is "free now" and wishes to forget her culture and people in order to live as an individual. However, the story line is more complicated than that and so are the choices before Tanaya. A great read!

After seeing Audrey Hepburn star in the original Sabrina, Tanaya Shah yearns to visit Paris, which looked so enticing and exciting in the movie, but knows her Muslim family would never allow her to go especially unescorted to the decadent west. When her family arranges for her to marry Tariq Khan, who already lives in Paris, Tanaya agrees with one stipulation; they meet in Paris before they wed to see if they are reasonably compatible. He is her ticket to seeing Sabrina's world. However, Tanaya proves devious as she has no plans to marry her chosen mate. Instead she ditches him and the wedding plans to become part of the city. Shockingly, Tanaya becomes a highly regarded supermodel, but her behavior as she hobnobs with the decadent music and modeling industries lead to her family disowning it her. When she meets Tariq again, she has second thoughts about her blithe decision to dump him as she now wants to marry him and through him reconcile with her family, but fears he will not forgive her. SALAAM, PARIS is a well written character study that plays out on two levels; on the one hand it is a coming of age tale while on the other it is a clash between traditional values and outside values in a shrinking world. Though Tanaya seems a bit selfish with how she initially treats Tariq, readers will forgive her as they realize that she did not mean to hurt him or disobey her family,; all she wanted was to see Paris through the eyes of her heroine. Tanaya is right that if you have not seen the original Sabrina you are missing a great romance. Harriet Klausner

It would be easy to label this novel multi-cultural chick lit, but Daswani manages to avoid the obvious clichés of the genre: girls seeks true love and career, chases her dream, stumbles and lives happily ever after. True, the protagonist, Tanaya Shaw, does break from her traditional Indian heritage to go out into the world via Paris and New York, eschewing an arranged marriage to the horror of her patriarchal grandfather and emotionless mother, but the careful crafting of this young woman's character and her Muslim background add another dimension to the Cinderella myth. The real charm of this small novel lies in the conflicted relationships of a modern, yet moral, female who has reverence for the past and the values of her childhood, but yearns for more than her restricted allotment of happiness and worldly exposure. Tanaya is infected with Western romanticism, the insidious virus of personal fulfillment at the cost of long-standing and revered cultural expectations. Thanks to her unusual and striking looks, Tanaya is a natural for the rarified stage of high fashion, a welcome contrast to the usual lanky blonde Europeans and their exotic counterparts, the gorgeous African-American beauties who stalk the runways. Her entrée into high couture is hardly difficult, in contrast to the real life dog-eat-dog scramble for success; perhaps it is because Tanaya never aspires to being a supermodel that she is so quickly assimilated into that fast-paced milieu. In a changed political climate, it is her commitment to the tenets of religion that sets this lady apart. While other models exist on a diet of coffee, cigarettes and cocaine, Tanaya remains faithful to her beliefs, refusing to fall into the trap of me-ness that accompanies celebrity. Indeed, she accomplishes far more than her early expectations, but at what cost? Finally, the love of family and the authenticity of her faith draw Tanaya home. The rootless existence of wealth and notoriety are unsatisfactory, the clamoring press, entourage of assistants and handlers and the public's insatiable thirst for gossip hardly conducive to long-term happiness. Daswani has created a Sabrina-like, lovely young woman, thrust for a time into mainstream consciousness, but haunted by her need to belong, to be at home with herself and her life choices. True to her heritage, although this Muslim daughter of India embraces the world, she never sells her soul. Exploitation and fame fail to seduce Tanaya, her integrity intact. Luan Gaines/ 2006.