The Newlyweds (Nell Freudenberger)

Amina is a young woman from India marries an American man after they meet through an online service, and moves to Rochester. It was a lot of fun to read a book with so many local details (though some of them are wrong). I thought the Indian woman and the Indian life she left behind were very well drawn, but the rest of the story was disappointing. Although some ambiguity in a story is a good thing, there was too much of it here for me. Was her husband in love with her? Was he good, or bad? What was up with that other woman; was she seriously trying to be Amina's friend, or was there some nefarious purpose behind her actions? It's not that the author left unanswered questions, it's that these people and situations were not drawn clearly. The story was well told in each incident, but it all felt like nothing more than a series of incidents that didn't really add up to anything. This all sounds more negative than it should. I enjoyed reading the book, but it left me feeling dissatisfied.