The Newlyweds by Nell Freudenberger

This was an absolutely stunning read, I couldn`t put it down and I certainly didn`t want it to finish.
It was magical in its descriptions of people and especially places, painting them so vividly that you certainly felt as if you had been there. Her characters are beautifully drawn and multi-faceted and develop throughout  the book like onion skins being delayered, they are not characters who are easy to like and most readers will form an opinion one way or the other. There are secrets and lies and twists and turns aplenty in this well paced suspenceful book that draws you so deeply into each characters orbit and it is simply amazing to look back on the reading of this book and see what appeared originally as quite simple turning into anything but.
The Two main characters are George and Amina who have met online and married when Amina travels form her home in a small village in Bangladesh to Rochester, New York where husband George lives, apparently the epitome of all things good, all things American, But nothing for these two and the characters that surround them is as simple as the surface appears and it isn`t long before stress and strain poke their heads in and life becomes quite the challenge especially when secrets charge in with resounding force and open a can of snakes as opposed to the often mention worms!
This book stretches across continents, across generations and across expectations and the heavy weight these can and do bring to those who choose to marry out of their own cultural group. and attempt that difficult challenge of making it work, so much can and does change and at the drop of a hat, how you react and what actions you take determine failure or success.
I felt that Freudenberger took me on an adventure of a life time to Bangladesh, I felt as I was right there, smelling the smells, riding in the rickshaws,climbing the stairs, bouncing along the rutted roads, sharing the meals,thwacking the mossies, trying to do the right and acceptable thing, listening for snippets of conversation...
This book is available via the library system and it is well worth placing a hold.