The Newlyweds
Rearranging Marriage in Modern India
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
The Newlyweds
Buy for $14.99
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Deepti Gupta
-
By:
-
Mansi Choksi
About this listen
A thought-provoking and moving investigation into India as a society in transition through the lens of forbidden love, as three young couples reject arranged marriages and risk everything for true love amid social and political upheaval.
In India, two out of every three people are under the age of thirty-five. These are men and women who grew up with the internet and the advent of smartphones and social media. But when it comes to love and marriage, they’re expected to adhere to thousands of years of tradition. It’s that conflict between obeying convention and embracing modernity that drives journalist Mansi Choksi’s The Newlyweds.
In this “heart-wrenching and inspiring portrait of love under pressure” (Publishers Weekly), Choksi shines a light on three young couples who buck against arranged marriages in the pursuit of true love, illustrating the challenges, shame, anger, triumph, and loss their actions set in play.
Against the backdrop of India’s beautiful villages and cities, Choksi introduces our newlyweds. First, there’s the lesbian couple forced to flee for a chance at a life together. Then there’s the Hindu woman and Muslim man who escaped their families under the cover of night after being harassed by a violent militia group. Finally, there’s the inter-caste couple who are doing everything to avoid the same fate as a similar couple who were burned alive.
“The most nuanced, lyrical, and moving book about love and marriage in modern India yet written” (Suketu Mehta, author of Maximum City), The Newlyweds raises universal questions, such as: What are we really willing to risk for love? If we’re lucky enough to find it, does it change us? If so, for the better? Or for the worse?
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2022 Mansi Choksi. All rights reserved. (P)2022 Simon & Schuster, Inc. All rights reservedListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Case of the Missing Servant
- By: Tarquin Hall
- Narrated by: Sam Dastor
- Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 723
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 569
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 570
In hot and dusty Delhi, Puri's main work comes from screening prospective marriage partners, a job once the preserve of aunties and family priests. But when an honest public litigator is accused of murdering his maidservant, it takes all of Puri's resources to investigate. How will he trace the fate of the girl, known only as Mary, in a population of more than one billion? Who is taking pot shots at him and his prize chilli plants?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Complete Surprise
- By Deborah Jacob on 12-13-16
By: Tarquin Hall
-
Demon Copperhead
- A Novel
- By: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Charlie Thurston
- Length: 21 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 27,459
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 24,813
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 24,747
Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wow! It’s a Masterpiece
- By Billy on 10-25-22
-
Walking the Bowl
- A True Story of Murder and Survival Among the Street Children of Lusaka
- By: Chris Lockhart, Daniel Mulilo Chama
- Narrated by: Hlonela Ngqwebo
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 49
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
Based on years of investigative reporting and unprecedented fieldwork, Walking the Bowl immerses readers in the daily lives of four unforgettable characters: Lusabilo, a determined waste picker; Kapula, a burned-out brothel worker; Moonga, a former rock crusher turned beggar; and Timo, an ambitious gang leader. These children navigate the violent and poverty-stricken underworld of Lusaka, one of Africa’s fastest growing cities.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Amazing. Horrifying. But true.
- By Daniel W. Fox, Jr. on 03-23-22
By: Chris Lockhart, and others
-
All My Rage
- A Novel
- By: Sabaa Tahir
- Narrated by: Deepti Gupta, Kamran R. Khan, Kausar Mohammed
- Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,591
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,443
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,439
Misbah is a dreamer and storyteller, newly married to Toufiq in an arranged match. After their young life is shaken by tragedy, they come to the United States and open the Clouds' Rest Inn Motel, hoping for a new start.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Touching
- By Darline DeBry on 07-28-22
By: Sabaa Tahir
-
Kaikeyi
- A Novel
- By: Vaishnavi Patel
- Narrated by: Soneela Nankani
- Length: 17 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 585
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 520
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 521
So begins Kaikeyi’s story. The only daughter of the kingdom of Kekaya, she is raised on legends of the gods: how they churned the vast ocean to obtain the nectar of immortality, how they vanquish evil and ensure the land of Bharat prospers, and how they offer powerful boons to the devout and the wise. Yet she watches as her father unceremoniously banishes her mother, listens as her own worth is reduced to how great a marriage alliance she can secure. And when she calls upon the gods for help, they never seem to hear.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Good effort but dissappointing
- By Purva on 08-17-22
By: Vaishnavi Patel
-
The Complete Jaipur Trilogy
- The Henna Artist, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, and The Perfumist of Paris
- By: Alka Joshi
- Narrated by: Sneha Mathan, Ariyan Kassam, Deepa Samuel
- Length: 33 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 287
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 266
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 266
Vivid and compelling, The Henna Artist opens a door into a world that is at once lush and fascinating, stark and cruel. Escaping from an abusive marriage, seventeen-year-old Lakshmi makes her way alone to the vibrant 1950s pink city of Jaipur. There she becomes the most highly requested henna artist—and confidante—to the wealthy women of the upper class. But trusted with the secrets of the wealthy, she can never reveal her own. Years later, she is confronted by her husband who has tracked her down.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An fabulously expanding adventure !
- By Miki Lee on 11-24-23
By: Alka Joshi
-
The Case of the Missing Servant
- By: Tarquin Hall
- Narrated by: Sam Dastor
- Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 723
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 569
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 570
In hot and dusty Delhi, Puri's main work comes from screening prospective marriage partners, a job once the preserve of aunties and family priests. But when an honest public litigator is accused of murdering his maidservant, it takes all of Puri's resources to investigate. How will he trace the fate of the girl, known only as Mary, in a population of more than one billion? Who is taking pot shots at him and his prize chilli plants?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Complete Surprise
- By Deborah Jacob on 12-13-16
By: Tarquin Hall
-
Demon Copperhead
- A Novel
- By: Barbara Kingsolver
- Narrated by: Charlie Thurston
- Length: 21 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 27,459
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 24,813
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 24,747
Set in the mountains of southern Appalachia, Demon Copperhead is the story of a boy born to a teenaged single mother in a single-wide trailer, with no assets beyond his dead father’s good looks and copper-colored hair, a caustic wit, and a fierce talent for survival. Relayed in his own unsparing voice, Demon braves the modern perils of foster care, child labor, derelict schools, athletic success, addiction, disastrous loves, and crushing losses.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wow! It’s a Masterpiece
- By Billy on 10-25-22
-
Walking the Bowl
- A True Story of Murder and Survival Among the Street Children of Lusaka
- By: Chris Lockhart, Daniel Mulilo Chama
- Narrated by: Hlonela Ngqwebo
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 49
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
Based on years of investigative reporting and unprecedented fieldwork, Walking the Bowl immerses readers in the daily lives of four unforgettable characters: Lusabilo, a determined waste picker; Kapula, a burned-out brothel worker; Moonga, a former rock crusher turned beggar; and Timo, an ambitious gang leader. These children navigate the violent and poverty-stricken underworld of Lusaka, one of Africa’s fastest growing cities.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Amazing. Horrifying. But true.
- By Daniel W. Fox, Jr. on 03-23-22
By: Chris Lockhart, and others
-
All My Rage
- A Novel
- By: Sabaa Tahir
- Narrated by: Deepti Gupta, Kamran R. Khan, Kausar Mohammed
- Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,591
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,443
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1,439
Misbah is a dreamer and storyteller, newly married to Toufiq in an arranged match. After their young life is shaken by tragedy, they come to the United States and open the Clouds' Rest Inn Motel, hoping for a new start.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Touching
- By Darline DeBry on 07-28-22
By: Sabaa Tahir
-
Kaikeyi
- A Novel
- By: Vaishnavi Patel
- Narrated by: Soneela Nankani
- Length: 17 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 585
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 520
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 521
So begins Kaikeyi’s story. The only daughter of the kingdom of Kekaya, she is raised on legends of the gods: how they churned the vast ocean to obtain the nectar of immortality, how they vanquish evil and ensure the land of Bharat prospers, and how they offer powerful boons to the devout and the wise. Yet she watches as her father unceremoniously banishes her mother, listens as her own worth is reduced to how great a marriage alliance she can secure. And when she calls upon the gods for help, they never seem to hear.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Good effort but dissappointing
- By Purva on 08-17-22
By: Vaishnavi Patel
-
The Complete Jaipur Trilogy
- The Henna Artist, The Secret Keeper of Jaipur, and The Perfumist of Paris
- By: Alka Joshi
- Narrated by: Sneha Mathan, Ariyan Kassam, Deepa Samuel
- Length: 33 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 287
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 266
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 266
Vivid and compelling, The Henna Artist opens a door into a world that is at once lush and fascinating, stark and cruel. Escaping from an abusive marriage, seventeen-year-old Lakshmi makes her way alone to the vibrant 1950s pink city of Jaipur. There she becomes the most highly requested henna artist—and confidante—to the wealthy women of the upper class. But trusted with the secrets of the wealthy, she can never reveal her own. Years later, she is confronted by her husband who has tracked her down.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An fabulously expanding adventure !
- By Miki Lee on 11-24-23
By: Alka Joshi
-
Foster
- By: Claire Keegan
- Narrated by: Aoife McMahon
- Length: 1 hr and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 709
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 607
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 604
It is a hot summer in rural Ireland. A child is taken by her father to live with relatives on a farm, not knowing when or if she will be brought home again. In the Kinsellas' house, she finds an affection and warmth she has not known and slowly, in their care, begins to blossom. But there is something unspoken in this new household—where everything is so well tended to—and this summer must soon come to an end.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A story that will stay with me a long time
- By CTKG on 11-01-22
By: Claire Keegan
-
Small Things Like These
- By: Claire Keegan
- Narrated by: Aidan Kelly
- Length: 1 hr and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,670
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,512
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,510
It is 1985 in a small Irish town. During the weeks leading up to Christmas, Bill Furlong, a coal merchant and family man, faces into his busiest season. Early one morning, while delivering an order to the local convent, Bill makes a discovery that forces him to confront both his past and the complicit silences of a town controlled by the church.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Charming and Inspiring
- By David P on 09-05-22
By: Claire Keegan
-
Afterlives
- A Novel
- By: Abdulrazak Gurnah
- Narrated by: Damian Lynch
- Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 258
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 231
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 230
When he was just a boy, Ilyas was stolen from his parents on the coast of East Africa by German colonial troops. After years away, fighting against his own people, he returns home to find his parents gone and his sister, Afiya, abandoned into de facto slavery. Hamza, too, returns home from the war, scarred in body and soul and with nothing but the clothes on his back—until he meets the beautiful, undaunted Afiya.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Compelling book in every way
- By Edward Hower on 11-03-22
-
Infidel
- By: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
- Narrated by: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,662
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,764
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 2,769
This New York Times best-seller is the astonishing life story of award-winning humanitarian Ayaan Hirsi Ali. A deeply respected advocate for free speech and women's rights, Hirsi Ali also lives under armed protection because of her outspoken criticism of the Islamic faith in which she was raised.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Tough, Candid Assessment
- By Paul Mullen on 02-18-08
By: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
-
Unorthodox
- The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots
- By: Deborah Feldman
- Narrated by: Rachel Botchan, Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,327
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,977
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,962
As a member of the strictly religious Satmar sect of Hasidic Judaism, Deborah Feldman grew up under a code of relentlessly enforced customs governing everything from what she could wear and to whom she could speak to what she was allowed to read. Yet in spite of her repressive upbringing, Deborah grew into an independent-minded young woman whose stolen moments reading about the empowered literary characters of Jane Austen and Louisa May Alcott helped her to imagine an alternative way of life among the skyscrapers of Manhattan.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Narrator Problem
- By Phyllis on 04-24-20
By: Deborah Feldman
-
Behind the Beautiful Forevers
- Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity
- By: Katherine Boo
- Narrated by: Sunil Malhotra
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,285
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,966
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,967
In this breathtaking book by Pulitzer Prize winner Katherine Boo, a bewildering age of global change and inequality is made human through the dramatic story of families striving toward a better life in Annawadi, a makeshift settlement in the shadow of luxury hotels near the Mumbai airport. As India starts to prosper, the residents of Annawadi are electric with hope. Abdul, an enterprising teenager, sees “a fortune beyond counting” in the recyclable garbage that richer people throw away.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
An Antidote for Shantaram
- By Dr. on 06-14-12
By: Katherine Boo
-
In the Country
- Stories
- By: Mia Alvar
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu, Don Castro
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 58
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 53
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 55
These nine globe-trotting, unforgettable stories from Mia Alvar, a remarkable new literary talent, vividly give voice to the women and men of the Filipino diaspora. Here are exiles, emigrants, and wanderers uprooting their families from the Philippines to begin new lives in the Middle East, the United States, and elsewhere - and sometimes turning back again.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
My introduction to Filipino literature and culture
- By Amazon Customer on 03-28-16
By: Mia Alvar
-
Shanghai Girls
- A Novel
- By: Lisa See
- Narrated by: Janet Song
- Length: 13 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,934
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,973
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,983
Thanks to the financial security and material comforts provided by their father’s prosperous rickshaw business, 21-year-old Pearl Chin and her younger sister, May, are having the time of their lives. Though both sisters wave off authority and tradition, they couldn’t be more different, but both are beautiful, modern, and carefree...until the day their father tells them he has gambled away their wealth and that in order to repay his debts, he must sell the girls as wives to suitors who have traveled from California to find Chinese brides.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Touching, sad, and enjoyable
- By Beach Biker on 07-15-09
By: Lisa See
-
Ma and Me
- A Memoir
- By: Putsata Reang
- Narrated by: Putsata Reang
- Length: 11 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 39
When Putsata Reang was eleven months old, her family fled war-torn Cambodia, spending twenty-three days on an overcrowded navy vessel before finding sanctuary at an American naval base in the Philippines. Holding what appeared to be a lifeless baby in her arms, Ma resisted the captain’s orders to throw her bundle overboard. Instead, on landing, Ma rushed her baby into the arms of American military nurses and doctors, who saved the child's life. “I had hope, just a little, you were still alive,” Ma would tell Put in an oft-repeated story that became family legend.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Beautiful memoir
- By paperguy on 07-29-24
By: Putsata Reang
-
A Fine Balance
- By: Rohinton Mistry
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 24 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,775
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,362
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,355
The time is 1975. The place is an unnamed city by the sea. The government has just declared a State of Emergency, in whose upheavals four strangers—a spirited widow, a young student uprooted from his idyllic hill station, and two tailors who have fled the caste violence of their native village—will be thrust together, forced to share one cramped apartment and an uncertain future.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Read this book if your heart is made of steal
- By Amazon Shopper on 03-23-08
By: Rohinton Mistry
-
Honor
- By: Thrity Umrigar
- Narrated by: Sneha Mathan
- Length: 11 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,420
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,181
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,174
Indian American journalist Smita has returned to India to cover a story, but reluctantly: long ago she and her family left the country with no intention of ever coming back. As she follows the case of Meena—a Hindu woman attacked by members of her own village and her own family for marrying a Muslim man—Smita comes face to face with a society where tradition carries more weight than one’s own heart, and a story that threatens to unearth the painful secrets of Smita’s own past.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wow.
- By Robert Bryant on 01-19-22
By: Thrity Umrigar
-
The Thing Around Your Neck
- By: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
- Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
- Length: 6 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 540
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 470
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 470
In her most intimate and seamlessly crafted work to date, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie turns her penetrating eye on America in 12 dazzling stories that explore the ties that bind men and women, parents and children, Africa and the United States.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Chima...The a solute Best
- By PAUL NGALAME on 05-17-18
Related to this topic
-
In the Country
- Stories
- By: Mia Alvar
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu, Don Castro
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 58
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 53
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 55
These nine globe-trotting, unforgettable stories from Mia Alvar, a remarkable new literary talent, vividly give voice to the women and men of the Filipino diaspora. Here are exiles, emigrants, and wanderers uprooting their families from the Philippines to begin new lives in the Middle East, the United States, and elsewhere - and sometimes turning back again.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
My introduction to Filipino literature and culture
- By Amazon Customer on 03-28-16
By: Mia Alvar
-
Before We Visit the Goddess
- By: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
- Narrated by: Sneha Mathan, Priya Ayyar, Vikas Adam
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 790
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 723
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 726
The daughter of a poor baker in rural Bengal, India, Sabitri yearns to get an education, but her family's situation means college is an impossible dream. Then an influential woman from Kolkata takes Sabitri under her wing, but her generosity soon proves dangerous after the girl makes a single unforgivable misstep. Years later, Sabitri's own daughter, Bela, haunted by her mother's choices, flees abroad with her political refugee lover - but the America she finds is vastly different from the country she'd imagined.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Absolutely Worth a Credit
- By Texastanya on 08-27-16
-
One Amazing Thing
- By: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
- Narrated by: Purva Bedi, Soneela Nankani, Neil Shah
- Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 128
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 102
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 100
Winner of a Pushcart Prize for poetry and an American Book Award for her short stories, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni explores themes of women, immigration, and her vibrant Indian culture to great effect. Divakaruni expands on these ideas in One Amazing Thing, a project long in the making and full of electric prose.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
An ok way to kill some time
- By R.Reader on 11-07-12
-
Behind the Beautiful Forevers
- Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity
- By: Katherine Boo
- Narrated by: Sunil Malhotra
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,285
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,966
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,967
In this breathtaking book by Pulitzer Prize winner Katherine Boo, a bewildering age of global change and inequality is made human through the dramatic story of families striving toward a better life in Annawadi, a makeshift settlement in the shadow of luxury hotels near the Mumbai airport. As India starts to prosper, the residents of Annawadi are electric with hope. Abdul, an enterprising teenager, sees “a fortune beyond counting” in the recyclable garbage that richer people throw away.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
An Antidote for Shantaram
- By Dr. on 06-14-12
By: Katherine Boo
-
City of Lies
- Love, Sex, Death, and the Search for Truth in Tehran
- By: Ramita Navai
- Narrated by: Sylvia Lisle
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 91
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 83
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 82
In today's Tehran, intrigues abound and survival depends on an intricate network of falsehoods: mullahs visit prostitutes, local mosques train barely pubescent boys in crowd-control tactics, and cosmetic surgeons promise to restore girls' virginity. Navai paints an intimate portrait of those discreet recesses in a city where the difference between modesty and profanity, loyalty and betrayal, honor and disgrace is often no more than the believability of a lie.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Impossible to Put Down
- By Leonard on 10-19-14
By: Ramita Navai
-
Secret Daughter
- By: Shilpi Somaya Gowda
- Narrated by: Soneela Nankani
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 946
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 805
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 805
Debut novelist Shilpi Somaya Gowda pens this compelling tale about two families, worlds apart, linked by one Indian child. After giving birth to a girl for a second time, impoverished Kavita must give her up to an orphanage. The baby, named Asha, is adopted by an American doctor and raised in California. But once grown, Asha decides to return to India.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Must Read
- By Stephanie on 06-08-11
-
In the Country
- Stories
- By: Mia Alvar
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu, Don Castro
- Length: 13 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 58
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 53
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 55
These nine globe-trotting, unforgettable stories from Mia Alvar, a remarkable new literary talent, vividly give voice to the women and men of the Filipino diaspora. Here are exiles, emigrants, and wanderers uprooting their families from the Philippines to begin new lives in the Middle East, the United States, and elsewhere - and sometimes turning back again.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
My introduction to Filipino literature and culture
- By Amazon Customer on 03-28-16
By: Mia Alvar
-
Before We Visit the Goddess
- By: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
- Narrated by: Sneha Mathan, Priya Ayyar, Vikas Adam
- Length: 7 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 790
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 723
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 726
The daughter of a poor baker in rural Bengal, India, Sabitri yearns to get an education, but her family's situation means college is an impossible dream. Then an influential woman from Kolkata takes Sabitri under her wing, but her generosity soon proves dangerous after the girl makes a single unforgivable misstep. Years later, Sabitri's own daughter, Bela, haunted by her mother's choices, flees abroad with her political refugee lover - but the America she finds is vastly different from the country she'd imagined.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Absolutely Worth a Credit
- By Texastanya on 08-27-16
-
One Amazing Thing
- By: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
- Narrated by: Purva Bedi, Soneela Nankani, Neil Shah
- Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 128
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 102
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 100
Winner of a Pushcart Prize for poetry and an American Book Award for her short stories, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni explores themes of women, immigration, and her vibrant Indian culture to great effect. Divakaruni expands on these ideas in One Amazing Thing, a project long in the making and full of electric prose.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
An ok way to kill some time
- By R.Reader on 11-07-12
-
Behind the Beautiful Forevers
- Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity
- By: Katherine Boo
- Narrated by: Sunil Malhotra
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,285
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,966
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,967
In this breathtaking book by Pulitzer Prize winner Katherine Boo, a bewildering age of global change and inequality is made human through the dramatic story of families striving toward a better life in Annawadi, a makeshift settlement in the shadow of luxury hotels near the Mumbai airport. As India starts to prosper, the residents of Annawadi are electric with hope. Abdul, an enterprising teenager, sees “a fortune beyond counting” in the recyclable garbage that richer people throw away.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
An Antidote for Shantaram
- By Dr. on 06-14-12
By: Katherine Boo
-
City of Lies
- Love, Sex, Death, and the Search for Truth in Tehran
- By: Ramita Navai
- Narrated by: Sylvia Lisle
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 91
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 83
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 82
In today's Tehran, intrigues abound and survival depends on an intricate network of falsehoods: mullahs visit prostitutes, local mosques train barely pubescent boys in crowd-control tactics, and cosmetic surgeons promise to restore girls' virginity. Navai paints an intimate portrait of those discreet recesses in a city where the difference between modesty and profanity, loyalty and betrayal, honor and disgrace is often no more than the believability of a lie.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Impossible to Put Down
- By Leonard on 10-19-14
By: Ramita Navai
-
Secret Daughter
- By: Shilpi Somaya Gowda
- Narrated by: Soneela Nankani
- Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 946
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 805
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 805
Debut novelist Shilpi Somaya Gowda pens this compelling tale about two families, worlds apart, linked by one Indian child. After giving birth to a girl for a second time, impoverished Kavita must give her up to an orphanage. The baby, named Asha, is adopted by an American doctor and raised in California. But once grown, Asha decides to return to India.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Must Read
- By Stephanie on 06-08-11
-
Mosaic
- By: Diane Armstrong
- Narrated by: Deidre Rubenstein
- Length: 19 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 208
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 167
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 171
>i>Mosaic is compelling storytelling at its best - from the fascinating details of Polish-Jewish culture and the rivalries and dramas of family life, to its moving account of lives torn apart by war and persecution, this an extraordinary true story of a family, and of one woman's journey to reclaim her heritage.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Absolutely excellent!
- By Roberta on 09-22-11
By: Diane Armstrong
-
Praise Song for the Butterflies
- A Novel
- By: Bernice L. McFadden
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 239
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 214
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 215
Abeo Kata lives a comfortable, happy life in West Africa as the privileged nine-year-old daughter of a government employee and stay-at-home mother. But when the Katas' idyllic lifestyle takes a turn for the worse, Abeo's father, following his mother's advice, places the girl in a religious shrine, hoping that the sacrifice of his daughter will serve as atonement for the crimes of his ancestors. Unspeakable acts befall Abeo for the 15 years she is held in the shrine. When she is finally rescued, broken and battered, she must struggle to overcome her past.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Searing!
- By Susie Bright on 09-05-18
-
The Upstairs Wife
- An Intimate History of Pakistan
- By: Rafia Zakaria
- Narrated by: Rafia Zakaria
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 81
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 74
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 74
For a brief moment on December 27, 2007, life came to a standstill in Pakistan. Benazir Bhutto, the country's former prime minister and the first woman ever to lead a Muslim country, had been assassinated at a political rally just outside Islamabad. Back in Karachi--Bhutto's birthplace and Pakistan's other great metropolis--Rafia Zakaria's family was suffering through a crisis of its own: her uncle Sohail, the man who had brought shame upon the family, was near death.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Mixed feelings
- By Darcy on 10-06-17
By: Rafia Zakaria
-
The Association of Small Bombs
- By: Karan Mahajan
- Narrated by: Neil Shah
- Length: 9 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 576
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 516
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 509
When brothers Tushar and Nakul Khurana, two Delhi schoolboys, pick up their family's television at a repair shop with their friend, Mansoor Ahmed, one day in 1996, disaster strikes without warning. A bomb - one of the many "small" bombs that go off seemingly unheralded across the world - detonates in the Delhi marketplace, instantly claiming the lives of the Khurana boys, to the devastation of their parents. Mansoor survives, bearing the physical and psychological effects of the bomb.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A tragedy of manners
- By jdukuray on 07-22-16
By: Karan Mahajan
-
Guapa
- By: Saleem Haddad
- Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 129
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 117
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 115
Rasa spends his days translating for Western journalists and pining for the nights when he can sneak his lover, Taymour, into his room. One night Rasa's grandmother - the woman who raised him - catches them in bed together. The following day Rasa is consumed by the search for his best friend, Maj, a fiery activist and drag queen star of the underground bar Guapa, who has been arrested by the police.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Guapa
- By Mah Maass on 08-25-16
By: Saleem Haddad
-
Infidel
- By: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
- Narrated by: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
- Length: 16 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,662
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,764
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 2,769
This New York Times best-seller is the astonishing life story of award-winning humanitarian Ayaan Hirsi Ali. A deeply respected advocate for free speech and women's rights, Hirsi Ali also lives under armed protection because of her outspoken criticism of the Islamic faith in which she was raised.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Tough, Candid Assessment
- By Paul Mullen on 02-18-08
By: Ayaan Hirsi Ali
-
The Blue Between Sky and Water
- By: Susan Abulhawa
- Narrated by: Jennifer Woodward
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 78
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 71
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 71
It is 1947, and Beit Daras, a quiet village in Palestine surrounded by olive groves, is home to the Baraka family. Eldest daughter Nazmiyeh looks after her widowed mother, prone to wandering and strange outbursts, while her brother, Mamdouh, tends to the village bees. Their younger sister, Mariam, with her striking mismatched eyes, spends her days talking to imaginary friends and writing.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Horrible pronunciation
- By Debra Sabah Press on 11-08-18
By: Susan Abulhawa
-
When the Moon Is Low
- A Novel
- By: Nadia Hashimi
- Narrated by: Sneha Mathan, Neil Shah
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 96
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 89
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 89
Mahmoud’s passion for his wife, Fereiba, a schoolteacher, is greater than any love she’s ever known. But their happy, middle-class world implodes when their country is engulfed in war and the Taliban rises to power. Mahmoud, a civil engineer, becomes a target of the new fundamentalist regime and is murdered. Forced to flee Kabul with her three children, Fereiba must find a way to cross Europe and reach her sister’s family in England. With forged papers and help from kind strangers they meet along the way, Fereiba make a dangerous crossing into Iran under cover of darkness.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Good story. Poor ending
- By Janine on 01-14-22
By: Nadia Hashimi
-
Honor
- By: Elif Shafak
- Narrated by: Mozhan Marno, Piter Marik
- Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 117
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 101
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 98
An honor killing shatters and transforms the lives of Turkish immigrants in 1970s London. Internationally best-selling Turkish author Elif Shafak’s new novel is a dramatic tale of families, love, and misunderstandings that follows the destinies of twin sisters born in a Kurdish village. While Jamila stays to become a midwife, Pembe follows her Turkish husband, Adem, to London, where they hope to make new lives for themselves and their children. In London, they face a choice: stay loyal to the old traditions or try their best to fit in.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Complex but Compelling
- By Cariola on 04-14-13
By: Elif Shafak
-
The Vagrants
- By: Yiyun Li
- Narrated by: Jackie Chung
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 72
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 51
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 53
Yiyun Li is the winner of the prestigious Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award. The Vagrants, set in 1979 China, is the story of those affected by the execution of a 28-year-old counterrevolutionary. Though suffering, Li's characters nevertheless struggle to maintain hope amid cruel circumstance.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Lovely prose, good story, deadly narration
- By Athene on 05-10-13
By: Yiyun Li
-
Serpentine
- By: Thomas Thompson
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 24 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 122
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 107
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 108
There was no pattern to the murders, no common thread other than the fact that the victims were all vacationers, robbed of their possessions, and slain in seemingly random crimes. Authorities across three continents and a dozen nations had no idea they were all looking for the same man: Charles Sobhraj, aka "The Serpent". A handsome Frenchman of Vietnamese and Indian origin, Sobhraj targeted backpackers on the "hippie trail" between Europe and South Asia. A master of deception, he used his powerful intellect and considerable sex appeal to lure naive travelers into a life of crime.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Good Story / Weak Narration
- By Chandelle on 10-09-18
By: Thomas Thompson
-
Everywhere I Look
- By: Helen Garner
- Narrated by: Helen Garner
- Length: 6 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 22
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 22
Spanning 15 years of work, Everywhere I Look is an audiobook full of unexpected moments, sudden shafts of light, piercing intuition, flashes of anger and incidental humour. It takes us from backstage at the ballet to the trial of a woman for the murder of her newborn baby. It moves effortlessly from the significance of moving house to the pleasure of rereading Pride and Prejudice.
By: Helen Garner
What listeners say about The Newlyweds
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- A. Prasad
- 01-08-23
Beautiful writing. The stories made me laugh and ache.
So romantic and clueless at the start. Each individual adjusting to their partner along the way, as we do, but these people under intense social pressure. Fear, loss, violence all just for being in love. And there’s growth. This is a fantastic story of 3 love stories. The writing filled me with images of India and tormented me as I started to understand the deeply ingrained beliefs that these couples were up against. I can’t even imagine trying to create a lasting relationship in these circumstances. Fantastic to listen to! Highly recommend. Please write more. 5 years of research?! Amazing.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!