Unmarriageable

Unmarriageable: Pride and Prejudice in Pakistan (2019) by Soniah Kamal was a delightful retelling of Austen’s novel, set in the year 2000 in a small town, Dilipibad, in Pakistan. I was so intrigued I accidentally bought two copies at the library sale without realizing it!

Alys Binat and her sister Jena are thirty and thirty-two years old respectively, teachers at a girls’ school in their small town, helping to support their family after their father has essentially been disowned. Alys teaches English literature, hoping to teach the girls that there could be something besides the roles of wife and mother in their future if they desired, which leads to constant controversy. There are, of course, three other sisters–Mari, Lady, and Qitty–a scheming mother, and hapless father.

Mr. Darcy becomes Mr. Darsee, and Alys and Darsee meet at the wedding of the year. There is also a best friend–Sherry Looclus, who marries the Binat cousin Farhat Kaleen–and a Mr. Wickaam, cousin to Mr. Darsee, who is not quite truthful in his talking about Darsee to Alys.

The story is very true to the original, but done in a fresh, new, setting. If you are an Austen fan, I highly recommend it.

I was initially annoyed because one of the sisters, Qitty, is described as “the only overweight Binat sister” and subjected to constant teasing and barbs about her weight through the entire book. So I was ready to flag the anti-fatness. But Kamal turned it around–at the end of the book Qitty finally talks back to everyone who had been taunting her, finds self-acceptance, and becomes a fat fashion blogger. So I have to classify it as mixed–with both anti-fat and fat positive messages.