Status Updates From Duty and Desire

'Sheetal glanced at the Happy Sport Platinum Chopard watch on her wrist.'
OMG!! I don't care what kind of watch you're wearing.

'Sheetal loosened the hand-painted Anita Dongre scarf around her collar.'
Who is this person? Should I actually have heard of her?

'She fidgeted with the diamond solitaires on her earlobes and the cuffs of her shirtsleeves.'
I'm down to my last expression of ridicule!

And now we're getting a page and a half long dissertation on what clinical depression is and how it's treated. A very important discussion to have for sure, but I really don't think this book (with all its other upsetting and dangerous/contradictory messages) is the right place to have it.

'Unlike the Dhanraj or Prasad mansions, the walls of Vipul's apartment were only 15' apart. The ceiling, just 5' above their heads, sprawled like the canvas that covered the Prasad's outdoor patio set.'

First, 15'/4 m square does NOT equal a tiny room and 5'/1.5 m is a pretty average ceiling height. Second, I don't understand how a ceiling can sprawl like an outdoor canvas sail - they aren't at all the same.

'Naina's wedding card, the first clue of what was to come later, was a magnificent work of art. A tiny Swarovski crystal dotted the forehead of Lord Ganesh on each of the 2400 silver embossed, silk wedding cards.'

This kind of wasteful extravagance makes me sick. I can appreciate the value in an expensive car, like my uncle's Tesla, as he uses it almost every day, but this card will be thrown away in a week.

'She (Naima, Sheetal's older stepsister-in-law) grabbed Sheetal by the wrists and squeezed the glass bangles causing them to scrape against Sheetal's skin.'

Who makes glass bangles?! They'd be so ridiculously fragile, every time you bumped against a hard surface or put too much pressure on them while resting your arms on the bench you'd run the risk of them breaking and slashing your wrists.

'Sanjeet climbed on top of her and pinned her down. He locked her fingers in his and crushed her against the bed. He sliced her mouth open with his tongue and pierced her until she bled.'

I have no idea what just happened. Is he carrying razor blades around in his mouth?

'A sheet of white contact paper, with a large oval cut through the center, covered the top layer of canvas like a second skin.'

First, who describes contact (the sticky plastic sheeting used to cover high school text books) in such purple prose? Second, why is she using a technique you might learn in primary school? Surely, she can paint a sunny sky and sea without needing tape to keep her in the lines?

'Every time Pushpa (evil stepmother-in-law) turned in Sheetal's direction, she would look past her to the Venetian marble pillars or the applique cushions. It was as if, in her yes, Sheetal didn't exist.'

More bragging about how rich this family is, plus an example of the quality of the writing - only a small mistake, but when there's one or more like this a chapter they add up to a badly edited book.

'If he (Sanjeet) had made love that meant he must love her. Did he love her? Or was she the only one falling in love?'

What is wrong with you, woman? He raped you and tore a bloody (literally and figuratively) chunk out of you on your second night as a married couple. Nothing that man does is about love.

A group of children have approached Sheetal's car, begging for money or food

'Sheetal cringed, afraid the children would touch and contaminate her. Sheetal began to itch all over; it was as if the lice on the children's heads we're running up and down her scalp. She checked her hands to make sure the dirt from their bodies hadn't found its way under her manicured nails.'

OMG! What the he'll did I just read?!

Sheetal was relieved the trip (honeymoon) had been cancelled. 2 nights with Sanjeet caused enough discomfort (he raped & bit her collarbone so hard she bled) to last a lifetime.
Glad you're not just accepting that kind of treatment. But then later that night
But after three and a half months of loneliness Sheetal couldn't take Sanjeet's absences anymore.
Whaat! What about discomfort to last a lifetime?

'The left chandelier looked down on the informal sitting area, a Bradford Brown settee, pampered w/ soft, brown cushions and a Russet Legacy coffee table. The right chandelier hung above the mammoth Fulton White seating arrangement that was padded w/ sturdy, white cushions; this 9 seater U-shaped arrangement was complete w/ 5 ottomans and applique cushions.

Guess how many times we get to hear about those couches!

'Dressed in an Arjun Khanna Classic Couture, custom-designed by India's premiere fashion guru, Sanjeet seemed like a white knight mounted on the beast's back. A saafa, a turban, with a fifteen-carat diamond at its centre, crowned his head.'

The conspicuous consumption in this book is dreadful. They're spending many, many millions of rupees on this wedding and most of the items will be tossed out after 1 use.

this was a rollercoaster ride... & I loved it xD

gahh I hope she leaves his ass -____-

gahh I hope she leaves his ass -____-

I am such a slow reader xD g'night folks :)