A Marriage Made in Heaven : A Love Story in Letters

Firstly, it is hardly a exchange of letters between two people because the vast majority of letters were written by B. R. Vatsala (note: it is never explained in the book what B.R. stands for). It is truly her story and she is an extraordinary woman -- it is a real pleasure to meet this thoughtful, charming, sensitive individual whom anyone would treasure as a friend. However, the same cannot be said about her domineering and bombastic fiance, Ehud Sperling (who likes to be called "Boss" or "Captain"). It isn't even certain he has written all of his own letters, as he has a loyal female employee who reads and monitors his correspondence with Vatsala (some of which is quite intimate)!

I hope SOME other readers are troubled by the idea of a rich, white American who peruses the world's available females and picks which country's supply of ladies he will dip into. India is choosen because of it is a backwater of so-called traditional values (i.e., men rule). Mr. Sperling (whose first wife wisely beat feet to get away from his snot-nosed bullying) decides a few months after his divorce that instead of a demanding independent American wife, he wants a subservient foreign bride from a poor 3rd world country. He has the undeserved good fortune to link up with Ms. Vatsala, and I feel richly sorry for this utterly wonderful lady. I can only hope after she gets fed up with his big shot, "alpha dog" mentality she can make a good life for herself in the US.

It is a sad comment on contemporary India that truly beautiful women like Vatsala, finding themselves over 30 and not so desirable in the marriage market, are forced to look in the paper for the equivalent of our "personal ads", only here it is not for just a coffee date but a marriage arranged without any meeting or time to truly get to know another person. I can not blame Vatsala, who despite her Ph.D. in Microbiology, is a very trusting and naive girl with a deep romantic streak nutured on Hindu love stories, for falling for the sophisticated prattle dished-out by the manipulative Ehud. How many of us could face the offer of marriage, an escape from spinsterism, a ticket to the highly desirable US, and wealth (everything from a paid-for wedding with Maharaji's emeralds to a trust fund that will let Vatsala make charitable donations to any cause she wants)? This would turn the head of many an American woman from a much more sophisticated background. Clearly Ehud is used to getting exactly what he wants as a millionaire publishing magnate, and a subservient foreign bride seems to be what he wants.

For those who find this story "romantic", I caution that the idea that a man gets to have sexual adventures, live-in relationships, world travels and then settles down at age 40-something with an innocent & inexperienced virgin is a very old one, and one that has been wisely rejected by most modern women throughout the world who want to live their own lives and not just be a shadow of someone else's.

The story ends on an oddly grim note as the couple arrive "home" at Ehud's isolated Vermont home in the dead of winter, where his poor bride is left at home all day (God forbid a microbiologist with a Ph.D. WORK) with only the company of a huge unneutered german shepherd dog who terrifies her and far, far from the warmth & companionship of her large Indian family. The only glimmer that things may turn out well is a tiny photo on the back inside dusk jacket of Vatsala holding what appears to be a baby son. The other photos of this lovely Indian woman, huddled in heavy winter gear and clearly miserable in the cold, are too depressing to contemplate.

Dear Vatsala: Please smarten up here in American. Read lots of books! Watch films and even TV. Most of all, please make friends with some nice normal American women, and see how NORMAL couples live together here -- without philisophical mumbo-jumbo or "BOSS men" to order them around. You deserve a lot better and I hope you find it.


a real book for teens   November 9, 2000
 3 out of 4 found this review helpful

I am inches away from graduating out of highschool.While scanning the bookstore for college admission manuals, I chanced upon A Marriage Made in Heaven : A Love Story in Letters" and could but stop and stare at the cover photo. I felt compelled to find out what these authors had to say.

As I read this book from cover to cover in one sitting, I concluded that for teenagers like myself who are standing at the doorway to their future, this book is an eyeopener. Teens today are facing unique problems of social alienation, drug and alcohol abuse, broken families and transient sexual relationships that give a moment of fun, may be,and many possible threats to one,s emotional and physical wellbeing. However in these experimental years, the teens also have to face the questions about what they want to make out of their lives.

This book shows that if the teens want a solid, happy life for themselves, it is possible.I strongly recommend this book to all the teenagers before they go out on their first date with a person of same or opposite gender. The list of dos and donts mentioned in this book will help young people find a truthful and honest relationship, irrespective of their sexual orientation.

Also, this book is informative, attractive and a fun to read. The authors letters to each other, before they met or thought about marriage, opens wide windows into a man and a woman's mind. These authors have proven that human race is truly one, the differences are there to basically highlight the goodness in each one of us.

Come on guys and gals, get this book, read and think about what it says and start your love life today on a positive note.


Charming love story   June 18, 2000
 4 out of 4 found this review helpful

My son recently married a beatiful woman of Indian ancestry who thrives on her large family in Orange County, CA. When I heard the PBS radio interview with Ehud Sperling, I was curious about what he found attractive in a woman from India. The book is really her book. She reveals herself as charming and definitely ready to leave her career in micro-biology in the crowded South India city of Madras for a new adventure and opportunity to be a full time wife and mother. Although he comes across as resourceful and generous (and obviously fedup with USA women as wives), her values, insights, and faith in God are what give the book its radiance. This book affirmed the wisdom of my son's choice!


Read to know some stories Indians write   June 8, 2000
 2 out of 11 found this review helpful

One of the author's (Vatsala) letter says that she prays for the children of the hospital during her breaks. How noble. Read stories like this that Indians write to impress "pherengis" (foriegners).