Book Club Guide

Imaginary Men
Reading guide appears courtesy of Simonsays.com Book Club Reader

Questions for Discussion

1. In Imaginary Men, matchmaker and protagonist Lina Ray is an Indian-American woman who seems to embrace American culture more than her traditional Indian culture. In fact, our narrator’s first words are: “I’m allergic to India.” What are her reasons for rejecting the exotic Indian lifestyle?
2. In another instance, Lina speaks somewhat fondly of India saying, “Yet my soul connects to this strange, colorful, hot, smelly, magical country, even though I don’t remember it.” Discuss this conflict of sorts between the enchantment of her birth country, India, and “the easy life in America.” How does this conflict become more complex once Raja Prasad enters the picture?
3. Everyone in Lina’s family seems to be conspiring to marry her off, especially since she’s the oldest of the three sisters. Why do you think such an emphasis is placed on marriage? Are there similarities between American and Indian attitudes toward women and marriage? How does Lina feel about arranged marriages? Her family?
4. As a matchmaker, Lina claims she has “an uncanny ability to see connections between potential mates, like silvery threads” (page 5). Discuss the irony of a matchmaker who cannot find a suitable match for herself.
5. The caste system in India separates members of its society based on class. Typically the class that you are born into is the class in which you will remain until death. So when Kali reveals to Lina that her crush, Dev, and his brother Raja are princes, Lina seems reserved. She warns her sister not to fall so quickly, stating that “Princes marry princesses, Kali. Not the daughters of doctors” (page 55). Nevertheless, Lina, the daughter of a doctor, does in fact woo Prince Raja. Should class be a deciding factor regarding matters of the heart? How might caste issues come into play if Lina and Raja eventually marry?
6. Even after two years there appears to be a considerable sense of loss regarding Lina’s deceased fiancé, Nathu. She dreams of him, has nightmares, reminisces, even conjures up a ghost-like invisible man who resembles Nathu. Her friend Harry tells her that her  memory of Nathu is ruling her. What do you think? What issues are keeping Lina from finding a partner?
7. The imaginary man that Lina is supposedly engaged to becomes very vivid in her mind. He talks to her while she gets ready for dates and while she’s on dates and even goes to bed with her. What purpose does this “imaginary man” serve for Lina? What does she eventually discover about herself?
8. Raja Prasad presents himself in Lina’s life in America, claiming the desire to find a wife for his younger brother, Dev. Yet considering how Lina and Raja spend their time, the search seems to be a ploy. What do you make of Raja’s sudden appearance? Discuss his motivations and intentions. Is Lina convinced by Raja’s story? Explain. 
9. Lina describes Raja as “traditional,” which in the Indian sense almost likens him to a sexist. She sees herself as “an independent American woman” (page 111), but in spite of herself seems to be falling for Raja. Do you think Raja and Lina are a good match? Why or why not? 
10. The story ends in India with Raja meeting Lina at a busy train station in Kolkata. Although she has deep ties to America, she admits that while in India, “I’m not sure where this journey will end.” How do you foresee Raja and Lina’s future? Do you think she’ll end up living with Raja and his family in India? Or will Raja return to San Francisco?

How did the idea for this story come to you?
I learned of a cousin's wedding in India and imagined standing squished in a crowd of relatives in a hot Kolkata courtyard. I wondered how I would feel. Fascinated? Happy to be with family? Completely disoriented?

The rest of the story followed quickly. Lina's far more audacious than I am — I would never invent an imaginary man!

Oh, really? Then how do you explain Raja Prasad?
You caught me! I guess I do have a fertile imagination. When the Pee-wee Herman clone practically drooled on Lina, I couldn't help rescuing her. The handsome, debonair Raja popped out of my — I mean Lina's — head.

Have you known a man like Raja? Where did you find him?
He's a composite of every dashing man I've seen in the movies. He's inscrutable (Keanu Reeves), rough-edged (Tommy Lee Jones), sophisticated (George Clooney), sexy (Brad Pitt), and dangerous (Christian Bale), with a touch of the exotic. Phew! As Lina would say, he's Vin Diesel with hair.

If we sat in a restaurant, could you identify shimmering threads between potential mates?
I'd be a terrible matchmaker — I couldn't see a shimmering love thread if someone dangled one in front of my face. I grew up immersed in science and the laws of physics. My father is a chemical engineer and my mother has a doctorate in science and math education. I broke the mold by studying anthropology and psychology and then pursuing the arts.

Which aspects of your life correspond to Lina’s?
I was born in India, but I grew up in Canada. Most of the novel takes place in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I lived for several years after graduating from U.C. Berkeley. I struggled through many boyfriends before finding my husband. We now live in the Pacific Northwest with three cats, a rabbit, and plenty of surrounding wildlife. 

Do you feel the same conflict between cultures?
In some ways, yes. I was one of only a few Indian kids growing up in a Manitoba town. Although I made close friends there, a couple of small-minded bullies called me names. I didn't always feel comfortable in my brown skin.

I also felt out of place when we visited Indian families whose children spoke their mother tongue. My parents sometimes spoke in Bengali to each other, but they never taught me Bengali.

Yet Indian culture infused our lives. My parents were affectionate and demonstrative, as Indian families often are, while my friends rarely hugged or kissed their parents. My parents cooked Bengali food, had close Indian friends, and we returned to India a few times. On weekend mornings we lounged in our pajamas and drank chai (Indian tea with lots of milk and sugar). When I stayed overnight at friends' houses, I found it strange that everyone got dressed to have a formal breakfast together. What, no tea in bed??

Now that I've moved out and established my own life, I have a better understanding of my unusual family background, and I don't feel much conflict between cultures. I feel like a North American, and yet I'm also proud of my Indian heritage.  

Your family didn’t try to arrange your marriage?
Heck no! My family is much more unconventional than Lina's. My parents fell in love; their marriage was not arranged. They were adventurous, the first members of their family to seek an independent life in a foreign country.

As such, they emphasized education and encouraged me to excel in my studies, piano lessons, figure skating, swimming, and ballet. Nobody bothered me about getting married until one day, when I broke up with a longtime boyfriend, my mother let slip, "Now you'll never get married!"

How many Indian weddings have you attended?
None actually in India, but I recall a traditional Indian wedding in Canada that was packed with relatives, friends, and children running everywhere. The beautiful bride, decked out in gold jewelry and a red silk sari, trembled with anxiety. Before the ceremony, she ran to the bathroom and threw up.

Within India, there are many different types of wedding traditions. The movie Monsoon Wedding depicts a typical upper middle-class Punjabi wedding, while the wedding in Imaginary Men is Brahmo Samaj, a more reserved Bengali affair. A few months ago, I attended my Bengali cousin's wedding in Denver, Colorado. She married an American man from a Roman Catholic family. The couple and a few friends later flew to Kolkata, India, for the Bengali version of the wedding. 

The scenes set in Kolkata are sensuous and vivid, Did you do research to create such a seemingly authentic sense of place or did you rely on firsthand experience?
While I did some research to sharpen the details, I relied mainly on firsthand experience. I was born in Kolkata — then called Calcutta — and I've returned a few times. A complex, energetic city, Kolkata conjures images of crumbling colonial facades, enchanting beauty, culture, chaotic crowds, traffic, squalor, poverty. Everyone who's been there has to agree — Kolkata is unforgettable.

The relationships beteen Lina and her sisters, Durga and Kali, ring wonderfully true. Do you have sisters?
I'm the eldest of five children in a rather unusual family. When I was four, we adopted my younger sister, Nita, from a Cree reservation in northern Manitoba, Canada. She's the other kind of Indian — Native American. After my parents divorced and remarried, my father and his Italian wife had a son and adopted two daughters from India. They spend the school year in California and holidays in Italy. So I have three Italian-speaking Indo-American siblings and one Native American sister. Our cultures are all over the map.

When did you start writing?
As a child, I typed stories, stapled the pages together, and pasted copyright notices inside the front covers. I guess I inherited my grandmother's love of writing fiction. A British author, she married a Bengali man and moved to India. My mother, who is Anglo-Indian (half-British, half-Indian), grew up in Kolkata. When my grandmother visited us in Canada, she pretended to edit my drafts. She just scribbled a note here and there in the margin.

What were your favorite subjects in school?
In high school I enjoyed English literature, writing, French, writing, psychology, writing, art, and did I mention writing? In college, as a psychology and anthropology major, I loved writing papers and answering essay questions. While other students chewed their pencils and stared at the blank page, I was already scribbling in the margins.

Have you written anything else?
My young adult novel, Maya Running, was published in February 2005. I didn’t set out to write for young adults – the book just turned out that way, and I think it will appeal to grown-ups as well as children. In fact, my most recent “fan” letter came from a thirty-five year old man of Armenian and Assyrian descent, who could relate to Maya’s experience of feeling caught between cultures. Imaginary Men revisits the issue of ethnic identity and incorporates similar dreamlike elements, but the book also addresses adult issues of cross-cultural love, marriage, and family expectations. I’ve had short fiction published in various literary journals. My story “Ordinary Children” was nominated for a Pushcart Prize

What are you working on now?
I'm working on an unusual love story, set in Seattle, featuring an Indo-American woman who lives a clandestine, double life. It’ll be published by Downtown Press in the fall of 2006. That’s all I can say. It’s a secret! Stay tuned!

Enhance Your Book Club

1. Get a feel for the city of Kolkata, one of the settings in the book. Visit this website:  http://www.bangalinet.com/calcutta.htm.  Browse through pictures. Read up on the history of Kolkata, the city that was once known as Calcutta.
2. If you are the host, give everyone a recipe for samosas. Better yet, serve them at the meeting. You can find a great recipe here:  http://www.outofthefryingpan.com/recipes/samosas.shtml
3. Think you have the matchmaker touch? Take a matchmaker survey: http://www.greatboyfriends.com/survey.php#matchmaker