Roxanne by Perveen Nadirshaw Tayabali. Published in 2024 by Amazon, Great Britain. Pp: 366. Price: £ 7.99.
Perveen Tayabali has subtitled her novel, A Family Saga. However, what she has so convincingly written is a story of several families and generations, the most important of which is the Tarapore family: Hilla and Burjore Tarapore are the parents of Roxanne and her sister, Dilly. Though the novel could be categorized as just another love story, Tayabali creates characters who are convincing and in whose fate the reader is thoroughly engrossed. Moreover, in addition to a clear and cogent style, being a skilled artist, the descriptions of locales come to life and are captured in a perceptive and engaging manner.
Roxanne is engaged to be married to Dr Dins Kharas. But all does not seem to be well. In the very first chapter we learn that on the eve of the millennium the young doctor lets Roxanne down at the last minute so she decides to go on her own to a New Year’s eve party with her friends. To complicate matters, Roxanne meets a tall, elusive stranger. She accepts the invitation to dance with him, does not resist when he draws her close and she "let her cheek lie against his shirt and closed her eyes.” When the music ends, he disappears into the crowd and leaves Roxanne wondering who he is. But their paths do cross; Cyrus Marshall appoints Roxanne, a trained teacher, to coach his daughter, Yasmin, a troubled student and the victim of an unpleasant divorce. When Cyrus interviews Roxanne for the post, she has no idea that he is the same man with whom she had danced; they are thrown together and gradually their friendship blossoms into love.
Perveen Tayabali: convincing story
But life is never simple and Tayabali adds complications. Both Roxanne and Cyrus are encumbered. Cyrus has never promised marriage to his friend, Jeeny, who has come to his rescue after his divorce. She has her own agenda and her claws are deeply entrenched in Cyrus because she wants to marry him. On the other hand, Kharas has been a childhood friend of Roxanne’s. They have grown up, played games and spent holidays together and Tayabali hints that though the relationship is "an easy and affectionate” one, Roxanne does not seem to be madly in love with him. When he proposes to her out of the blue she is taken aback; and when he kisses her passionately on the lips she "yanked herself free.” Hilla, pressures her to marry him; he is a doctor and an excellent catch, "you owe it to us.” Finally, Roxanne succumbs and preparations are made for the engagement. However, Tayabali introduces a further snag. Kharas suddenly gets an opportunity to travel to the USA and all plans for marriage are put on hold.
Tayabali adds another twist to the story. Dilly is an air hostess. She has always had a soft corner for Kharas and during one of her flights to New York her friendship blossoms into a stronger affection to which Kharas responds. In the meanwhile Jeeny, fearing that Roxanne will be a keen competitor to her in her plans to marry Cyrus, uses devious means and manages to separate the two. Tayabali keeps the reader in suspense. Will the misunderstanding created by Jeeny between Cyrus and Roxanne be resolved? Will Dilly and Kharas have the courage to face Roxanne and admit to their true feelings for each other?
But this is merely the superficial plot of the novel. The book examines far more serious matters. There is the general unhappiness which Parsi parents face when their children marry outside the community. This is gently suggested in various conversations. While expressing her unhappiness with Cyrus’s divorce from his American wife, Ruby, a close friend of Hilla, is convinced that such marriages do not work. "Why do our Parsi boys do this, go and marry foreigners, when there are lots of Parsi girls available?” Nina is in a relationship with Navin. "She knew that her mother prayed every day that her daughter would find a nice Parsi man to marry…” Dilly was formerly in a relationship with Raj, a 40-year-old Air India manager in New York and if her parents ever found out about this, there would be "ructions” in the house.
But the author does not imply that marriages within the community are always a success. Hilla, from a wealthy family, marries Burjore who was a college professor and has never forgotten what she has had to sacrifice for this marriage.
Tayabali’s relatively minor characters are also carefully etched. She successfully delineates the feelings of Yasmin.The girl has withdrawn into a shell after her parents’ divorce and her fragile condition is further vitiated by what she perceives to be the closeness between her father and Jeeny, who is anathema to her.
Tayabali peppers the novel with lots of words and phrases which bring the Parsi atmosphere to life. These are conscientiously explained in the glossary at the end of the novel. Very often, she dexterously manages to convey the meaning in the very text itself. In a passage where she describes the items for the engagement she embeds the meaning in the same sentence without the help of the glossary: maavaa ni machhi is described as "a sweet made from thickened milk in the shape of a fish;” sooterfani is "made from fine strands of sugar and flour…” If she could manage to do this a little more often, it would reduce the seven-page glossary at the end of the book to which readers, not aware of Parsi customs and traditions, would be forced to refer.
The novel is a delight to read and deals with rather serious subjects under a veneer of froth and frivolity.
The book is available on amazon.com under the heading of "Books” as a paperback and as a Kindle version, and in India, the Kindle (e-version) is available on amazon.in under the heading of "Books.”
FIRDAUS GANDAVIA
Gandavia holds a doctorate in English literature and is a retired chartered accountant. He is a compulsive reader of fiction.