Living a double life is not easy. But there comes a point in which the person must choose: do they continue to live that double life or be themselves?
In SJ Sindu’s 2018 debut novel, Marriage of a Thousand Lies, Lucky and her husband Krishna are living a double life. On the surface, they fit right in with their conservative Sri Lankan American community. They appear to be a traditional heterosexual married couple. But appearances are deceiving.
Both Lucky and Krishna are gay. Keeping up appearances as a straight married couple allows them to date on the side without making waves. When Lucky’s grandmother’s health takes a turn for the worst, she is forced to return to her family. She also reconnects with Nisha, her childhood best friend, and former lover.
Nisha has agreed to marry a man that she has never met. Both women are at a crossroads. They can start a new life together or continue to live with the lies that have been their comfortable companion since they were young.
I loved this book. The characters felt real and universal. Lucky is an outsider, as both a gay woman and a woman of color. It is that outsider-ness that gives the novel the narrative thrust and sucks the reader in immediately. Great novels are great because the characters have a universal quality to them. As a reader, I felt like I understood Lucky, Nisha and the conundrum they both faced.
I absolutely recommend it.
Writergurlny 