Marsha Maung:: Freelance graphic designer and writer

Title: Sari & Sins
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
ISBN No: 0-7434-3046-8
Ratings: 3.8 stars

One crazy woman and two very obvious couples. That’s what Sari & Sins by Nisha Minhas is all about.


The highlight of Sari & Sins
The cross culture reference is undeniable. Since we have Indians here in Malaysia, I am not unfamiliar with the Indian culture. And since my work often requires me to mingle with and communicate with people from the West, I am not unfamiliar with their culture either. So, here I am, sitting here, reading about these two cultures and how chaotic it would be if they were meshed together.


Although my aunts are both married to ‘gwai-lows’ (white people), I am not privy to their constant miscommunications and besides, my aunts lived in the UK for some time and have been exposed to the lifestyle of being English. Therefore, I suspect they didn’t have the kind of problems that the people/characters in the book, Sari & Sins, had.


But then again…we’re Chinese…and Chinese have long stopped picking spouses for their own kids a long time ago.


The wicked witch
As I said, there’s one single witch (and her aid), Chloe, who is totally out of this world. She’s deranged and psychotic. She is written out to be so villainous that I often imaged her befitting of a role in ‘Dallas’ or ‘Dynasty’. Sorry, that’s a series from my era but this is the best I can do. I have not been watching many shows or series except for TVB ones for such a long time. TV is a waste of time for me.


But anyway, Chloe, is raised by a strict Catholic mother who makes her swear holding the bible. Chloe’s mother thinks she’s a virgin and wants her to remain so until she gets married. Her virginity is sacred to her and she spent a large part of her life ensuring that her daughter is brought up right. She did the right thing – the wrong way. Not only is Chloe not a virgin, she’s slept with almost all men in her side of the world.


Hence, Chloe turned out to be a psychotic woman whose only wish and dream is to control men. And she has this thing about having a house that I cannot fathom.


Couple 1: Samir (Sammy) and Kareena
Samir’s parents picked a wife for him and this resulted in him marrying Kareena. He’s handsome and she’s beautiful. He’s rich and she’s kind and loving. No suspence and no faults whatsoever. This is an obvious couple that upon reading the first few introductory lines about them, you know they’re going to be together in the end.


Samir’s only fault is that he thinks he loves Chloe. Or a better way to say this is that Chloe managed to wrap Samir around her itty bitty finger making him think that he’s actually in love with her. All this while, all Chloe wanted the house that Samir could provide, his dedication and his commitment. So, began their cross-culture relationship. A son of a strict Singh family and a daughter of a strict Catholic family.


Couple 2: Jordan & Zara
Jordan is supposed to be the BAD BOY in the book with a criminal record. Sometimes, Nisha Minhas writes him out to be the kind of man who would not pause before he swings an axe in your direction. And then it’s like she’s not sure how Jordan is supposed to be like and he becomes all mushy. Zara is merely a supporting role in Sari & Sins. She’s a shopaholic who is HONESTLY and GENUINELY in love with Jordan.


The triangle
Somehow, Chloe manages to bounce between Jordan and Samir making both of them think that she’s crazy in love with them when she was hooked on Jordan’s commitment to her and Samir’s house (and security). Jordan hung on to his past (he was her boyfriend for some time in their youth and went to jail for her) and Samir hung on to the sex and excitement.


Chloe just wanted both men to be in love with her. And when they both found their own loves and decided that Chloe was not the one, she went bananas. SHE would do the dumping. It’s NOT possible for Jordan to stop loving her. The house that Samir is living in with his wife now is HER house.


Nisha Minhas writes well…but the storyline needs ironing
I must admit that Nisha Minhas writes well – articulate and smart, her writing projects that. but this doesn’t mean that the story is good.


For instance, the parents are all people who raise their kids badly. Jordan doesn’t have a family, Samir’s parents are crazy about the Singh culture and refuses to let go of their religion – not even for their sons. Chloe’s mom, Aileen, is even worse. What she did to her own daughter, she should suffer for it. There were lots of familiar Indian terms and words that were sprinkled all around the book that makes the book all the more interesting for me. I can only imagine people in the US running around asking their friends what ‘Chappatti’ means.


The reason why Chloe has this unexplainable obsession with the house is not comprehensible. Why a house? Security? It was never explained. And Mickey, the loser guy from Samir’s firm, his character is so loosely explained.

The title of the book and the synopsis at the back of the book screams CAT FIGHT. But it became very obvious a little bit later on that Kareena is no match for Chloe. How do you pitch a sane and peaceful girl against a lunatic?