Life isn't all ha ha hee hee- Meera Syal

On a winter morning in London\'s East End, the locals are confronted with the sight of a white horse skidding through the sooty snow, carrying what looks like a Christmas tree on its back. It turns out to be a man covered in tinsel, with a cartoon-size turban on his head. Entrepreneur Deepak is on his way to get married. As he trudges along, he consoles himself with the thought of marrying Chila, a nice Punjabi girl (a choice which has delighted his surprised parents) does not mean he needs to become his father, grow nostril hair or wear pastel coloured leisure wear.\n\nLIFE ISN T ALL HA HA HEE HEE is the story of Deepak s bride, the childlike Chila, and her two childhood friends: Sunita, the former activist law student, now an overweight, depressed housewife, and the chic Tanja, who has rejected marriage in favour of a high-powered career in television. A hilarious, thoughtful and moving novel about friendship, marriage and betrayal, it focuses on the difficult choices contemporary women have to make, whether or not they happen to have been raised in the Asian community.
I picked this up for the title. Funny and sharp.,A superbly crafted, page turning comedy which isn't afraid to tackle the big subjects. wonderfully insightful a big ambitious book with serious points to be made about the choices women face today Syal mixes her message with hilarious set pieces.,The story surges along on a rip-tide of wisecracks and wisdom excellent.,A magical mosaic of friendship, betrayal and cross-cultural incongruities. By turns spicy, hilarious and sad, it unfolds the ties that bind young women to their East End Punjabi roots even as they head west for trendy careers, café bars and sexual freedom.,An engrossing and provocative book, both funny and sad. couldn't finish it in one sitting, will rate it as 3/5