Episode 61: Anisha Bhatia, author of The Rules of Arrangement
Anisha Bhatia, author of The Rules of Arrangement, also known as What Are We Doing About Zoya?
Anisha shares the inspiration behind her debut novel, just released, called THE RULES OF ARRANGEMENT in the US, and WHAT ARE WE DOING ABOUT ZOYA in the UK , Australia and around the world. (And we chat about why the two titles and covers).
Books Mentioned:
Connect with the author:
Interview Notes:
This is a perfect book for you if you’re a fan of Bridget Jones, or books that take you inside a characters head or to a potentially new culture and location – as it’s a laugh out loud comedy of manners set in Mumbai, India. A satirical take on India’s obsession with marriage and body image.
Anisha shares how it all started with the aunt’s character and growing up in India, not being allowed to say all the irreverent things inside our heads out loud and how this book let her do just that.
We chat about how her character Zoya is short, well-rounded and spunky and she’s facing a family that wants to get her married at twenty-six, but she’s got a great career and has to decide how and whether to stand up for herself.
I probe whether Anisha is this funny in real life --and ask about the book’s two alternate covers and titles and the why behind this.
Her writing advice is around how to absorb critiques (with a pinch of salt) but open to the input.
And lastly, she shares the joy of street food and including so much of it in the novel (we make each other hungry by the end!).