Life Isn’t All Ha Ha Hee Hee by Meera Syal
Meera Syal best known as a comedian wrote this book in 1999 and then later published with Penguin in 2012. I recognised the actress from Doctor Who back in 2010 but she was most famous because of her culture and background as an Asian British woman finding success in many areas such as; comedian, writer, playwright, singer, journalist, producer and actress.
The book is about 3 Indian women in their mid 30s living in England. In a Bridget Jones style book it plays out their journey of stress and discovery. Chila, a nice Punjabi girl married Deepak in the first pages then we meet her 2 childhood friends; Sunita, the former activist law student, now an overweight, depressed housewife and mother; and the beautiful Tania, who has rejected marriage in favour of a great career in television and life in a trendy apartment with her English boyfriend.
Chila, Sunita and Tania grow as people as are expected to revert to being obedient mothers and wives but their world explodes when Tania makes a documentary, starring Chila and Sunita, about contemporary urban Indian Life. The result is an impactful story of friendship, marriage, betrayal, and the difficult choices woman face.
The book has many cover versions and the most recent is the textile, illustrative cover. I believe this to be more childish and not aimed at the adult audience. Whereas some of the others are very outdated and I could see fade into the background.
Fiona Fraser's Graphics 