My thoughts on When Dimple Met Rishi by Sandhya Menon
Dimple Shah is excited to go to a web development conference called Insomnia Con in San Francisco right before heading off to Stanford in the fall. She is so excited, in fact, that she’s not suspicious when her mother, who is obsessed with her getting married, readily agrees to let her go. Little does Dimple know that her parents have arranged for her to meet Rishi, a boy they hope she will eventually marry. Rishi is also interested in Insomnia Con, but he hopes to meet Dimple and hit it off right away. However, Rishi is unaware that Dimple has no idea who he is, and makes a very forward joke upon first meeting her. Spooked, Dimple throws coffee in his face and runs away.
After the “ideal meeting gone wrong,” Dimple and Rishi get to know each other, though Dimple is very focused on developing a new app to win Insomnia Con, and Rishi, while falling head over heels for Dimple, is not quite as enthusiastic about Insomnia Con as he was before he came.
This story is woven so expertly that it makes the book hard to put down. Dimple and Rishi’s characters are very well rounded. Rishi is a traditionalist who wants to make his parents happy, and Dimple is a forward-thinking feminist focused on her career. They complement each other so well; it’s easy to believe when they fall for each other.
The conflicts and resolutions are very believable, because each problem is approached and fixed in detail, as a process, as Dimple and Rishi work as a team to help each other out.
The ethnic tie-ins are wonderful. All the references to Indian clothing and Bollywood made me desperate to learn more, and the food described sounds mouthwatering.
I think probably my favorite part is how Dimple describes Rishi when he’s drawing. He gets lost in his art, and that’s partially how she falls in love with him. It’s breathtaking. It’s great that she comes to care so much about his interest in art, even though he tries to resist the calling to become an art major instead of a computer engineer.
The only thing that bothered me about this book was how easily Dimple gives in to liking Rishi. Maybe things happen that way, and I got over it, but it just seemed like it happened too fast and too easily. Other than that, this book was a pleasure to read, and I am definitely going to buy it and place it on my bookshelf. 5/5 stars.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go figure out how to buy Bollywood movies with English subtitles.