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Imaginary Men | 
 enlarge | Author: Anjali Banerjee
Publisher: Downtown Press
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy Used: $3.02
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Rating:  17 reviews
Sales Rank: 73382
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st Downtown Press Trade Pbk. Ed
Pages: 256
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.8
ISBN: 1416509437
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9781416509431
ASIN: 1416509437
Publication Date: October 11, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
It seemed like a good idea at the time. Lina Ray has a knack for pairing up perfect couples as a professional matchmaker in San Francisco, but her well-meaning, highly traditional Indian family wants her to get married. When her Auntie Kiki introduces Lina to the bachelor from hell at her sister's wedding in India, Lina panics and blurts out, "I'm engaged!" Because what's the harm in a little lie? Who's sari now? Lina scrambles to find a real fiance because Auntie Kiki will be coming to America soon to approve the match. But date after disastrous date gets her no closer to her prince -- until an actual prince arrives on her doorstep. Lina hasn't been able to stop fantasizing about traditional but dashing Raja Prasad since she met him in India. In fact, her imaginary fiance has begun to resemble him! Now Raja is in San Francisco and wants Lina to find a suitable bride for his brother. Though they live oceans apart, Lina longs to bridge the gap. But when her fantastic fib catches up with her, life is suddenly like a Bollywood flick gone horribly wrong. Lina may have an over-developed fantasy life, but she certainly never imagined things would turn out like this!
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| Customer Reviews: Read 12 more reviews...
 Imaginary Man is a great read! October 30, 2005
Dorrie Wheeler
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Anjali Banerjee has created an exciting, vivid almost cinematic story in her novel "Imaginary Men." Lina is a 29 year old Indian woman. She lives in San Francisco, but at the start of the book she is in India for her sisters wedding. Her aunt, who is a matriarch of the family, presses Lina about her own wedding plans. Secretly Lina is still harboring feelings of sadness regarding her short lived engagement to her love Nathu. Sadly, two years prior Nathu passed away.
Lina's aunt is all set to arrange her engagement to an Indian man whose nick-name is Pee-Wee. Not trying to go along with her aunt's plan on the spur of the moment Lina tells her aunt that she is engaged to a jet setting, wealthy man. The news of her engagement spreads through the wedding party like wildfire and for months to come Lina is forced to keep up the charade of the mystery man which she has invented in her head. At the same time she finds herself thinking about Raja, a man who she originally pegged as a sexist chauvinist. Soon he arrives in San Francisco seeking her matchmaking services for his brother.
"Imaginary Man" is a really great book. The story reminded me of Sheila Goss' Essence best-selling book "My Invisible Husband." "Imaginary Man" is funny and the author really makes the character of Lina come alive and the situations were told with such detail the book read like you were watching a movie.
There are some Indian/Hindu words used throughout the books and these words are shown in italics. I thought the words were italicized because there would be a glossary in the back of the book but it seems they were only italicized for emphasis.
At the end of the book is a really great Q&A interview with the author.
 Not a remarkable book, but it will do in a pinch. November 22, 2005
K. (central Ohio, USA)
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
I picked up "Imaginary Men" while I was stranded in the SeaTac airport when my plane was delayed for 4 hours. I was looking for a light, fun read to help pass the time. "Imaginary Men" did not require much thought, as it was highly predictable, with a fairly simply plot. The Indian-American cultural twist, and the mild bouts of humor which were tossed in kept things interesting enough for me to continue reading. But that's about it. There is nothing remarkable about this book; I have read other Indian-American romantic-comedies that are far funnier, more romantic, have more depth, and are less predictable than this one. The characters have no substance, no development, no depth. I was disappoined, i really had expected more. But it is mildly entertaining, so it is not a total waste of a read.
It is not a bad book.... it is not a good book.... it is simply a decent book to help you pass the time.
Would I recommend it?
Well, if you're stuck in an airport for four hours, sure, why not, what else are you going to do?
Great debut! October 1, 2005
Ratmammy (Ratmammy's Town, CA USA)
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
IMAGINARY MEN by Anjali Banerjee
September 22, 2005
Amazon rating 4/5
"Anjali Banerjee debuts in Imaginary Men, a chick lit story that takes place in the Indian-American community. The main character, Lina Ray, initially seems stereotypical of genre heroines - a single professional in her twenties, looking for love. But the more one reads this novel, the more it stands out from the crowd. While romance is the main story line, a sub-theme shows how hard it is for those pulled between two cultures to find a middle ground.
The book opens with Lina Ray in her hometown of Kolkata, India, attending her sister Durga's wedding. Lina Ray fears her Aunt Kiki's overbearing personality - because Lina Ray is still single, despite being the eldest sister, Aunt Kiki will be playing matchmaker again. This time, Kiki's idea of the perfect match is a guy Lina Ray refers to in her mind as 'Pee Wee Herman'. Not good. To avoid being tied down, she lies to everyone, saying that she is already engaged to a man named Raja." - M Lofton - Complete review at BookLoons.
This book was funny and smart and not typical chick lit. For those who love India-lit and have not tried the DOWNTOWN PRESS line, this is a great place to start.
 Literary cotton candy June 3, 2007
Bookphile (USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I enjoy the occasional indulgence in chick lit and finding quality stuff can sometimes be a challenge. This one attracted me because of my budding interest in Indian culture. While it was a fairly cute novel, it was sheer fluff. Some of it was a fun read but, overall, it was all calories and no nutritional value.
Almost More of a Romance Than Chick Lit November 1, 2005
Rian Montgomery (Nashua, NH United States)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Lina's extended Indian family is wondering when she'll ever get married. Lina herself is wondering when she'll find the right man. In the meantime, she makes her home in San Francisco, working at a match-making company, and using her talents at finding people their Mr. or Mrs. Right.
After a particularly grueling wedding back home in India, her family tries to set her up with a bachelor she has absolutely NO interest in. Much to her horror she finds herself lying to her family and telling them she is engaged to a man named Raja Prasad. The only problem with that is that she does know a man by that name, but he is out of her reach.
But back at home in San Francisco, Raja seeks her out, wanting her to set his brother up with the perfect woman. Lina knows she is in trouble because her Aunt will soon be coming to California to approve of her "Fiance".
How will Lina get out of this mess? Will her secret be discovered?
"Imaginary Men" was a very romantic read. The story line is completely based around love and finding the right man. As a matter of fact, this book would fit comfortably into the romance section of the bookstore. There is plenty of crackling romantic tension throughout that will keep the reader on their toes.
As a personal preference I usually don't like to read romances too much, especially story-book like romances that are too good to be true. However in this case, "Imaginary Men" wasn't too bad. I would have enjoyed it if Lina would have been more interested in her own life without a man, but obviously that wasn't what this book was supposed to be about. The writing was fluid and enjoyable, and Lina as a main character was great: smart and relatable.
Overall I'd recommend this book to readers who enjoy a good romantic, feel-good type story.
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