Cirrus@Austlit

'While The Matchmaker’s title suggests the lead character is a stately woman in her 50s from Mumbai, Saman Shad’s debut novel gives us quite a different picture. Saima is in her 30s and runs a modern matchmaking service for the Pakistani community in Sydney that offers a six-month courtship period to ensure the couple’s compatibility. Her contemporary approach doesn’t appeal to the whole community, which has led to a decline in business and financial precarity. However, her fortunes turn when she meets Khalid.' (Introduction)