Lazy days

I once was lucky enough to spend a lot of time travelling before kids and a mortgage. On one of my trips I travelled to a place called Varanasi in India. Deaths and marriages hold much significance for that holy city with outdoor funeral pyres burning constantly and mass weddings by The Ganges. I remember seeing a group of young girls in traditional red wedding dresses with stunning jewellery on arms, nose and ears.  These girls were beautiful ... but young, too young , 11-12 years old surely, small children. Their eyes were what shocked me they looked so incredibly sad, this wasnt a day of joy for them, but a life sentence to I imagined an old man that they had only just met. Being a westerner I do not understand arranged marriages. I know that these marriages can result in love eventually but the fact that the choice is taken away from woman doesnt sit well with me. 

This book is set in Pakistan but it brought back memories of what I saw in India. An easy fast read that I didnt think was particularly well written but the story is one that I imagine is happening all over the world.