Priyanka Taslim

Priyanka Taslim is a Bangladeshi American writer, teacher, and lifelong New Jersey resident. Having grown up in a bustling Bangladeshi diaspora community, surrounded by her mother’s entire clan and many aunties of no relation, her writing often features families, communities, and all the drama therein. Currently, Taslim teaches English by day and tells all kinds of stories about Bangladeshi characters by night. Her writing usually stars spunky Bangladeshi heroines finding their place in the world—and a little swoony romance, too.

Taslim's new novel is The Love Match.

My Q&A with the author:

How much work does your title do to take readers into the story?

For the longest time, early versions of The Love Match were called Rearranged, because it’s a book that explores and subverts the arranged marriage trope. I think that title might have been a bit on the nose, and since the book has a love triangle, might have felt a little flat? I’m actually not the best at coming up with titles, so my publishing team and I deliberated for a while about what to change it to, and ultimately settled on The Love Match.

A “love match” is a very common phrase in South Asian and Muslim culture. Anyone from those backgrounds who hears the term immediately knows that it refers to a couple who married because they met and fell in love, rather than having an arranged relationship. Love matches are more and more common these days, but what I love about the current title is that it requires a little more thinking. Hopefully, as readers delve into the story, they wonder who is truly Zahra’s love match and maybe change their minds a few times.

What's in a name?

I am definitely an author who ponders names a lot. I never want them to feel too obvious, but I want them to feel right for the character. I wanted to pick names in The Love Match that were clearly brown while not being too challenging for readers outside my culture.

Zahra means beautiful. It also sounds a little similar to Sarah, which means princess. Throughout the book, she’s always fighting against the idea that she is merely meant to be a wife, a pretty thing, despite the fact that what makes her so appealing to the Emons is her heritage as a sort-of-princess. Zahra also means brilliant and shining and I think that’s the truth of who she is beneath the surface, bursting with all of this unrealized potential.

How surprised would your teenage reader self be by your new novel?

She would be completely shocked! I didn’t see Bangladeshi representation outside of a few literary novels until I was already an adult in my twenties. None of the characters looked like me in the books I loved. When I first started writing, I thought I would need to write all white casts—perhaps just a token, funny brown friend—in order to make publishing a reality. The fact that my debut novel defies all of those beliefs would astound the teen I was so much. I think she’d be proud too. I hope teens like the one I was see themselves in the book.

Do you find it harder to write beginnings or endings? Which do you change more?

I think for The Love Match, the ending was harder. I went through a few different versions of the beginning before I determined what the story would really be about, but once I knew it would be a romance, I also knew that I wanted to start with a wedding. So often, weddings are the ultimate ending in romantic stories, and that’s especially true when it comes to South Asian media like Bangladeshi natoks—the Bengali equivalent of Bollywood movies. There’s still a taboo element to being with someone without the intent to marry them, so happy stories often end with a wedding. When a natok begins with one, it usually means bad news—more often than not, you’re about to follow the tragedy of the new bride’s life as she faces conflict in her new family. Thus, I felt starting with a wedding would add not just the beautiful spectacle of it, but add some tension to make readers wonder: how will this book end?

Since it’s a love triangle, I was torn about the ending, however. I ended up rewriting not just the ending but the whole book a time or two so that the ending felt (hopefully) earned.

Do you see much of yourself in your characters? Do they have any connection to your personality, or are they a world apart?

I think there’s a little bit of me in a lot of The Love Match’s characters. Zahra has the most of it, because she’s the oldest daughter of an immigrant family just like me. I put a lot of my feelings about that into her even if our life experiences aren’t necessarily 1:1; it’s a really core part of her identity. We’re both writers and romantics, but also very practical. We’re fiercely loving and protective of anyone important to us. I think the difference is that she’s braver than I am.

I probably come off as more of a Harun during first meetings. I can be shy and anxious, but if you dig past that a little, I’m nerdy and dorky, I love puns, that sort of thing. In that way, I have a sense of humor similar to Zahra’s best friend Dani too.

Of the big three in the love triangle, I think Nayim is probably the most different from me. He’s outgoing and a social butterfly, a total free spirit. I’ve gotten better at being more extroverted after teaching and doing so many writing events, but I’m still awkward at heart. I wish I could be more like him!

What non-literary inspirations have influenced your writing?

For this particular book, my family and community were a huge influence. I set The Love Match in my hometown and gave Zahra some of the struggles anyone growing up surrounded by nosy aunties and uncles might face, so Bangladeshi culture plays a big part.

I love a lot of different media and find inspiration in it as well! I really enjoy watching Korean dramas and slice of life, romantic anime. I love watching all kinds of romcom films and tv series with romantic elements. The classic romcoms of the ‘90s and early ‘00s still have some of my favorite moments. I also love some of the famous Bollywood romances.

Some of my earliest writing projects were actually fanfics of anime and video game series, like Final Fantasy VII, so I can’t wait for the second part of the remake and have been having a blast playing the remaster of Crisis Core. I’m not sure if readers will find any similarities in my romance novels, but these things have definitely influenced me over the years.

Visit Priyanka Taslim's website.

My Book, The Movie: The Love Match.

--Marshal Zeringue