A collection of stories from an elderly moneylender in a small Indian town, told as he tries to persuade people (and perhaps himself) that he’s not a bad or selfish man.

In this series of short romance-gone-wrong-then-right stories, he tells of the people who came to visit him and who he has helped, sometimes not in the way he or they expected: a lonely widow, a rich elderly friend with an idle nephew, a couple seperated as their children move on, etc. Each of these are sweet, short, character vignettes. While our elderly money lender may not have the heart of gold he likes to claim, it is at least lightly plated. He knows all the gossip, he loves to meddle, and he has the resources to do it.

The writing is somewhat stilted, rather than flowing, and it fits the money-lender well. And I enjoyed it, because the stories are genuinely sweet. The characters come across in only a few words, and it doesn’t matter where you live, some of these people will be immediately identifiable. It seems small towns are much the same the world over.

Romance readers and chicklit will love it, for the short stories about relationships and the happy-even-after, but there’s enough depth to these stories that they will happily distract anyone looking for a coffee break book or light diversion. The only people who won’t like it are action fans, since it is definitely not for them.