“The Startup Wife” is a book which feels like it covers many different themes. It’s story revolves around Asha Ray, a young coding wizard and self confessed nerd who, on bumping into her high school crush Cyrus Jones and following a whirlwind romance, uses his experience of creating personalised non-religious rituals for an app. She develops it with the help of their friend and eventually get help and assistance through Utopia, a group of tech start ups that are all preparing for the end of the world. But will the app be successful? Will Asha get the credit she deserves for it? And what happens when the end of the world look like it will happen in the form of a global pandemic?

While the global pandemic is particularly relevant (I don’t know when the author started writing the book and whether she had a different end of the world scenario in mind before COVID) the theme of a woman getting credit (or most likely not!) for her own idea and platform development is also extremely relevant. I don’t know much about the tech world but I would imagine this is still worryingly common.

I think this is a great book for covering these themes. Given that the book is written entirely from Asha’s perspective, I felt it was great at making you understand her and her feelings for Cyrus and the platform and how it all got intertwined. Even though I could see that she gives too much control and credit to Cyrus, her thoughts and feelings felt believable and relatable.

Overall, I felt this was an intriguing book and without saying too much, potential for sequels too! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

The underlying story is a love story, however power gets caught up in the mix and it gets called out for being a destructive force.

Cyrus and Asha first met at school but meet at again at the wake of an old school teacher. They strike up a conversation and bamm suddenly they are married. Fast yes but written in a very lovely way. Initially their relationship seems totally perfect. A relationship of dreams. Then they end up working together in their own tech company and unfortunately this is where the distribution of power comes in to rock the boat.

The company, Wai, is a sort of counter religion, based on personal interests, historical interests and ethics fed into a programme to be used for things like weddings, funerals, naming ceremonies etc where religion would normally play a key role.

This is a very interesting concept and actually the the tech developed in the story is totally plausible - making it a little scary!

I will not tell you what happens after the start up as that would result in a massive spoiler, well worth taking the time to find out for yourself!

4.5 Stars
Asha, Cyrus and Jules create and build an app called WAI that replace religious rituals with ones based more on a person's personal interests and hobbies. When the start up takes off no one could have predicted what was to follow

I thought the concept of WAI was really interesting as well as the Asha's experience during the whole process . The characters and their stories had me enthralled and I couldn't put the book down until I knew how it ended!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review

I absolutely loved this book. I can’t tell you how nice it was to enjoy a narrative that had so much to say about the absurdity of the tech industry, and the sidelining of women in those industries, all done with humour and solid pacing. I worried that the “app that replaces religion” might be a little too on the nose as a hook for talking about society’s over reliance on social media but amazingly it works. Cyrus, the Zuckerberg-esque figurehead of WAI, stays just the right side of cartoon character to keep the reader invested.

This book surprised me, in the best possible way. It follows Asha, a gifted computer scientist specialising in AI who runs into her teenage crush, charismatic Cyrus, while doing postgraduate study. Cyrus is mystical and mysterious, interested in rituals for every aspect of life and death from every different religion and culture and Asha, along with Cyrus' close friend Jules, convince him to create a social media app that combines all of this and helps change and bring a new kind of meaning to the lives of its users. The story is about being part of a start-up, but you don't have to be techie to enjoy it (I'm not) - because it's also about friendship and family and love and life and the ways success can change your life and relationships, both romantic and other.

There was so much to love about this book: the writing, the way it gently weaves in aspects of different aspects of different cultures, religions and interests; how it explores being a woman (and specifically a BIPOC woman) in a very male-dominated world; the characters who feel like slightly exaggerated stereotypes, yet are still believable and (mostly) likeable. The pacing felt perfect, and I was completely engaged throughout. I went into this book thinking it might be a bit of a romcom with a tech world twist, and got so much more than that. Wholeheartedly recommend.

I devoured this! A satire about the tech industry, I couldn't but root for Asha and the women surrounding her, as well as Jules. I just cannot stand gurus, sorry Cyrus! I also really liked the intertwining with Covid-19 at the end of the novel. 3.5 for me!

I hadn't come across this author's work before and wasn't sure what this novel was going to be like, but the quality of the writing won me over from the start and I had trouble putting it down. Well done to Canongate for obtaining the rights to publish this author in the UK.

The plot is quite different to anything else I've encountered recently. Asha Ray is a Bangladeshi geek and borderline genius who finds herself once she gets to University, after an isolating experience in high school reading sci-fi and lusting after Cyrus Jones, the blonde Adonis in her class. When Cyrus plans the perfect funeral for their old high-school English teacher, Asha returns from college and sparks fly immediately. The two misfits get married swiftly at City Hall and start their new lives together, not far from Asha's parents, her pregnant sister and buckets of biryani.

When Asha creates an algorithm to give religion-seeking souls the perfect end-of-life ritual (an algorithm largely based on how Cyrus's brain works), she and Cyrus's friend Jules struggle to get it off the ground at first, until Cyrus comes on board reluctantly as their charismatic CEO and social-media Messiah. Asha toys with the idea of writing a manual on how to have it all as the perfect 'start-up wife,' - even if her name isn't down as the founder of their company, WAI. But Cyrus isn't able to resist joining forces with death-obsessed Marco and it all gets a bit Black Mirror...

I'd love to see this as a feature film, and while it's one of the quirkiest (and funniest and rudest) books I've read recently, it's also a refreshing look at the power of female desire and the vulnerability of men. I'll be buying a few copies of this once it's out.

I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book at first, but I soon changed my mind .It's a very clever, completely contemporary look at a 21st century marriage, where the wife, Asha, is the creator of a social media platform which becomes a sensation but for which her charismatic husband, Cyrus ,takes much of the credit.It's also funny in parts, ,especially the way the author writes about the world of technology and American offices.
I loved Asha's character and was cheering her on throughout.
A very original book- I loved it.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review which reflects my own opinion.

The cover of the The Startup Wife is what drew me in initially, but I stayed for the story.
I felt it was extremely realistic and it was hard to remember that this is not a true story. Although, some of the tech speak did lose me a bit, overall this is an empowering read that has left me wanting to know more about Asha and her next chapter.

Woah. This book was so complex and thought provoking. It really left me with a lot of interesting thoughts and I look forward to eventually being able to discuss this novel with others. I usually find tech heavy narratives quite dull, but I think that that this was done expertly. I thought I was going to get a summer romp but I loved how many statements and discussion points where hidden behind a seemingly simple premise. Loved it.

What I thought was going to be a light look at tech and millennial women trying to find their way, turned out to be one of the most astute looks at misogyny in progressive spaces, misguided enterprise and the early days of the year we all want to forget.

The start up wife follows Asha, a young PhD candidate, pursuing emotional intelligence, a chance meet cute turns into a shotgun wedding and a business proposal for a new app that might just replace organised religion. Sounds strange right?

I’m not one for tech in narratives, I often find it dull, I’m much more art over science anyway. Somehow, Tahmima drew me in. The subtle romances, the digs at late capitalism and the inventive descriptions made it feel like one of those books that is building images in your head as you read along.

There is something masterful in disguising a complex and intellectual set of ideas with a seemingly low stakes plot line. To know your audience, to show them something, without needing to showboat fanciful language or complex cross narratives, is a skill.

This book will be read by many who are expecting a romp; a romantic love story set in a Silicon Valley style startup. All ping pong tables and client lunches. Maybe the more pessimistic amongst you will be unconvinced with the star crossed lovers, but I can’t say I minded the small bit of cheese.

Really, Anam is making so many statements between those lines; on male chauvinism masquerading as allies to girl boss feminism. On the role of community and organised religion in a seemingly more secular future. On being a women, a Brown woman, in space that claims to value diversity only by name. On the power and danger in tech that can get smarter than us. On what we are all susceptible to in a world that values productivity above all else.

All in all, life lessons aplenty await for all readers who pick this one up.

This is a lovely light read, a funny and clever and life-affirming read in the face of apocalypse.

Asha meets Cyrus, unrequited crush from school, and straight away quits her PhD thesis to start an exciting new venture, along with Cyrus's friend Jules.

Along they was we see the power balance between the three shift and change, and as their success grows they question whether all the effort and the thrills of start up life is worth fighting for.

Some super insights into women in tech, working with close friends and family, and the excitement of doing what you love all the time, with all the highs and sometime frightening lows.

Didn't live up to my expectations and I just couldn't get into it. Found it just a little bit too weird!

It's so hard to summarise this book, I was blown away by Asha, she is such an intelligent, capable and likeable character. This story exposes the ludicrous world of tech, social media and start-ups but it has many levels, exploring the human need for ritual, connection,but also how we are shaped by our own experiences, often to blindness, and can be easily steered away from our principles when greed arises.
A lot of the tech stuff felt way over my head but the personal relationship between Asha and Cyrus was really compelling reading, as was her friendships with Julian, Destiny etc and her family, particularly her sister Mina, who I felt was Asha's true anchor to reality throughout it all.
A fabulous and interesting read

This was a surprise, there are a lot of books about young people living and working in New York, but this had everything, great characters, technology, environment, ethics, feminism, work relationships, family, friendships, and love stories. It's a really good story.

This was a unique book a story I had not come across before. The startup wife is a clever novel about love, ambition and meaning. It is an incredibly intelligent read. Thought provoking. Highly recommend!

So this is a story with several morals - and two sayings tell you what you need to know about the story. - a man with dreams needs a woman with vision; and words are seeds, be careful where you plant them.
If you are feminist you will understand the first, and if you are a doubter and believer in destiny and that actions have consequences, then the second will resonate with you.
Both are true of this story. With start with idealism and then capitalism rears up and the ideals are distorted or ignores.
Three friends, Asha and Cyrus are a couple and their gay friend Jules, start up a business together whereby she undertakes the coding, Cyrus fronts the business and Jules manages it and undertakes the other stuff. It is a digital death cafe whereby you can curate your own funeral, but it is also a way to create through the app your own celebration of anything from a dog's birthday, to marriage, to naming ceremonies to....
Cyrus is a philosopher of the ultimate and a guru to the millions who use the app, he knows many different religions and is always curious about rituals and beliefs and all of these are added to the app's database by Asha. Asha is the genius in the background who codes brilliantly but is unknown to the many users. Gradually she becomes the wife who is never seen or heard but is necessary for the genius of her husband as without her there is no app.
As a non-religious person who vaguely belongs in the humanist camp I have already curated my own funeral. And it would certainly have been simpler using an app with a database of rituals; and having also attended a death cafe I understand why people would bond around particular rituals and beliefs. So the idea behind the app was not unfamiliar territory. But I can well see there becoming a Guru attached as many of the meditation apps try to suck you in this way with their designers wanting you buy more and attend classes and and and.
I thought this book resonated with our time and the way we use apps to reassure us in our way of belief and life. It was well written and gradually you come to realise the trap that Asha has fallen into that so many wives do behind 'great' men.

I greatly enjoyed this book. This is the first of Tahmima Anam's books I've read and now I want to seek out her other work. The central character of Asha encapsulates many of the unspoken dilemmas faced by women today; caught between expectation, ambition and life. The central issues of how to navigate love, life and power are well written and emotionally engaging.

This book was way weirder than I could have imagined...like the blurb sounds super interesting but the plot is totally bizarre! I am so confused right now.

The story follows Asha, a computer scientist halfway through her PhD which relates to empathy and AI. After a whirlwind marriage to Cyrus, the guy who was her crush in high school, they and their friend Jules begin a start-up venture with their new social media app. Honestly the idea behind the app is very confusing - people answer questions and it puts them in a group with similar people and gives them rituals for things like weddings and funerals. Their target audience is people that would like religion but there isn't one that they relate to enough.

Plot-wise, this is completely wild. It has all sorts of themes like racism and misogyny in the tech industry to the ethics of social media and data usage. Asha watches her husband change as they push him into leading their company and the two are often divided.

Overall, the writing was very addictive but I was so, so confused throughout the majority of the book. From what seems like a gritty contemporary blurb, this book ended up being part-thriller, part-sci-fi and very philosophical.

This satirical short novel by Tahmima Anam examines the trajectory of love and marriage amidst the milieu of AI, a new start up and a tech culture that is far from innovative when it comes to key issues, as it fails to address society's traditional power structures, with its privileges and prejudices, indeed it embeds and nails them in without a second thought. Bright computer programmer Asha Ray is a PhD student at MIT for whom love's young dream seems to come true when she meets and marries old school crush, the charismatic Cyrus Jones. Asha blithely enters the marriage with rose coloured glasses, exuberantly confident that they will prove that their marriage will not only survive but thrive under the pressures of simultaneously embarking on a tech start up with Cyrus and his best friend, the rich Jules.

Cyrus wants to emulate for non-believers the sense of community, the sacred, the rituals and traditions that fire religion. The idea is to centre on the power of humanity that will be the foundation, and the social media App that evolves will bring his ideas to fruition. All three bring their own strengths into the ambitious venture, Cyrus with his initial ideas, Jules adding the business acumen, but the heart of the social media WAI enterprise is built by Asha, it is her algorithms that give birth to the business. However, as WAI takes off, exceeding their wildest dreams and expectations, it is Cyrus who takes centre stage, hailed as The Messiah, and Asha who is marginalised, pushed to the sidelines and rendered invisible. As Cyrus's ego and corruption plays out in the narrative, where will this leave Asha, the marriage, and the startup?

Anam writes a thoughtful and thought provoking novel on the tech industry, power, race, gender, feminism, marriage and love, about the inner need for faith, ritual, and the spiritual in humans, along with the desire to connect with each other. I found this an engaging, if occasionally uneven, character driven read that incorporates and utilises the global pandemic in the story, and reflecting many contemporary realities of our world. Many thanks to Canongate for an ARC.