R. Prawer Jhabvala's first novel, "Amrita" [published in Britain as "To Whom She Will"], is an amusing, slightly caustic comedy, as genuinely Indian as any tale of village suffering, but dealing with aspects of Indian society that have received little attention.

Mrs. Jhabvala sets her story in post-independence New Delhi, and this gives her an excellent opportunity to describe some of the many levels of Indian urban life and to explore with an entertaining detachment some of the pretensions, maladjustments, successes and charms of modern life in an Indian city. Her central character, Amrita, is the daughter of a respectable, fairly rich family.

She has managed to get a job as an announcer in the local radio station, and there has met and fallen in love with Hari, a most unsuitable young man….

Both families set briskly to work to break up the attachment by various stratagems. (p...