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trashnap's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
jenmangler's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed reading this. The dynamics between the women in the class were wonderful, and it was awesome to see them grow and find their voices and advocate for themselves and others.
kstamant's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Nikki, a modern young Punjabi woman spent the better part of twenty odd years distancing herself from her community and living a more independent "western" life. After the death of her father leaves her family in financial straits, she takes a creative writing job teaching a group of aging widows at her temple. These women lived in the shadows fathers, brothers, and husbands their whole lives. They were dutiful, raised the children, and went to temple. They have a wealth of stories and fantasies that they begin to share amongst the group.
Nikki has to keep the illicit nature of the class secret from the brothers a group of highly conservative young men who started policing the morals of the temple).
This profound book was really a delight! I enjoyed being immersed in these ladies stories.
meggles's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
oneseventhree's review against another edition
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
lashanda's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.75
This was a fun book. I'm happy I took a chance on it. I quite loved the notion of these traditional Punjabi widows having such intense and well-fleshed out sexual desires. There was also so much of traditional Indian culture embedded into the book which I loved. Even just the culture of arranged marriages, divorce being a huge taboo, parents having extremely high expectations of their children etc. were nice details throughout. There was a layer of mystery as you got to know the widows as well, which really added to intrigue while reading. Overall a good read.
Nikki, the main character, runs a class at an Indian temple where she is under the impression that she will be facilitating a story writing course. The widow classmates take the class elsewhere, turning it into a shared space for their erotic stories. I didn't love that Nikki didn't really have anything to do with the widows sharing these stories. It felt like every class, Nikki was just treading water trying to control her students. I understand that it technically makes more sense that older, Punjabi widows would not so easily bend to a modern, younger, unmarried girl, but from a narrative perspective, it's a little frustrating that the protagonist didn't really have a hand in creating the premise of the story. I thought this would have been a good place to flesh out Nikki a lot more.
I found myself skimming some of the erotic stories as well. Some of them were fantastic! I can appreciate that Jaswal crafted these stories and used a different writing style to portray these women, but some of the stories were not that interesting.
Finding out that Nikki's dad's death was caused from a heart attack brought on by sex was unnecessary to me. We get this idea all throughout the book that Nikki's dad died angry with her, and died BECAUSE he was angry with Nikki. At the end, its revealed that this wasn't the case. I wish Jaswal picked any other reason. It took me right out of the reading experience.
As well, there were several just straight up typos in the book. Missing words, incorrect letters, repeated words. One or two mistakes is fine, but I'm surprised at how many I counted, perhaps seven or eight. Maybe time for a new proofreader? :D
Nikki, the main character, runs a class at an Indian temple where she is under the impression that she will be facilitating a story writing course. The widow classmates take the class elsewhere, turning it into a shared space for their erotic stories. I didn't love that Nikki didn't really have anything to do with the widows sharing these stories. It felt like every class, Nikki was just treading water trying to control her students. I understand that it technically makes more sense that older, Punjabi widows would not so easily bend to a modern, younger, unmarried girl, but from a narrative perspective, it's a little frustrating that the protagonist didn't really have a hand in creating the premise of the story. I thought this would have been a good place to flesh out Nikki a lot more.
I found myself skimming some of the erotic stories as well. Some of them were fantastic! I can appreciate that Jaswal crafted these stories and used a different writing style to portray these women, but some of the stories were not that interesting.
As well, there were several just straight up typos in the book. Missing words, incorrect letters, repeated words. One or two mistakes is fine, but I'm surprised at how many I counted, perhaps seven or eight. Maybe time for a new proofreader? :D
hannahmayreads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This is a fun book with its raunchy romps and light tone, but it has a weighty underbelly of darkness. Its ability to balance both things is its greatest strength. I think of this as one of those sneaky books you might pick up thinking - yes that’ll do nicely and you settle in only to discover its true purpose. A literary wolf in sheep’s clothing as it were. Dressing up a book in a commercial jacket can be a powerful weapon when wielded wisely, as it is here where romance and mystery are hooks for greater meaning.