Erotic Stories fo Punjabi Widows

Author: Balli Kaur Jaswal
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Type: Hardcover
Pages: 304
Source: Local Public Library
Publisher: William Morrow
First Published: June 13, 2017
Opening Lines: "Why did Mindi want an arranged marriage?"

Book Description from GoodReads: A lively, sexy, and thought-provoking East-meets-West story about community, friendship, and women’s lives at all ages—a spicy and alluring mix of Together Tea and Calendar Girls.

Every woman has a secret life . . .

Nikki lives in cosmopolitan West London, where she tends bar at the local pub. The daughter of Indian immigrants, she’s spent most of her twenty-odd years distancing herself from the traditional Sikh community of her childhood, preferring a more independent (that is, Western) life. When her father’s death leaves the family financially strapped, Nikki, a law school dropout, impulsively takes a job teaching a "creative writing" course at the community center in the beating heart of London’s close-knit Punjabi community.

Because of a miscommunication, the proper Sikh widows who show up are expecting to learn basic English literacy, not the art of short-story writing. When one of the widows finds a book of sexy stories in English and shares it with the class, Nikki realizes that beneath their white dupattas, her students have a wealth of fantasies and memories. Eager to liberate these modest women, she teaches them how to express their untold stories, unleashing creativity of the most unexpected—and exciting—kind.

As more women are drawn to the class, Nikki warns her students to keep their work secret from the Brotherhood, a group of highly conservative young men who have appointed themselves the community’s "moral police." But when the widows’ gossip offers shocking insights into the death of a young wife—a modern woman like Nikki—and some of the class erotica is shared among friends, it sparks a scandal that threatens them all.

My Rating: 3 stars

My Review: I admit that I was swayed into picking up this book based on the title. But when I realized the humorous and sassy scenes were paired with a plot that includes the stories of women within Indian culture and some mystery, my interest was piqued.

I liked that the story focuses on Indian culture and older women embracing their sexuality as well as questioning why they're restricted and defined by societal rules.

But ...

the execution of these interesting ideas was weak. The story lacked depth in its characters and the issues raised (I was frustrated at the almost non-existent Brotherhood story line) and its weak dialogue didn't help matters.

Overall, this was just an okay read. I think Sonja Lalli's The Matchmaker's List hit on similar themes but with more depth and personality. With better fleshed out characters, more focus on the interesting issues raised and a less predictable plot, this book would have garnered a higher rating from me.