Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows Lib/E
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.
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Become an affiliateBalli Kaur Jaswal was born in Singapore and grew up in Japan, Russia, and the Philippines. She studied creative writing at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia, and was the National Writer-in-Residence at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, where she taught creative writing while working on Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows. She lives in Singapore.
Jaswal tackles serious themes (arranged vs forced marriage, traditional vs modern culture) with a light and funny touch. A page-turner your commute will thank you for.
-- "Glamour "A funny and moving tale of desire and its discontents.
-- "Economist (London)"Jaswal weaves the conflicts of modern life versus traditional societies into a story that is both warmly funny and deftly political.
-- "RT Book Reviews (4 stars)"Meera Syal is a wonderful choice as narrator because her British accent and mastery of an ironic tone make the most of the lively descriptions and Nikki's sardonic interior monologues. Syal's dexterity shines as she moves back and forth between characterizing older Sikh women, who recount their erotic stories, and heightening the escalating conflict arising from the clash of changing and conservative values....An informative and entertaining listening experience.
-- "AudioFile"Jaswal's charming debut features an engaging protagonist...but it's the portrayal of the women in Nikki's class that is the highlight...A sparkling read.
-- "Publishers Weekly"By turns erotic, romantic, and mysterious, this tale of women defying patriarchal strictures enchants.
-- "Kirkus Reviews"Big-hearted, earthy and funny: turns so many preconceptions upside down and opens up a world that so many of us have only glimpsed. A rattlingly good story
-- "Deborah Moggach, author of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel"Compulsive, funny and wonderfully original-this novel glows with witty sensuality. I love it.
-- "Helen Lederer, author of Losing It"Poignant, intelligent yet wickedly funny-a delightful read that reignites one's belief in the power of sisterhood
-- "June Sarpong, British broadcaster"