Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club Pick 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 … 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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Such a cute book!
This is one of my favorite books so far this year. It’s funny, touching, heart-warming, and fast-paced, a story about women and their relationships with each other, as friends, sisters, mothers and daughters. I loved the London setting and the characters very much.
This book is full of dirty old women. Actually…back up and let me take the “dirty” out of that statement. It’s full of oppressed and policed Punjabi widows who have finally found the ultimate outlet for memories, laughter, and imagination. What was supposed to be an adult literacy class turns into a group of erotic storytelling and it is hilarious. It’s also full of perspective, cultural awareness, respect for the women who have lived through traditions that may be questionable today, and an honorable appreciation for sexual intimacy. If you are a reader who does not enjoy reading adult content, the erotic stories are each woven separately throughout this book and are easy to identify and skip over if you so wish. In addition to this main plotline, there is a parallel suspense element and mystery to follow that mirrors the overall theme of gender control within this culture. Overall, Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows is a thoroughly enjoyable novel that uses fun humor to bring awareness to important subjects. Check it out!
I read this novel because I enjoy being transported to different places and cultures. Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows reveals the immigrant experience in Britain, particularly in the Sikh community of London’s Southall. The protagonist, Nikki, a law school dropout, is caught between her modern, more feminist values and the traditional values of her Punjabi family. To support herself while she figures out what she’s doing with her life, she lives above the bar she works in. Her sister, Mindi, is more conservative than Nikki and wants an arranged marriage. Mindi has Nikki place an ad on the matrimonial board at Southall’s Sikh temple. While there, she sees a posting for someone to teach creative writing two evenings a week. She’s hired and gets more than she bargained for.
She ends up teaching Punjabi widows who are isolated because of their widowhood, and the class becomes a safe place they can gather and be themselves. Nikki realizes they are mostly illiterate and resistant to being taught the alphabet like they were children, not at all capable of writing their stories themselves. The women wish to tell stories and have them recorded, but Nikki’s mind is blown at how erotic nature of the stories. Nikki gets involved with the women and their storytelling, embraces on a new love affair, and untangles a mystery. The stories themselves place her and her students in danger from local thugs that police local women to ensure they follow strict Sikh behavioral guidelines and Nikki herself from the actual murderer.
This multi-generational novel is witty and charming. I recently read a book that I felt tried to be too many things. Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows juggles many balls, most of them quite well. It uses humor to explore serious issues: oppression, and policing of Punjabi women, women’s rights, the need and desire for intimacy at many age levels. There are hysterical scenes discussing the use of ghee, eggplants, and cucumbers in the bedroom. The widows’ wishful sexy stories are printed in italics, so they’re easy to skip over if you don’t like erotica, but I found nothing in them that was truly objectionable and the naivety of the widows’ erotica is delightful. The weak point was the murder mystery that didn’t quite live up to the rest of the novel.
I really enjoyed this book. It gave me some insight to the Punjabi culture while totally entertaining me. The widow’s stories were a riot.
I’ve been half reading and half listening to this book for my Indian #BookClub and I must confess I hadn’t expected to like it much, let alone love it. It is funny, romantic, eye-opening, kitschy and really explores generational relationships in a way that had me nodding my head every other paragraph. It’s brilliant. And the narrator, Meera Syal’s Voice is purrrrfect! Read it, people. (less)
A wonderful read
Two factors drew me to this book :
1) that title! I was intrigued. Seldom, if ever, have I seen those words combined in any entertainment or print media
2) genre — I seek out South – Asian titles because that is my ethnic heritage. I can relate to the culture, traditions, and social morés depicted.
Nikki is a second-generation modern young woman. Although she was born into a Sikh family, she herself is not particularly religious nor traditional. Unlike her sister, Mindi(the dutiful daughter), Nikki refuses to give in to pressure from her family to pursue a stable, respectable career and settle down. And, much to their chagrin, she is living on her own in a flat above the pub where she works as a bartender. Hardly a suitable job for a proper Punjabi girl.
While on an involuntary errand for her sister, Mindi, at the Sikh temple in Southall, she sees it : a notice seeking a teacher for a women’s writing course. As it turns out, both the course and the women are nothing like she expected. For both teacher and students, the educational journey has far-reaching consequences, both positive and negative.
I absolutely loved this book! It had everything — drama, romance, erotica, (which, in turn led to laugh-out-loud comedy), and life lessons. All leading to a satisfying and plausible end.
I was not sure what to expect from this book club choice, but I found it very entertaining (and steamy). The Punjabi culture is discussed and modeled for the reader by the female characters–who range in age and experience. The female to female relationship bonds are strong, whether family or friend. So thought provoking– with a feel good factor. I loved the audiobook narrator, so good.
This novel has great story which informs while it entertains. I enjoyed how the characters grew as plot progressed and the the author was able to interweave a great deal about Punjabi culture and history while having a mystery and drama playing out. I had fun reading this and have to say that Reese Witherspoon’s recommendation is spot on. This is a wonderful book with lots of twists and a writing style that is easy to read.
Entertaining. Great read about the Sikh culture and perspectives from different generations of women! Fun, steamy and intriguing at times! Great for my book club!
Loved reading about a culture I new little about. Really liked the characters and how they fed off of each other
I expected more from the book, considering the excellent reviews. I liked the characters and learning about the people of that area of England, but the story fell flat.
Interesting insight into another culture.
Naughty. Naughty. In fact, I was uncomfortable with the sexually explicit stories (oddly I found them very NOT erotic) but I got the point of them. The story was good, especially once the point of the stories (empowering the women who told them) became a relevant part of the story (although I find it highly improbable that these widows would write such stories with so little provocation to do so). I liked learning about the Indian culture/community in Great Britain and the repression of women within that culture, a story that conforms to the oppression of women in so many other religious/cultural settings. It also was interesting for its observations about what it means to live as a darker-skinned immigrant in a Western country, the isolation, the never-quite-belonging, the conflict with children who are natives of the new land, the racial prejudice.
The Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows has believable characters and intrigue while providing a humorous glance at the world of women restricted by their cultures. Racy at times, the tale let’s us glimpse into what makes us all human and provides an opportunity to journey into the intricacies of culturally bound norms.
I loved the characters and learning more about Indian culture.
A way to read near porn without much plot. The memories and musings of older widows.
I enjoyed this book on many levels. Most especially learning more about Punjabi women. Turns out that mothers and daughters are the same in every community!
I never finished the book since I got bored with it.