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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I enjoyed this very much.
So much more to the story than the erotic stories! This was a great read
Excellent read, thoroughly enjoyed it!
This book took me into a world I am not at all familiar with. The characters are wonderful, and while different from me in the fact that they are from a very different culture, I still felt very connected to the women in the story from a human stand-point. I really loved this book.
I enjoyed learning about women in other cultures and was happy to see needed changes in their lives by being able to express themselves in these stories.
So different and well told
Well written engaging read.
Loved it!
This book touches several important issues for women, both an ethnic story and a revealing look into another culture’s view of pleasure. There is even a mystery for fans of solving crimes.
If you have read White Teeth by Zada Smith.. this is another look into a rich culture, worth reading…
A very good read
I really enjoyed it – and there was an actual storyline.
Loved it
A bit chick-litish but enjoyable none the less!
Interesting story but too many Punjabi words not defined. Kindle knew some of them but not all. Also it should have come with a warning about the erotic stories! I like them but know lots of ladies in my book club would definitely not. I’m very surprised Reese’s bookclub likes it so much.
Loved the characters. Taken aback by the “golden girls” imaginations.
I enjoy delving into the cultures of distant lands. Erotic Stories gave me great insight into the lives of women whose marriages were arranged for them as well as the more modern woman who sought their own counsel and wouldn’t allow tradition to rule their fates. There are costs to be paid either way.
The stories the Punjabi widows created were passionate, revealing, and surprisingly modern. Recommended.
Whoo! A hot, steamy, funny and quite interesting read. Delves into the secret minds of ladies….. young and old. I learned something of the Punjabi culture, as well as confirming that although we may have different beliefs, our basic needs are the same. I recommend this book, even to my mother, with a blush….
Story and writing were very weak.
This novel is an original. Both story lines were unpredictable and a delight to read!
I love this book. The characters are warm, sometimes funny, sometimes poignant. It tells the story of the immigrant experience and how so many newcomers feel like fish out of water. It also has an interesting takebon female fantasies written in the furtherancebofblearning English. I don’t want to spoil this for potential readers,but I couldn’t put it down.