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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Unrealistic and disrespectful to the Indian immigrants of the UK.
It was enjoyable with characters from a different culture.
Very interesting and enjoyable story.
A pleasant, entertaining read. Thanks to Reese Witherspoon for recommending this title to readers everywhere. Yes, it gets a bit steamy but it’s so much more than the erotica, it has depth and character. There is a mystery and some suspense, even a bit of romance. Good stuff.
I really enjoyed this peek into the lives of the Sikh community in England. It is well written. The characters are engaging and you become totally engrossed into the stories. You have to read the book to understand what I’m saying here.
I loved this book. It is well written and includes enjoyable and well developed narrative that is also informative of expectations of this cross section of Punjabi women. Not only is it compelling but is,also at times, very funny and also includes drama. Just as the title implies, the book truly does contain erotic narratives told by lonely Punjabi women. They are incorporated into the story in a way that is, to me, logical. If erotic stories are appalling to you I wouldn’t read the book.
I didn’t know what to expect, but I really enjoyed this book!
This was a good book, entertaining, but I think if you weren’t from the South Asian diaspora, you may not appreciate some of the things in the book. The writing was good, not great, but easy to read and I like how the author brought in cultural taboo topics and addressed them in the story.
A Great escape for the summer, 50 shades meets much better prose, character development….. it is spicy and maybe inspirational!
Quite different and a good read.
Love it!
The world considers older widows as sexless, even more so when they are part of a very conservative community. Well, these Punjabi widows are quite interested in erotic stories. Add a suicide/maybe murder, a young Punjabi woman trying to figure out her future, and religious conservative enforcers, and you have a great read!
An original idea, brilliantly executed.
I thought this book was going to be mostly about the bonding of a young, modern Punjabi girl and older traditional Punjabi women, but it turned out to be something different. I loved all the culture that the book provides, and I appreciated the twist. It’s an easy and fun read.
A very different book … I would have liked it more had the characters learned how to create a writing skill more appropriate than just pornographic tales.
Loved this book from start to finish… The characters are engaging and as the book progresses they are able to find their voice in a culture that frowns on strong women, let alone widows. It is hard to say this book was “funny” given the subject matter covered including honor killings and intimidation of women in general but It is hard not to laugh and cheer for the main character and some of the women.
Very cute and sweet. A little more substance would have added another star.
A charming story about personal transformation.
Just okay, but likable characters
I was hoping this would be a witty, light hearted escape book. Although it started out that way, I felt it turned unto “naughty stories” with little deviation from one widows tale to the next. Character development was definitely lacking and the things that could have enhanced the plot just didn’t happen. It held the potential to be a good book, but missed the mark in my opinion.
It was a good read. A little naughty but a quick, easy read.