Some of the women in this short story are, as the title suggest, intriguing. However, the majority of the women (and men) are so stereotypical and flat that it's difficult to understand who they are and what they want out of life. It's possible that some things were lost in translation, but each short story ends abruptly without offering any closure for the characters. Some even end before the actual plot of that story is revealed. Many of the stories provide glimpses into the culture of India and Middle Eastern countries, but some of them are rather cringe-inducing (one that comes to mind is the story that ends with a mother and daughter rejoicing in their pride that a man from their family was chosen as one of the 9/11 hijackers). If these stories had been fleshed out more, the characters would have had room to grow and develop, rather than appear as mere shadows on the page.