Nikk is a modern Indian girl who has shunned traditions and lives above the pub she works at. She dropped out of University which caused rifts between her and her dad. When her dad dies suddenly she feels sad they never made up. Her sister however is searching for the perfect husband via an arranged marriage.

She takes a job teaching creative writing to Punjabi widows in Southall and finds that they are illiterate and were expecting to be taught how to read and write. Instead they share their stories, fantasies and memories. The stories are shared and more and more women want to join the group. But they need to keep the brotherhood at bay.. I found the story a little slow at first but soon I was totally absorbed by the story and characters.

I really don't know what genre to put this book in as it had everything in it. Women's fiction, erotica, comedy, thriller and modern day Indian culture. All made into an unusual good read.

Nikki, the daughter of Indian immigrants, lives in West London, where she lives a decidedly ‘Western’ lifestyle, having distanced herself from the traditional Sikh community. After dropping out of university, she’s looking for the next step in her career – and spots an advertisement for story writing classes for widows in the close-knit Punjabi community of Southall.

The classes soon take a surprising turn, as the widows – far from being shy and retiring as people imagine them to be – start sharing their fantasies and memories with each other, learning English at the same time.

Through these classes, the varied strands of the story come together: Nikki’s connection with her heritage and her family; her (and her sister’s) vastly different love lives; and the unanswered questions surrounding the horrific death of a young wife in the neighbourhood.

While the main storyline – Nikki’s relationship with the widows and her family, and her search for answers surrounding the shocking death – makes you want to turn the pages faster to find answers to the sinister situation, the inclusion of the widow’s erotic stories, written in their entirety, can feel at times as if they are interrupting the progress of the plot.

Regardless, Erotic Stories For Punjabi Widows is an enjoyable, quick read, a mix of romantic comedy and mystery that has you rooting for Nikki and her new-found friends to the end.

Thank you to Netgalley, Harper Collins and the author for the opportunity to read this novel and the fact that I received this free of charge does not in any way influence my review.
I will start by saying that erotic novels are not really my thing, but the idea of Punjabi widows telling their stories intrigued me enough to want to read it.
Whilst there are definitely many very erotic stories told, there are other themes developed within the story. Notably, how the society underestimates the value of the older members of our communities.
We also see how the second generation who were born in Britain, find their way between traditional Indian ways and their desire to have the freedom that their contemporaries enjoy.
I find these topics fascinating and the author did a fine job in putting these across. I also enjoyed the frequent moments of humour and even the erotic bits were in perspective, so they were part of the story rather than being the story.
As long as you are a little opened minded about fairly explicit love scenes then I would urge you to read this.

Link to review on goodreads ; https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32075853-erotic-stories-for-punjabi-widows

Given the unusual title, I was slightly dubious about this book when it popped up for review.  However, I've learned never to judge a book by a) its cover, or b) its title, and rightly so, or I'd have missed out on this corker.
 
Nikki is a young British-Punjabi woman, raised in England and is very much a modern twenty-something, having moved away from the traditions of her ancestors in her rebellious teens. Having dropped out of law school after realising that she was working towards being a lawyer more for her family than for herself, she's avoiding her fractured relationship with her Mum & Sister, and living in a flat above a bar, working shifts downstairs for buttons to pay her rent.
 
When sister Mindi decides that she wants an arranged marriage, despite not understanding why she would want to do something that she herself finds old-fashioned & oppressive, Nikki eventually agrees to go and visit the Sikh temple at Southall to pin up a flyer for Mindi on the marriage wall. While there, on the vacancies board, she spots an advert for a creative writing teacher, wanted for 2 evenings a week.  Thinking she'll be earning a bit of extra cash helping some old ladies write stories, she applies, and by virtue of being the only applicant, is surprised to find herself landing the gig, and starting the next week.
 
Once she starts the class it very quickly becomes obvious that a lot of the ladies she is going to teach are elder Punjabi widows who can barely speak English and certainly can't write anything in it. She starts trying to help them learn their alphabet but the women are rather offended by this attempt at being taught by a younger women with what are effectively children's books.  They want to share their stories, which aren't the stories you'd might expect them to be, nor the type of writing that their culture is likely to find acceptable -  stories of lust, hidden desires, female empowerment, breaking cultural stereotypes, for starters. These women have stories to tell, but don't have the ability, the opportunity or the outlet to get them out there and they look to Nikki to help them do that - which she does, albeit in secret. Even the person who hired Nikki doesn't know what is going on, although she has suspicions that the classes are not just all 'A, B, C's'. Eventually, word gets around, as it tends to do, and there are more and more women wanting to attend this liberating writing class, conversely, this attention brings with it a sinister group of men called 'The Brothers', the self-appointed morality police who go around ensuring that the women of their culture are behaving as they expect them to.
 
There are some strong themes within this novel and it's not always an easy read. There is mystery surrounding some suspicious suicides/deaths within the community that suggests the possibility of honour killings. There is the oppressive nature of 'The Brothers' and their belief that they have the right to dictate what the women of their community can and cannot do. There is examination of marriage, arranged and otherwise, stigma around divorce and the enforced loneliness of the widows who are not allowed to find love again once their husbands are lost to them. Also to note is that there is some strong sexual imagery in the stories written by the women, though it's not gratuitous, but leans more towards powerful - an unleashing of lifetime after lifetime of pent-up desires, that sometimes even follow these brave and quietly adventurous ladies home!
 
Above it all arcs the  empowerment that can be felt from a collective, creative environment, regardless of situation or circumstance. How it can bring people together, and encourage them to face the inevitable dangers that come with challenging age old cultural norms.
 
It's an unusual novel, beautifully descriptive, full of warmth, wit and spicy characters.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from this book. I read this on holiday and thoroughly enjoyed what was an insight into the lives, culture and stories of older Punjabi ladies. I did feel that the main emphasis of the book is for the main character to be proud of both her English and Punjabi heritage. A very funny book and I will certainly look out for similar stories from this author. Not enamoured with the title though.

I will be uploading my review of this book to my YouTube channel on Friday 22nd. I thought it was a lot of fun!

A really enjoyable read although the erotic bits were very explicit. Full review on my blog.

I was attracted to Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows firstly by the vibrant cover, then the blurb promised humour so I decided to give it a go. And I am so happy I did. This is definitely a ‘something different’ read and the stories, whilst the hub of the story, are far from the whole novel. This book is stuffed full with a mystery – which you don’t actually realise is a mystery until the final few pages – an insight into Sikh communities and a real understanding of the lives of these women and how tradition and honour dictates how they live on a daily basis along with the pressures of change.

I feel I have learned so much I didn’t know before, and yet it is all wrapped up in a very funny and eminently readable novel. What a fun read! I now have such understanding and empathy with these women, and I think it must have been a very hard book to write yet Balli Kaur Jaswal has managed to hit all the right notes and has produced a wonderful read which, all things being equal, will mean she has a bestseller on her hands.

A full and completely satisfying read and one which I wholeheartedly recommend – your mind, if not your life, will be all the richer for it.

I received an arc via NetGalley in exchange for my honest, original and unbiased review.

This is a well written book, and in general an interesting insight into a different culture. Some great characters which makes you care about what happens to them.

Nikki has been brought up with her sister in Britain by fairly strict Indian parents. The dichotomy of this upbringing juxtaposed with the more liberal attitudes of her friends families causes a rift with her father that is not resolved before he passes away. In order to earn some extra money Nikki takes a role teaching females creative writing in Southall, but the widows that attend decide they'd rather be telling stories...erotic fantasies to be precise. The story moves at a good pace and encompasses murder, family shame and sexual awakening and kept me enthralled to the last page. At times horrifying, sometimes shocking but fascinating too, all in all a very good read that gives an insight into Indian family traditions and culture.

his was a really lovely book to read. It had a good mix of humour and interest.

I didn't expect much when I first got it but I soon became engrossed in the interesting characters and I learnt a lot about the Sikh community.

A heartwarming book that was an easy read. The title is somewhat misleading as this is not just a book about erotic stories ( though there are some there). The story is about a young Sikh girl rebelling against the what is expected of her by her cultural society and how she deals with it. Through her journey the author explores some very serious themes and topics affecting Asian women but overall the book is about women empowerment and hilariously funny at times. Definitely a must read!!

A surprising story set in London when a night school to teach women to write turns into an opportunity for older ladies from the Punjabi community to share fantasy and reminiscence.
The story is quite gentle and full of insights into what is for me a different style of living and the restrictions real and self imposed of the women of that society.
Not an action filled tale but perfectly enjoyable with a number of laugh aloud moments.

I really enjoyed this book. I didn’t know what to expect from the title, but thought, hey ho, I’ll give it a go. It is a novel of themes: tradition meets the less traditional; East meets West; old meets the young; female rights meet male beliefs; commitment meets irresponsibility.

All the strong characters are female. They embrace different beliefs and different times.

Nikki is a young Punjabi Sikh. She embraced western culture to a greater extent that her sister, Mindi who is looking for an arranged marriage. Nikki has dropped out of university and by chance, lands a job which she understands to be teaching creative writing to a group of Punjabi widows. This turns out not to be the case as most of the widows cannot write in English. The story continues with Nikki developing close relationships with these widows and how they view their lives. They feel as though they have been pushed into to background as they have no status without a husband. They are clear though that they have needs and wants which should not be ignored.

There is also a developing love story for Nikki and a mystery concerning the deaths of three young Punjabi women.

There is some excellent humour in this novel which was laugh out loud on occasions. The characterisation of the widows is excellent and I was really drawn to them. There was also some really important messages about the rights of women.

I would highly recommend this book.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from NetGalley and publisher in exchange for an honest review. Thank you.

I enjoyed this book and feel as if I learnt a lot about the Sikh community. Unlike other readers though, I most felt there was almost too much for one book.
There are so many threads - the widows, the temple, the Brothers, arranged marriage, suicide , erotica etc that I would have preferred it as a series. That way we could have got to know the characters and learned more about the background.
However, this hasn't put me off and I look forward to other books by this author, particularly if some of the same characters figure in the next book, as by the end, I did feel as if I was getting to know them.

This was a great story with many themes. It is set around the Sikh community of Southall, London. It addresses the difficulties for young British Sikhs, born and raised here and developing different values to their Indian born parents. It covers levels of illiteracy within the Sikh community, the gossip,lack of privacy and repressive quality within, but also the incredible support network that it can be. We get to think about the pros and cons of arranged marriages. There is a darker undertone too in relation to honour killings.
The story is about the empowerment of a community of women and is wittily done. The Punjabi widows of the title have felt unseen and unheard and creating these stories together gives them self value and meaning, as well as stirring up the indignation and disapproval of the Brothers.
There is a love story and a mystery as well as the main plot and there are some happy outcomes from the Erotic stories produced, for the community and main characters.
A thought provoking book wrapped up with a light hearted touch. Recommended.

I received this book from NetGalley for an honest review. There are three reasons I chose this book 1. Loved the cover. 2. I lived in Southall many years ago. 3. I thought it said Exotic stories!! How wrong was I? I loved this book! It made me laugh, I felt sad at times and sometimes it made me angry. Loved the characters, will never look at Punjabi ladies the same again! Who knew! I highly recommend this book for ALL women. Thank you thank you NetGalley and for me not having my glasses on when I saw this book.

Joyous! A proper feel-good read which weaves humour, sex and tragedy so beautifully you'll be cheering at the end.

I can't say why this book appealed to me other than to say that the title really intrigued me. Two words that in the Western world we would never associate with one another 'erotic' and 'Punjabi'. I guess that's because our little knowledge of other cultures sees anyone who is religious as being strict, conservative and definitely not about to write erotic stories! And that's exactly what Nikki thinks too. Nikki is a young Punjabi woman born and raised in London as an East-West mix. Nikki is a member of feminist groups, she doesn't believe in the culture of her religion which she sees as binding, controlling and far too conservative for the modern woman. Certainly she isn't happy when her sister Mindi asks her to post her profile on the marriage board of the temple in Southall. Nikki doesn't want her sister to have an arranged marriage, something she certainly couldn't imagine herself.

But while she is at the temple, Nikki sees an advertisement to teach storytelling to lonely widows in the community and is excited by the prospect. Currently working in a bar after quitting her law degree she has been at a loose end and is unsure where to go or what to do next. But her plans to teach the Widows English reading and writing goes astray when they have other ideas about what stories to tell.

I really enjoyed this novel. The story was for the most part light, and enjoyable but there was also a dark undertone. The suppression of women in certain cultures. Murder, bullying, hatred, racism and fear. But it was not an unhappy novel despite these undertones. Instead what we see is women brought to life by stories, gaining their freedom, enriching their lives and rising from surpression. I think for people who have grown up in a completely western world, who may possibly have a lack of understanding of other cultures this book provides an interesting and different perspective, to gain understanding that people are people no matter where they come from, the religion they follow and certainly not the colour of their skin.

The story is funny, honest, bright and leaves you with a sense that justice has been served.