Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows

I would like to thank the publishers of Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows for my ARC via Net-Galley.

The blurb fascinated me, although I did wonder about the erotic bit, which made me nervous in case it was more than I'd wish to read. What I found was a wonderful piece of suspense writing from inside the London Punjabi community--a community I knew hardly anything about.

The story mixes modern womanhood and the conflicts experienced by British-born Indians. I ached when one woman experienced the dilemma of which passport control channel to go through at the airport. The simple story of how one person's creative writing class is another's adult literacy class turns into something that mixes crime, murder, tradition, sexism, love, hate and betrayal, with erotic stories. What makes it so funny (apart from the beautiful drawn characters) is the use of vegetables to describe body parts; half the widows at the evening class don't know the English words for them, and the other half don't know the Punjabi words. I shall never look at an aubergine again without at least a smirk!

This is a wonderful book, especially for people wishing to understand the Sikh community better--at least the female side. I'm sure the Sikh (male) elders will disapprove of it, so get it while you can. Do you need some tips to spice up your thirty year marriage--well, that's an added bonus.

A funny, warm, compassionate mystery and suspense story--and also explicit. But I recommended it to my book club.

This novel is a real revelation of the immigrant experience and community set in Southall, London. Nikki is a independent woman, law school dropout, protester, caught between the traditional values of her punjabi home and her more natural inclination to adhere to the more modern feminist agenda. She is living above a pub on a peppercorn rent where she works as bartender. She is skint, pondering her future, and against all her natural instincts, goes to a Southall temple to post a flyer about her sister, Mindi, who is looking for a arranged marriage and requesting that suitable men get in touch. Whilst there, Nikki spots a job advert for a tutor to teach creative writing for two evenings a week. She gets the job only to discover that she is getting more than she bargained for.

The class comprises primarily punjabi widows, lonely, lost, isolated and mostly illiterate. There is no way they are in a position to engage in creative writing. However, the women do not take kindly being taught how to read and write with resources aimed at young children. They are interested in engaging in oral storytelling, but of the type that is traditionally frowned upon in the community and challenges the role of women. They want to connect with and express their sexuality through the telling of rather racy and erotic tales. All of this has to be kept secret from the course organiser, Kulwinder, who is still grieving over the suicide of her daughter, Maya. It also has to be kept secret from the rest of the community and a group of hardline brothers who have set themselves up to police the morality and honour of women to ensure they stick to traditional expectations. Nikki finds herself getting closely involved with the women, caught up in a new love affair, and untangling a mystery that brings her great danger.

This novel is full of wit, warmth and humour. It took me a little while to get into it, but once I got absorbed, I absolutely loved it. This is a story of women finding the courage to express their sexuality and become both more decisive and more independent. They support one another and the group grows as more women join them. Nikki finds a new place for herself within the community, becomes closer to her family and gains the impetus to change the direction of her life. Absolutely wonderful book that I highly recommend. Thanks to HarperCollins for an ARC.

What a lovely surprise!

In a hurry to leave the house, I downloaded the "next to read" book on my list but didn't have time to check the description... so despite the book's title, I was delighted to be plunged headfirst into a community of Punjabi women of all ages, some modern, some more traditional but all totally believable and written with warmth and compassion. For example, the scene in which Sarab makes chai (can't write more, spoilers) is just lovely.

I think a big part of the appeal is that the author is not British so she's able to write with an outsider's view of life in a Punjabi community in Southall, West London.

Highly recommended, I've added the author's other books to my "must read" list.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the advance review copy, it's much appreciated!

p.s. (February/March 2017) If you have access to BBC iPlayer might like to watch Tony Singh's episode of the BBC series A Cook Abroad:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/...
He travels to the Punjab and so we see him eating and preparing many of the foods mentioned in the novel, it makes for a fascinating companion, especially to those of us who miss Southall's shops and restaurants.

p.p.s. I'm also bewildered by the 1 and 2 stars awarded by a couple of people who haven't written any reviews - maybe it's in error?

From the moment I saw the cover of this book I knew it would be a charming read but I didn't expect to love the story so much.

Thoroughly enjoyed the stories written by the women themselves and the layout with the stories interspersed with the overall book plot was perfect. It was great to read about women of all ages forming a bond together and making friends despite their differences.

Jaswal has written such beautiful characters here. Even the darker element of the plot in this book was wholly intriguing and well written. I sincerely wish there were more books about these characters, a series would be outstanding.

This is a story of many parts. There are the erotic stories told by the Punjabi widows as the title suggests. Who knew old ladies had such interesting tales to tell? The effect they have on their community and not just sexual outcomes.
There is a mystery or two, a fire, a romance and an integral battle of the sexes all in this one book.
What a fascinating and enjoyable read. To think you could go to a writing and learning English group and gain so much from it! I wish the classes I have been to were as interesting and challenging as this group appears.
I loved this book and if you don't mind the odd erotic story then this book is definitely worth reading.
I shall look out for more by this author as she definitely packs a lot into one story.