Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows

This story focuses on a Sikh community in Southall, London where a young "modern" woman is hired to teach a literacy class (although she thinks it's a creative writing class) and while giving her students (who are, of course, the titular Punjabi widows) the confidence to express themselves properly, she starts to uncover the truth about some of the community's secrets.

I really liked the dynamic between the m in characters- coming from a religious immigrant community myself, I could completely understand Nikki's thinking and the way she acts, but could also see some of my family in Kulwinder and some of the widows.

This book gave me a lot to think about - from how our safe communities can become toxic, to how it's important to stand up to our ideals even if the world is against us.

I know what happened to Maya does happen - there was a lot of talk of "honour killings" in the UK a few years ago, but it sometimes feel like things are out of our hands with things like this, and this story helped me realise that it doesn't have to be.

Really loved this book and looking forward to reading more from this author!

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lisanussd's review against another edition

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emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This book was primarily about an Indian community in London. A young woman finding her way answered an ad to be a teacher of writing at a temple. There were a lot of elements to the story. Nikki, the teacher, ended up befriending the class and the widows decided to write erotic stories. These are open door. Nikki herself is trying to find her way after losing her dad after they had a heated argument about she dropped out of law school. This is about family, tradition, marriage and women finding their voice.

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dani_reis's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

Kind of bored with the pace feeling too slow. Bit too much like an anthology of erotica, which I should have expected.

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ricefun's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

I truly loved this novel, particularly listening in audiobook format. I loved the creativity and the writing in this story. I watch and read a lot of British English materials, and this one offered a glimpse into a completely different British community. Some of the "stories" that are shared are pretty racy, so probably not for young readers, or those of a puritan bent.

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hoagie's review against another edition

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3.5

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