A review by matmatmatty
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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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