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A review by mama_waves
The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
3.0
The Bandit Queens promotes as a dark comedy and it does not disappoint. The funniest parts were often chaotic and confusing to read because of the number of characters. However, between these escalations, there was a lot of reflective content with regards to women's rights (in India) including childlessness, abuse, access to resources through marriage, love in marriage and in friendships.
This book would have been a 4 for me if it was shorter, if the author had gone a bit deeper into the issues mentioned, and if there had been more connections to the somewhat significant end characters throughout the story (ex BB, Geeta's mil).
I loved the following quotes:
'Nothing's changed, look at us. We only got the micro loans because the men think the female empowerment is cute. Harmless. Don't you get it? We were never actually advancing; we were just being tolerated.'
And this one that compares marriage to friendship:
'I should have had the same rule with Saloni. Why didn't anyone say, You've attached your life to hers, you must forgive and make it work,' and all that? I'd known you for a minute and her my whole life. But still, it didn't occur to me that it was just as important to not let a fight with her ruin our friendship. Why was I so busy protecting the copper I had with you that I destroyed the gold I had with her?'
This book would have been a 4 for me if it was shorter, if the author had gone a bit deeper into the issues mentioned, and if there had been more connections to the somewhat significant end characters throughout the story (ex BB, Geeta's mil).
I loved the following quotes:
'Nothing's changed, look at us. We only got the micro loans because the men think the female empowerment is cute. Harmless. Don't you get it? We were never actually advancing; we were just being tolerated.'
And this one that compares marriage to friendship:
'I should have had the same rule with Saloni. Why didn't anyone say, You've attached your life to hers, you must forgive and make it work,' and all that? I'd known you for a minute and her my whole life. But still, it didn't occur to me that it was just as important to not let a fight with her ruin our friendship. Why was I so busy protecting the copper I had with you that I destroyed the gold I had with her?'