Balli Kaur Jaswal

What a fantastic, original book.

What is in a name? In the case of Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows, everything and more.

Balli Kaur Jaswal has spun an incredible, eye-opening story into the lives of Punjabi widows, how honor is their highest desired attribute, and how women are to be quiet, meek, and chaste. Men lead the houses, the society, and the bedroom, yet women, especially the widows in Jaswal's book, have thoughts of their own.

When Nikki, a modern Punjabi 22-year-old, answers an ad for a teaching position at the local temple to help illiterate women learn to write and read, she is met with opposition as to her way of life, thinking, and curriculum. These women don't want to learn to write their A, B, Cs, they want to tell and transcribe their fantasies.

I must say, this book is steamy. Not in a Colleen Hoover way, but more in a clean, sensual, and romantic way. Think courgette in place of penis and peach instead of vagina.

Fantastical names of body parts and PG language to describe hot, sensual scenes aside, this book gives a fascinating insight into the tight-lipped, buttoned-up community of Punjabi women. I was amazed at what I didn't know and somewhat surprised by all I learned.… (mais)

This novel examines the treatment that Filipino women are subjected to when they are sent to be domestic servants in Singapore. The "mothers", or the employers, are often cruel to the workers. One day, one of the employers is found dead, and a Filipino maid is accused of the murder. However, another Filipino maid claims to have seen her on the day in question, and says there is no way that she could have committed the murder in the timeframe stated. So, Cora, Donita, and Angel band together to try and solve the mystery of the murder and free Flor.
This novel also explores sexuality, gender identity, and class differences.
It was interesting, but not a favorite.… (mais)

I received an ARE of this from a Goodreads Giveaway - thanks!

Would I recommend this: yes!!!
For fans of travel, learning new cultures, exploring family dynamics, and wonderfully written and developed characters. Left me fist pumping and cheering along with them!

OHMYGOD, I loved this! I was so excited to read it, and it was one of those books where within 20 pages you know you were right and you WILL love this book. I love learning about places and cultures through reading, even novels, and this was a new one for me: Sikhism and India. I enjoyed learning about the little bits they mentioned in the book, but as a story it was so strong as well!

The characters are the absolute best. It can be hard to develop strong characters when you have several all taking turns narrating, but they each provided insight into themselves as well as each other when they took their turn in the story. Even the mother, who is dead basically the whole time, feels like a familiar friend by the middle of it. One whose quirks and flaws and passions I know and love.

One great aspect of this novel is the lack of a romance line. It's very firmly based on the sisters and them learning about themselves as individuals as well as a group. The secrets that each sister has throughout their pilgrimage through India are hinted at and built upon, but not in that way where it feels so blunt and tactless; none of those single sentences at the end of chapter just saying "She thought she would be ok... until she remembered what he had said before she left." or some rubbish like that. My god, that gets annoying, right? These were gracefully and naturally woven in, which is key in any story for me.

Is it predictable? In some ways, yes. I had a feeling they would all find their happy endings, reconcile, and all that. But the method of each resolution was hazy enough to keep an air of mystery for me, and I loved it for that. I knew the what, but not the how, and isn't the journey all the fun of it anyway?… (mais)