Title: Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows
Author: Balli Kaur Jaswal
Publication: March 6, 2018
Publisher: William Morrow Paperback
Genre: Cultural Heritage, Women’s Fiction
Pages: 320
SYNOPSIS: (From Goodreads)
Every woman has a secret life . . .
Nikki lives in cosmopolitan West London, where she tends bar at the local pub. The daughter of Indian immigrants, she’s spent most of her twenty-odd years distancing herself from the traditional Sikh community of her childhood, preferring a more independent (that is, Western) life. When her father’s death leaves the family financially strapped, Nikki, a law school dropout, impulsively takes a job teaching a “creative writing” course at the community center in the beating heart of London’s close-knit Punjabi community.
Because of a miscommunication, the proper Sikh widows who show up are expecting to learn basic English literacy, not the art of short-story writing. When one of the widows finds a book of sexy stories in English and shares it with the class, Nikki realizes that beneath their white dupattas, her students have a wealth of fantasies and memories. Eager to liberate these modest women, she teaches them how to express their untold stories, unleashing creativity of the most unexpected—and exciting—kind.
As more women are drawn to the class, Nikki warns her students to keep their work secret from the Brotherhood, a group of highly conservative young men who have appointed themselves the community’s “moral police.” But when the widows’ gossip offers shocking insights into the death of a young wife—a modern woman like Nikki—and some of the class erotica is shared among friends, it sparks a scandal that threatens them all.
REVIEW:
Once again I have no clue where I came across this book. I am pretty sure it was in a kindle unlimited thing that popped up on the sleep screen on my Kindle. Honestly, when I borrowed it I swear it said Erotic Stories through Punjabi Windows. It wasn’t till my husband said Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows? Really Liz? that I actually looked back at it and was floored that that is what it actually said. Palm to face moment right there. I was rather excited to read it if I am honest.
Nikki feels like a failure. She quit law school and her parents are deeply disappointed in her. She isn’t a good Indian and finding her house threw a match like everyone else she seems to know. She wants to find love. To top it all off her father died while visiting in India and she is positive that he was angry at her when he died. One day she is at a temple putting her sister’s dating advertisement up on the board and she comes across a job for a writing teacher. She applied and got the job. She soon discovers that it is a group of Punjabi widow’s and they have other ideas for the class……one that if the temple found out would put a massive x on her back. This book is like three stories into one book. There are the erotic stories the widows write, there is a mystery and there is the story of Nikki and the widows. It’s artfully woven within each other and blend seamlessly.
I absolutely loved it. Yes, it did take a bit but I have things going on that have slowed my reading for fun considerably. The erotic stories were honestly erotic and coming from widows was fantastic. We as a society seem to think sex ends when you are a widow or are older and that is totally not the case. Honestly, STDs are one issue that assisted living facilities face because of all the extra-circular activities. I loved Nikki I could totally get her feeling of disappointment when she decided against doing something that her family was pushing her to do. I loved the relationship that she had with the widows. She respected them and in turn became friends with some of them. These were widows but not all of them were old. I truly loved this book and the writing style. It was easy to read and kept me engaged and wanting more the whole way through.
