Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows: A hilarious and heartwarming novel - Hardcover

Kaur Jaswal, Balli

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 000820988X ISBN 13: 9780008209889

Publisher: HarperCollins, 2017

Synopsis

Reese Witherspoon’s March Book Club Pick!

‘Big-hearted, earthy and funny... A rattlingly good story’ Deborah Moggach, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

Every woman has a secret life...

When Nikki takes a creative writing job at her local temple, with visions of emancipating the women of the community she left behind as a self-important teenager, she’s shocked to discover a group of barely literate women who have no interest in her ideals.

Yet to her surprise, the white dupatta of the widow hides more than just their modesty – these are women who have spent their lives in the shadows of fathers, brothers and husbands; being dutiful, raising children and going to temple, but whose inner lives are as rich and fruitful as their untold stories. But as they begin to open up to each other about womanhood, sexuality, and the dark secrets within the community, Nikki realises that the illicit nature of the class may place them all in danger.

East meets west and tradition clashes with modernity in a thought-provoking cross-cultural novel that might make you look again at the women in your life...

About this title

Review

‘Big-hearted, earthy and funny: turns so many preconceptions upside down. A rattlingly good story’ Deborah Moggach, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel

‘Warm and hilariously funny’ Good Housekeeping

‘Charming, hilarious and thoughtful’ The Pool

‘Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows balances darkness and light, social commentary and ecstatic escapism... funny and moving tale of desire and its discontents’ The Economist

‘Sensual, authentic and hilarious, I will never look at an aubergine in the same way again – 5 stars’ The Sun

‘Enlightening and entertaining’ Woman & Home

‘A dark comedy... about empowerment and friendship’ Tatler

‘A page turner... Tackles serious themes with a light and funny touch’ Glamour

‘Funny yet serious, this is a fab book about women, culture and secrets’ Prima

‘By turns erotic, romantic, and mysterious, this tale of women defying patriarchal strictures enchants’ Kirkus Reviews

‘Compulsive, funny and wonderfully original – this novel glows with witty sensuality. I love it ’ Helen Lederer, Losing It

‘Poignant, intelligent yet wickedly funny – a delightful read that reignites one's belief in the power of sisterhood’ June Sarpong

From the Back Cover

Every woman has a secret life . . .

Nikki, a modern daughter of Indian immigrants, has 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 impulsively takes a job teaching a "creative writing" course at the community center in the beating heart of London's close-knit Punjabi community.

The proper Sikh widows who show up are expecting to learn English, not short-story writing. When one of the widows finds a book of erotica and shares it with the class, Nikki realizes that beneath their white dupattas, her students have a wealth of fantasies and memories that they've held in for far too long. 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 the class grows, a group called the Brothers, who have appointed themselves Southall's "moral police," threaten to reveal the class's scandalous stories and the mysterious secrets lurking beneath this seemingly sedate, tight-knit community.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 000820988X
• ISBN 13: 9780008209889
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320