Join a book club that is reading Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows: A Novel!
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows: A Novel
A lively, sexy, and thought-provoking East-meets-West story about community, friendship, and women’s lives at all ages. Nikki, a daughter of Indian immigrants who has spent the past twenty years trying to distance herself from her traditional upbringing finds herself teaching a creative writing class at the community center. The class is made up of proper Sikh widows who are looking to earn basic English literacy. 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. When the widows’ gossip offers shocking insights into the death of a young wife and some of the class erotica is shared among friends, it sparks a scandal that threatens them all.
BUY THE BOOK
These clubs recently read this book...
Community Reviews
We had such a delightful time laughing about eggplants and all varieties of innuendo! The consensus on the book is that maybe there wasn’t a consensus. Some of us enjoyed the reading experience and found it a fun read, and appreciated the cultural insights. Some found the “throbbing” and “blooming flower” references not our cup of (chai) tea. Some felt that there needed to be more narrative and less erotica .. or more of a connection between the two, so that it didn’t feel like a string of naughty stories with a novel thrown in for good measure. All of that being said, if you strip away (drink!) the erotica, the book raised some interesting questions about the cultural response (Indian or otherwise) to female sexuality, marital choice, and power dynamics in family and romantic relationships. One of the overarching themes that I saw in the book (beyond the nipple references), was the idea that we cannot pretend to know each others’ lives based upon stereotype and assumption. If we spend the time to listen to each others’ stories (erotic or otherwise), we will find connection and humanity that we might otherwise overlook.
An easy read that balances honor killings, the invisibility of older women and widows, societal expectations, arranged marriages, the search for love and compatibility, family expectations, generational changes, immigrant society, and intimidation with enough humor to keep going and not get bogged down. Plenty to think about.
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.