The Bandit Queens: A Novel
A young Indian woman finds the false rumors that she killed her husband surprisingly useful--until other women in the village start asking for her help getting rid of their own husbands--in this razor-sharp debut.
Five years ago, Geeta lost her no-good husband. As in, she actually lost him--he walked out on her and she has no idea where he is. But in her remote village in India, rumor has it that Geeta killed him. And it's a rumor that just won't die.
It turns out that being known as a "self-made" widow comes with some perks. No one messes with her, harasses her, or tries to control (ahem, marry) her. It's even been good for business; no one dares to not buy her jewelry.
Freedom must look good on Geeta, because now other women are asking for her "expertise," making her an unwitting consultant for husband disposal.
And not all of them are asking nicely.
With Geeta's dangerous reputation becoming a double-edged sword, she has to find a way to protect the life she's built--but even the best-laid plans of would-be widows tend to go awry. What happens next sets in motion a chain of events that will change everything, not just for Geeta, but for all the women in their village.
Filled with clever criminals, second chances, and wry and witty women, Parini Shroff's The Bandit Queens is a razor-sharp debut of humor and heart that readers won't soon forget.
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Readers say *The Bandit Queens* offers a powerful exploration of misogyny, caste, and female solidarity in rural India, with themes of revenge and jus...
Had a hard time with the following:
1. Trying too hard to be 'woke'.
2. I like to swear as much as the next potty mouth. So I'm not sure why I felt this way, but there were times when seemed inappropriate or disrupted the flow or jarred the reader.
3. The interweaving of the real Bandit Queen's story- occurred to often and a little too much. But, now interested in learning more about her.
4. I love thrillers, murder-y, revenge, horror etc type genres. Not sure I agree with all of the plot choices... Cant explain further without spoilers.
I really wanted to give this 4 or 5 stars, but just couldn't. I enjoy the authors writing style, so will keep an eye out for her next book.
I don’t know what the author was thinking while writing this book but she did portray India & its women in low light. I really don’t know what a worldwide audience is gonna think about us Indian women after reading this book. I don’t think, we Indian women go about murdering are husbands just coz we are domestically abused. India is ever progressing & I believe it has a good law system to deal such matter, be it a Panchayat in a small village or the Supreme Court. If the author wanted to write about “Nari Shakti” then she could have taken a more inspiring route rather than a brunch of women going about plotting & Poisoning their husbands to death & above all why use Phoolan Devi as an inspiration. I’m sure, she had reason for what she did & she surely wouldn’t want a women to follow in her path. The author also tried to give insights on too many topics in the book such as the Caste system, dowry and the Ramayan which added more chaos.
The characters were also of such poor quality, the main protagonist Geeta was so easy to manipulate, the don Bada bhai was also such a foolish character. As for the story, I was hoping that it would end in a more humorous manner. The other aspect that I disliked about this book was the writing, its was way below average. If the author wanted to write phrases in Hindi language, she should have written it in its origin form not translated it to english that to so poorly, what the heck is “Something black in the Lentils.” Just say “daal me kuch kala hai”.
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