Genre Fiction
![Balli Kaur Jaswal - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B00EA8OP4K.jpg)
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows: A Novel
Reese Witherspoon's Book Club Pick
A lively, sexy, and thought-provoking East-meets-West story about community, friendship, and women's lives at all ages-a spicy and alluring mix of Together Tea and Calendar Girls.
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.
A lively, sexy, and thought-provoking East-meets-West story about community, friendship, and women's lives at all ages-a spicy and alluring mix of Together Tea and Calendar Girls.
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.
Editorial Reviews
"Jaswal tackles serious themes (arranged vs forced marriage, traditional vs modern culture) with a light and funny touvh. A page-turner your commute will thank you for." - Glamour Magazine
"By turns erotic, romantic, and mysterious, this novel of women defying patriarchial strictures enchants." - Kirkus Reviews
"A page-turner your commute will thank you for. Tackles serious themes with a light and funny touch." - Glamour (UK)
"Warm and hilariously funny." - Good Housekeeping (UK)
"Heady stuff ... a funny and moving tale of desire and its discontents." - The Economist
"Charming ... This is a sparkling read." - Publishers Weekly
"I loved this novel―it's so big-hearted and earthy and funny. Best of all, it turns many preconceptions upside down, and opens up a world that so many of us have only glimpsed. A rattlingly good story." - Deborah Moggach, author of THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL
"By turns erotic, romantic, and mysterious, this novel of women defying patriarchial strictures enchants." - Kirkus Reviews
"A page-turner your commute will thank you for. Tackles serious themes with a light and funny touch." - Glamour (UK)
"Warm and hilariously funny." - Good Housekeeping (UK)
"Heady stuff ... a funny and moving tale of desire and its discontents." - The Economist
"Charming ... This is a sparkling read." - Publishers Weekly
"I loved this novel―it's so big-hearted and earthy and funny. Best of all, it turns many preconceptions upside down, and opens up a world that so many of us have only glimpsed. A rattlingly good story." - Deborah Moggach, author of THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL
Readers Top Reviews
Anna GTripFiction
This book was entertaining and a fun read. It’s about a young woman struggling to find her way and also wrestling between her identities of a traditional Indian and modern British woman. She teaches a writing class to widows that turns into an erotic storytelling class. She gets to know all the women in the class and a better view into their secrets- some sweet and some… deadly.
HannaAnna GTripFi
Story about womanhood and oppression in the Punjabi British community over generations. Always love some girl power. Really enjoyed this book
AMO1234HannaAnna
This book was a solid 3.5 stars. It was an easy read for the most part, but I felt like the addition of the actual erotic stories was just “filler” and didn’t really add anything to the overall story.
#EmptyNestReaderA
The daughter of Indian immigrants, Nikki (22), considers herself to be a modern woman. Hired to teach creative writing at the local Sikh community center, Nikki quickly realizes that the job posting was misleading. Almost all of her students are Punjabi widows seeking to learn to read and write. Nikki forges ahead attempting to teach them English letters but they quickly become bored. When one of her students finds a book of sexy short stories, she reads them to the class before the teacher arrives. Nikki is shocked to learn that beneath their mourning garments and traditional Punjabi lifestyles, are smart, funny, sexy women with a lifetime of experiences and vivid imaginations. and who have plenty to teach her. The class re-centers on story writing as the students develop their own sexy short stories in their heads, then tell them to their classmates. Before long the stories are being shared among the community. Inspired by such, long married couples are once again experiencing more fulfilling marriages. Women, men (and, to her surprise, even Nikki) are learning to speak up and speak out for themselves. But fear of the “Brotherhood” is never far away as these young men act as a self-appointed morality police. But is what they’re doing immoral? Or, is it helping the community? The story is a wonderful opportunity to learn that across cultures, age groups and marital status, there is plenty for each of us to learn about the other. With a murder mystery and some jealousy and a touch of erotica thrown in this book is a fun read. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ NOTE: Available on Kindle Unlimited
Anne R. Peterson#
Easy read without much depth. I say that because there is so much more to a real relationship than flirting and sex. I did enjoy reading it as a “beach read” not expecting it to be a great piece of literature. The point of the story was (in my view): modernizing a religion that has paralyzed women for centuries. Perhaps this might just be a First Step.
