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EROTIC STORIES FOR PUNJABI WIDOWS

Name: EROTIC STORIES FOR PUNJABI WIDOWS
Author: Balli Kaur Jaswal
ISBN: 978-0-06-264512-8

by Balli Kaur Jaswal ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 13, 2017

By turns erotic, romantic, and mysterious, this tale of women defying patriarchal strictures enchants.

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Appalled that her sister, Mindi, would even consider an arranged marriage, Nikki Grewal reluctantly pins Mindi’s dating profile to their Sikh temple’s marriage board. But Nikki may be the sister whose life changes.

Nikki has pretty much disgraced herself and her family—British, Punjabi, Sikh—several times over: in addition to dropping out of law school, she’s moved out of the family home and into her own flat above O’Reilly’s pub, where she tends bar. She’s also taken several lovers, none of whom she ever intended to marry. So Mindi’s desire for a traditional arranged marriage bewilders Nikki, particularly since Mindi has a successful career as a nurse and doesn't need anyone else to support her. While posting the profile, though, Nikki notices an advertisement for a writing instructor. Although disinclined to hire a young, modern woman, Kulwinder Kaur, Community Development Director of the Sikh Community Association, has had no other applicants. So Nikki begins teaching a group of Punjabi widows, who quickly hijack her lesson plans. Instead of teaching a creative writing course, or even an introductory English literacy course, Nikki finds herself facilitating an erotic storytelling workshop. The widows delight in telling titillating tales of illicit sexual encounters despite the danger of discovery by the Brothers, the self-appointed morality police. As Nikki deepens her relationships with the widows—and finds a new boyfriend along the way—she learns of the strange death of Kulwinder’s daughter, Maya, who may have been accused of dishonorable behavior. But trying to discover what happened to Maya may land Nikki herself in trouble. With a keen ear for dialogue and humor, Jaswal (Sugarbread, 2016, etc.) deftly entwines these women’s lives, creating a world in which women of multiple generations find common ground in the erotic fantasies that reveal both lived experiences and wistful dreams.

By turns erotic, romantic, and mysterious, this tale of women defying patriarchal strictures enchants.

Pub Date: June 13, 2017

ISBN: 978-0-06-264512-8

Page Count: 304

Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: March 20, 2017

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2017

Categories:

GENERAL FICTION

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NOW YOU SEE US
by Balli Kaur Jaswal

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THE UNLIKELY ADVENTURES OF THE SHERGILL SISTERS
by Balli Kaur Jaswal

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SUMMER ISLAND

by Kristin Hannah ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2001

The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...

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Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.

Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.

The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.

Pub Date: March 1, 2001

ISBN: 0-609-60737-5

Page Count: 336

Publisher: Crown

Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001

Categories:

GENERAL FICTION

- BOOK REVIEW
THE WOMEN
by Kristin Hannah

- BOOK REVIEW
THE FOUR WINDS
by Kristin Hannah

- BOOK REVIEW
THE GREAT ALONE
by Kristin Hannah

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TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

by Harper Lee ‧ RELEASE DATE: July 11, 1960

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A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.