Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal

25 reviews

lisanussd's review against another edition

emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

This book was primarily about an Indian community in London.  A young woman finding her way answered an ad to be a teacher of writing at a temple. There were a lot of elements to the story.  Nikki, the teacher, ended up befriending the class and the widows decided to write erotic stories.  These are open door.  Nikki herself is trying to find her way after losing her dad after they had a heated argument about she dropped out of law school.  This is about family, tradition, marriage and women finding their voice.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry and Sexual content

scmiller's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Body shaming, Murder, Sexism, Bullying, Hate crime, Classism, Misogyny, and Child death

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, and Gaslighting

Minor: Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, Rape, Addiction, Alcohol, Biphobia, and Homophobia

baileyes's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Murder

Moderate: Stalking, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Infidelity, Grief, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, and Emotional abuse

sarabook's review against another edition

informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Misogyny, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, and Sexism

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicide

Minor: Terminal illness, Infidelity, and Domestic abuse

yush's review against another edition

mysterious

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I loved this book for its relatability and its simplicity. The representation was top-notch

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Domestic abuse, Murder, and Religious bigotry

haley49's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book! Was! So! Good! 
I read it in a day. I loved all the sweet ensemble characters, the growth of the leads, the pacing, the themes. There were so many valuable themes throughout the story but none felt rushed or overly forced. They felt like a natural exploration of the Punjabi community’s experience in the UK and beyond. I loved how casually muslim they were and how the different characters were different ranges of religious. It felt so realistic. Everyone’s emotions seemed so realistic and the relationships between the women were gold. Obviously bits and pieces were exaggerated but all the women felt authentic to the spirit of “auntie”  culture. 

I really appreciated the discussion on middle aged and older women and their importance to communities. Their emotions, sexuality, education, desires, and even gossip were all valid parts of them; and thus essential elements of their community. It was a sweet lesson that a person’s value does not decrease with age nor does it depend upon status, money, gender, education, birth place, children, romantic relationships (present or not), etc. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Misogyny, Murder, Death, Sexism, and Death of parent

Moderate: Hate crime, Pedophilia, Car accident, Physical abuse, Racism, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Addiction, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Alcohol, and Sexual violence

Minor: Violence, Xenophobia, Sexual harassment, Excrement, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Infertility, and Lesbophobia

tuesday_evening's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny, Violence, Stalking, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Sexism, Death, Grief, and Sexual content

mazzeroo's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Grief and Religious bigotry

Minor: Gaslighting, Rape, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

prittypeaches's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Nikki and the widows will live rent-free in my head for a long time. As they tell each other erotic stories, all of the woman find renewed strength to live their lives on their terms. Sprinkled with romance and thriller subplots, this novel has a little bit of something for any reader. 

The erotic short stories are part of the fun (and some would say the the point of the book) but even if you want to skip them the book would read well.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Death, Suicide, Child death, and Grief

Minor: Sexism, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Racism, and Alcohol

lkjones19's review

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Racism, Stalking, Self harm, Grief, Hate crime, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Violence, Child death, Suicide, Sexual content, and Sexism

Minor: Mental illness, Pedophilia, Cancer, Car accident, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Alcoholism, and Lesbophobia