Reviews with content warning for Pedophilia - The Bandit Queens

Reviews tagging 'Pedophilia'

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

77 reviews

emg3's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

2.75

The blurb was the best bit of this book. There was quite a lot of tactlessness and, though I tried to give it the benefit of the doubt, it just felt offensive and insensitive sometimes. Maybe I missed something crucial while reading, but it really felt like the most important parts of this book were given the fewest words.

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ebbie_casuallereading's review against another edition

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Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

To be fair, I've read this book while in a weird state of extreme fatigue, sickness and grief. So my reading experience was weird.

The end conflict is what saved the book for me, because at times, I was considering giving it a little less than 3 stars. Why? Because the dance between "the characters are intelligent" and "the characters are absolutely stupid" wasn't well balanced. I don't think it's that good of an idea to dance between the 2 anyways, or not in the way it was done here, because it wasn't really believable or felt too goofy ah-ah jokey-joke in a book that didn't exactly had that tone to it. And I'm not just talking about how the women are faking being lesser than, or how this specific secondary character plays on the perception people have of her as a simpleton. I'm talking about all the character, and most importantly the MC.

Geeta's growth is weird and a bit chaotic imo. I'm not saying character growth as to be linear, but the inconsistencies feel a little off at times. I wanted to slap her, but also a few other, a number of times, espescially when she's trying to lie. She's shown to be capable and stubborn, even in front of adversity, in the first few chapter. She even lie properly, yet afterward, she can't anymore. It's hard to compute why she falls back into a less capable state in the middle of the story, or else it's not written to make you feel something major happened that would make this earned.

Also, if you need to know if something bad happens to the dog (Bandit):

the dog doesn't die, though there is another death dog at some point, that is already dead when we get to it

I did like the parts where the women uses patriarchy to their advantage. The BEST parts are where they are confronted to a powerful figure or someone with autority, and are able to "charm" or talk their way out of a bad situation. And then the friendships are nice, the bonobo thing is too.

I want to say the story is lighthearted, but at the same time not really. It's hard to pinpoint where it lends tone-wise. I really think I might have enjoyed it more in other personnal circumstances. And I bet it's easier to enjoy if you get into it with the expectations it's not going to be super serious.

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mrsmeowmix's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny medium-paced

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

3.5

The subjects explored in the book were shocking but understandably that is the reality that many women may face in that society. I felt like it was really thrown in my face gratuitously and wish there was more of a warm up to it. There was one part I truly chuckled at but found the shifts between serious discussions of said topics and the banter between the women jarring.

At times I found the many of the characters unlikeable and found the events leading up to the ending to be overly theatrical and incredulous. But it did tie up nicely. I wish there were more explanation of Karem and ASP Sinha. I suppose they were my favorite characters as the least manipulative people in the story.

Overall, it seemed like the author tried to explore a lot of themes and was in a rush to wrap up.

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mondovertigo's review against another edition

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dark funny tense 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? Yes

5.0

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itsbecca's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny fast-paced

4.5

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dakdoesbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny informative lighthearted mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

If dark humor, light romance, girl power, and tons of twists and turns is your thing , then you NEED to read this! 10/10 cannot wait to see what Parni writes next

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