Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

31 reviews

schnaucl's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

This was a well told story about a woman whose husband left her but the village thinks she murdered him. Consequently she's been socially isolated.  But then women trapped in their own abusive marriages come to her for advice on getting rid of their husbands.  

The characters were compelling and the setting vivid.   

Shroff does a good job of showing how abusers work, systematically isolating people from their support network. 

And how easy it is to fall back into old patterns without realizing it.  She also does a good job showing how things can be self reinforcing.   Geeta is socially isolated by the villagers at first but reinforces it herself in later years.  Patterns of all kinds are hard to break.

I could have done without the focus on a Solani's weight at the beginning and throughout though.

She also does a good job showing that when people want to play savior, the consequences of trying to change the system often fall on the very people they're trying to save.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Murder, Misogyny, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, and Violence

Minor: Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Alcohol, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infertility, Rape, and Religious bigotry

yuyuv's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny sad tense fast-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Infidelity, Medical content, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Torture, Violence, Body horror, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Fatphobia, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Infertility, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Ableism, Addiction, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Child abuse, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Cancer

lindsayerin's review against another edition

dark funny 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Murder, Rape, Death, and Sexism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Abandonment, and Alcoholism

Minor: Death of parent and Child abuse

rachel_hoey's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Infertility, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Death, Sexual violence, Rape, Murder, Misogyny, Hate crime, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse

javafenn's review against another edition

funny hopeful mysterious reflective 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

This book was amazing! It took me a really long time to finish because I needed major surgery and took a couple months to get my life back on track but once I got on to reading it I was astounded! It was funny but also intense. The drama was palpable and you really rooted for Greta. I will read this again and again! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Animal cruelty, Police brutality, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Misogyny

bethantg's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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

2.75

Kept me hooked, and I enjoyed reading it. Humour could be a little cringe and sometimes just jarring, also swear there’s a recycled joke in there? The characters were fun though and the story accomplished what it set out to do.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, Violence, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Addiction, Classism, Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Police brutality and Pedophilia

Minor: Excrement, Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Sexual violence, and Fatphobia

emmagreenwood's review against another edition

dark funny informative lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Classism, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Child abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Abandonment, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, Islamophobia, Alcohol, Sexual violence, and Suicide

lemonsaurus's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Murder, Alcoholism, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Rape, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Animal cruelty, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and Sexual assault

Minor: Vomit, Violence, Death, Cancer, Death of parent, Suicide, Racial slurs, Miscarriage, Torture, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Animal death, Classism, Religious bigotry, Infertility, Gun violence, Grief, Physical abuse, Fatphobia, Bullying, and Blood

jlaz_13's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny lighthearted reflective 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Violence, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Misogyny

Moderate: Body shaming, Body horror, Bullying, Death of parent, Rape, Toxic relationship, Blood, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, and Abandonment

Minor: Classism, Infertility, Toxic friendship, and Kidnapping

cheye13's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny fast-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? It's complicated

4.0

This was a much more nuanced take on the women-killing-men mirco-genre than I've usually seen, and the result is something unique and uniquely amusing. It's simultaneously a very broadly relatable story (alcoholism, domestic abuse, romance, loneliness), and a story very specific to this one community (the manner of gossip, the intersection of caste and religion and wealth). Obviously, a lot of focus is on how its better for women to be widows than divorced in this specific community and their wider culture.

The main element that turns the tropes of the micro-genre into something fresh is that Geeta actively wants no part in these murders. She is not the typical man-killing mentor that the trope usually calls for, which makes for a unique plot and some amusing shenanigans. At the same time, the book does not hide the pervasive and severe misogyny these women live through, but strikes a delicate balance between acknowledging these genuinely horrifying events with the persistence of daily life.

A surpsingly fun read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Death, Misogyny, and Violence

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Classism, Gore, Blood, Infertility, Gun violence, and Sexual violence

Minor: Miscarriage, Sexual content, Body shaming, Bullying, Rape, and Death of parent

While graphic elements such as child rape and brutal killings are mentioned quite a few times, it is always brief and without detail.