Reviews

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

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jon_thereader's review against another edition

4.0

This book does a great job on educating about aspects of Indian culture, telling stories of women marginalized in a (relatively heavy) patriarchal society, addressing casteism, and many other things. The author employs humor to break up the tough topics discussed in the book without minimizing them.

We follow Geeta who starts off quite ostracized due to the mysterious disappearance of her husband. Women in her loan group, having assumed she killed the husband, begin asking her for assistance to repeat the process for them. The story snowballs into a fun climax of female rage and, while many might assume a “knight in shining armor moment was impending,” the book holds true to its tone. Very fun, very culturally educational, dialogue that made me giggle a few times.

seaswift14's review against another edition

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dark funny medium-paced

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

2.75

dandaloriian's review against another edition

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dark funny medium-paced

4.0

jpodoll's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful reflective fast-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

theythemsam's review against another edition

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3.75

I liked this book and didn’t expect a few of the things that ended up happening, which is always a nice surprise. We love sisterhood! I also just liked the Indian tales Geeta told throughout the book and the experiences she and the other women had as wives in their small town

I liked how all the wives/widows came together in the end to give the men what they deserved, especially Greta’s husband and the man he worked with. I liked Greta’s relationship with her dog and her tales on the bandit woman

nharrison23's review against another edition

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challenging dark funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I’m still not quite sure how I feel about this book. The writing was great, and the approach was unique both in content and tone. While the male characters were all pretty one-dimensional, the female characters were interesting and well developed, and there were a lot of surprises throughout.

That being said, the pacing was pretty all over the place - the beginning was very slow, and the end felt rushed. I also struggled with the tone and the pairing of very disturbing topics with light, funny storytelling, though this was also one of the book’s most interesting qualities.

Overall, I enjoyed it and am glad I read it.