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scrubsandbooks's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
2.5
The main character, Geeta, is a social pariah in her village because her abusive husband left her five years prior to the start of the novel and they all think that she murdered him. She never confirms or denies this because it means people leave her alone while at the same time, buys from her jewelry business because they don't want to piss off the woman because heaven forbid she come after them! It all starts spiraling out of her control when one of the women of the village comes to her and asks her for help in killing her abusive husband. The Bandit Queen of the title references the Real Life Bandit Queen, Phoolan Devi and she is talked about repeatedly in the book for the sake of making parallels to the MC. I strongly suggest looking up her life story, it is so interesting.
As you can see, the story has a lot to do with misogyny, domestic abuse, the patriarchy that plagues a lot of areas of India. There's a lot of classism spoken on in the book as well. Parini Shroff is able to make a reader both laugh and wince at what the MC and her found family (yes, this one has a found family trope!) go through.
Okay, I know I'm praising the book but why the lower rating? Because there's some ableism and fatphobia/fat-shaming that happens that is mostly just super glossed over or played for laughs. The MC uses it to insult her best friend turned enemy turned ally again and although afterward, she apologizes for her behavior, the fat-phobic jokes/insult still keep coming well into the end of the book. I feel like the author could have done a way better job addressing those issues because even if the book focuses heavily on sexism and domestic abuse/SA, I don't think ableism or body-shaming should EVER be used as comic relief. Because of this, honestly, I cannot recommend the book, but if you decide to read it, you will learn about another culture, but keep in mind all the trigger warnings as well as topics that Shroff could have done better. I would suggest keep an Internet search bar open as well because while I'm from India and understood all the foreign words and customs, readers might not because not everything is explained fully in the book.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Classism, Death, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Infidelity, Islamophobia, Drug use, Fatphobia, Ableism, Addiction, Body shaming, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal cruelty, Cancer, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Police brutality, and Suicide
bookish_afrolatina's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Blood, Toxic friendship, Murder, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Misogyny, Gaslighting, Classism, and Fatphobia
Minor: Ableism, Rape, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Islamophobia, and Infertility
amyw2's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, Classism, Domestic abuse, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Hate crime, Infertility, Bullying, Islamophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Suicide
emoweaboo's review against another edition
- 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
--
In a clever story wrapped in dark humour, Shroff takes us along with Geeta and half a dozen women from her villages on a journey to become "self-made widows" and get rid of useless, abusive men. A surprisingly funny read, but that I had a tremendously hard time getting into it. I was losing hope around the 45% mark, but then the pace suddenly picked up, and the story went way faster and became way more interesting. Another hindrance was that the audiobook reader had an odd way of pronouncing Gujarati names and bits in Hindi - which took a lot of patience to get over. But besides that, the story is original, empowering and puts forward the importance of community. Female friendships are truly wonderful.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Rape, and Xenophobia
Minor: Vomit, Fatphobia, Death of parent, Infertility, and Police brutality
zara89's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Murder, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Violence, Blood, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Rape, Physical abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Gun violence, and Forced institutionalization
abookandaspotoftea's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual violence, Violence, Rape, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, and Misogyny
sarah984's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Confinement, Police brutality, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Blood, Body shaming, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Gun violence, and Misogyny
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Child abuse, and Islamophobia
ninahuynh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Violence, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Classism, Domestic abuse, Grief, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Animal cruelty, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Murder, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Alcohol, Addiction, Misogyny, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Body horror, Blood, and Bullying
Minor: Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Child abuse, and Death of parent
anvimridul's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Body shaming
chessakat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Violence, Death, Alcohol, Bullying, Classism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Murder, Rape, Physical abuse, and Police brutality
Moderate: Infertility