Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

103 reviews

burnedstory's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? No

5.0

I loved it. Shroff has acquired the feat of telling such a heavy story, portraying such heavy issues in such a humours but impactful way. A real page turner. Often when talked about India casteism is not talked about, it's like an unspoken devil in the nation but the way it was written in the story, I applaud it (Here I understand my privelige of being an upper caste person and not knowing even the tip of discrimination). The humour in the story in my opinion is commendable, shows the strength and courage of these women. Shroff says, she wanted to honour the Bandit Queen, Phoolan Mallah and I think she acheived that in a wonderful way. One of the major takeaways for me from the book was the power of female friendship, how these women stood behind each other warmed my heart. As we talk about feminism in the modern world, somewhere we forget about women like Geeta, Saloni, Farah and co. So I am very grateful to get to read their story. One where they are not put on pedestals, one where they are human and make wrong decisions and face the consequences of it. It's beautiful to read.
If "I support women's rights and women's wrongs" could be a book this very well might be it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault

Minor: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Murder, and Gaslighting

tayloramazing's review against another edition

funny medium-paced

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

3.5

Campy, predictable 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child abuse and Classism

sskinner155's review against another edition

dark funny tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Idiots trying to get away with murder. The type of feminism where you hate women but hate men more. If someone says they have a dark sense of humor have them read this book. Absolutely loved, made me laugh out loud.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, and Torture

mozumozumozu's review against another edition

dark funny medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Animal cruelty

teresalee's review against another edition

dark funny lighthearted sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

Picked this up on a whim because it was prominently displayed on my library's large-text shelf and I was not familiar with the author.  It turned out to be a dark, comedic look at sexism, misogyny, and caste in India, that I couldn't wait to get back to.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Classism

maddelpop's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful mysterious 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Bullying, Sexual assault, and Colonisation

dewo0019's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

This book was a rollercoaster. I really liked it at first, then wasn't fond of the Indian stereotypes and relationships between the women, but am glad I stuck with it because I ended up enjoying the character development and message of female friendships. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Classism

mondovertigo's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, and Gun violence

siria's review against another edition

2.75

Five years ago, Geeta's no-good husband disappeared, and most other people in their rural Indian village think she killed him. She didn't. But her reputation gets around, and some other women with terrible husbands start seeking her help with offing them, and shenanigans ensue.

There are things to like about Parini Shroff's The Bandit Queens—mostly the moments of somewhat dark humour, and the complicated and prickly female friendships—but this was a debut novel that needed not just one but probably at least two more drafts before it was published. The tone is wildly uneven and the dialogue often stilted.

I get there are always compromises to be made when you're writing a book in English but the characters are really "speaking" in another language (in this case, Gujarati). Not every concept will translate, capturing particular cadences might be difficult, and so on. But here Shroff repeatedly indulges in one of my pet hates, where a word that does have an equivalent in English is left in the "original" language for... coyness? Humour? Colour? I don't know. But I do know that every time a character goes to "make su-su" in this book (and it's a lot), I was gritting my teeth and saying "just say 'pee'!" Shroff's linguistic register is also all over the map—characters sprinkle their dialogue with as many "likes" as an American millennial and much of the prose is fairly informal, but occasionally we're told that a character has a "falcate back" or that one of the women has made an "aperçu". At one point, one woman refers to another as "zaftig." Encountering Yiddish slang in a rural west Indian context does break suspension of disbelief a little.

And that ties into the other major issue that I had with The Bandit Queens, which is that there was a lot about the framing and subtlety of approach (or lack thereof) which made it clear that Shroff is an American of Indian heritage rather than being born and raised in India. I had the sense that for an Indian to read this would probably be what it's like for me most of the time when I read a book by an Irish-American set in Ireland. 

I think Shroff has potential as a writer and I wouldn't swear off her future work, but this was a bit of a disappointment.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Classism

Moderate: Fatphobia and Islamophobia

thetearex's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• 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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism