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siria's review against another edition
2.75
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.
Graphic: Classism, Alcoholism, Murder, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, and Misogyny
Moderate: Fatphobia and Islamophobia
thetearex's review
- 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
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Mental illness, Rape, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Infertility, Islamophobia, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual violence, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, and Violence
queeniecraft's review
- 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: Sexism, Child death, Sexual harassment, Murder, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Violence, Toxic friendship, Racism, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Gun violence, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Rape, Religious bigotry, Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Racism, Pedophilia, Murder, Misogyny, Drug use, Cursing, Suicide, Islamophobia, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Fatphobia, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Pregnancy, Classism, and Toxic relationship
hollowhallow13's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Blood, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Murder, Sexual assault, and Racism
Moderate: Islamophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, and Police brutality
reinspired_reader's review
- 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: Animal cruelty, Islamophobia, Sexual violence, Violence, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Police brutality, Classism, Suicide, Death, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Murder
prappleby'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Murder, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, and Gun violence
Moderate: Rape, Child abuse, Islamophobia, and Misogyny
s_lorenz's review
- 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
Graphic: Gun violence, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Rape, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Addiction, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Classism, Confinement, Infertility, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
helfire124's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Addiction, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Child abuse, Misogyny, Grief, Bullying, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Body shaming, Gun violence, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Death, Sexual violence, Vomit, Murder, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Torture, Vomit, Excrement, Islamophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Rape, Animal death, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Panic attacks/disorders, and Infidelity
mraddd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, Animal cruelty, Classism, Domestic abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Misogyny, Outing, Rape, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Gun violence, Islamophobia, Fatphobia, and Pedophilia
nicolaparty's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Murder, Sexism, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Cursing
Minor: Death of parent, Islamophobia, and Animal cruelty
The book deals quite a lot with caste and caste discrimination in India.