Reviews with content warning for Grief - The Bandit Queens

There's very little about a book blurb along the lines of "a group of women secretly helping each other kill off their terrible husbands" that doesn't appeal to me. I mean, I don't usually go for thrillers, but that description led me to believe it wouldn't be the traditional "keeps me awake at night" kind of intense that usually makes me steer clear of the genre. So, here we are.

Five years ago, Geeta's husband disappeared. Rumors abound that she killed him, despite all Geeta's assurances to the contrary. Sometimes, those rumors are convenient...people tend to leave her alone, no one threatening or attempting to control her. And it seems that other women have noticed. When a woman in Geeta's micro-loan group approaches her and asks for help getting rid of her own husband, Geeta finds herself helping (against her better judgement and intentions). And things escalate from there, until Geeta finds herself as both legitimate accomplice and murderer, embroiled in the middle of an illegal liquor business/local gangster fiasco, facing the surprise return of a perhaps-not-as-contrite-as-he-acts husband, and fighting to protect the life of freedom that she worked so hard to build.

This book brings it, from the beginning, with the drama and the gossip (small town/village vibes, I see you) and the heavy sarcasm about being a woman, a wife, and the “joys of motherhood.” I really cannot count the number of times that I snort-laughed at it all. It's all quite salacious. And that feeds so smoothly into the first requests that Geeta receives from fellow women, asking for help removing their own no-good husbands from their lives. It's funny and ridiculous and entertaining until...it's not quite, anymore. And the thing is, I can't tell as what point that is, or when the turn happens exactly, but at some point, the hilarity of "bad husbands" turns into very real bad husbands, those who physically and emotionally abuse their wives, rape other women, sexually abuse children, and more. And the juxtaposition was pretty jarring for me. While I understand conceptually dark/gallows humor, and have loved books with it before, the way this novel develops, I found myself feeling kind of guilty for finding some of the drama/interactions funny, in the context of those types of abuse/transgressions. It's a fine line to be walked, and I think that that discomfort means Shroff might have actually walked it really well. But still, it wasn't always a comfortable reading experience as I tried to parse and justify my emotional responses. (Reading the Author's Note afterwards did give me a bit of clarity and grace, on that front, which I do want to mention, for transparency.)

Similarly, somewhere in the first half, I made this note while reading: "It feels fairly surface level, but there is an interrogation of caste and gender and the intersectionality of those as justifications for mistreatment (in this case primarily violence against women) that is an important one to recognize and call out." And it began in that surface level way, for sure. But again, as the novel progressed, that exploration got deeper and a bit more nuanced, though considering the type of story being told, with a little bit of satire and a heavy grounding in the exaggerated drama of this women's group, it was limited in the extent to which it could reach. (Similar to above, there was some insight into Shroff's goals on this front in the Author's Note at the end as well - ones that are thematically in line with some of the intent in The Immortal King Rao, though the genres are quite different). Though I will say, it was quite satisfying to me as a reader, if not an actual fix, to see these “invisible" women - these mothers and wives - use that invisibility to their advantage in getting away with murder (as it were, lolz).

I definitely want to point out a few content warnings. Obviously the violence against women (sexual, physical, emotional, verbal...all of it really) was intense and pervasive. The cycle of abusive relationships - interpersonally and as wrapped up with social standards and expectations - was central to the plot. It was fully and fairly examined, but it was ubiquitous and readers should be aware of that. And there was quite a bit of fat shaming throughout as well. Perhaps that's culturally accurate, but it was still a lot.

Shroff created something really unique here. She presents the danger in questioning masculinity, and the belittling of woman that goes hand-in-hand with that, with an unflinching gaze. At the same time, she declares, in no uncertain terms, that what a person does to survive, and what surviving makes them into, is never something to apologize for. And that's a message I can get behind wholeheartedly. So, basically... This was the strangest mix of hilarity - humorous blackmailing and extortion and murder planning and bumbling gangsters - and very important social messaging and awareness on some heavy AF topics. I both appreciated the entertainment and the complexity of the relationships the women had with each other (which were allowed to be supportive and ugly/flawed in equal, and realistic, turns) and was conflicted by it all. A very singular reading experience.

“Her grapes, whether sour or fair, were her grapes.”

“Bystanders shoulder their own blame.”

“But I think that she was capable of anything because everything had already happened to her. [...] She was fearless because she'd already suffered what the rest of us live in fear of.”

“…just another example of women living within the spaces that others defined.”

“It wasn’t [...] so much that women loved their husbands and couldn't live without them. It was that the outside world made life without them utter shit; you needed a man in the house in order to be left in peace. They didn't really do much, but their simple pulse was a form of protection. Like pimps.”

"We're happy to be accessories. Like jewelry, but way more dangerous..."

Content Warnings

jtpgdavey's review

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dark funny 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

4.0

Content Warnings

tashtasher's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Content Warnings

rnbhargava's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing sad 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

4.25

This book is a great dark comedy. If anything, I wanted even more chapters.

Content Warnings

prinzessin_aj's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful sad tense slow-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

Content Warnings

alexisgarcia's review

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adventurous 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? It's complicated

5.0

this book was just downright fun. despite the heavy topics (check content warnings!!!), this book is full of interesting characters and humor. i very rarely find a book that is just a really good time so this was such a good find!

Content Warnings

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