A review by gabmc
The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters by Balli Kaur Jaswal

4.0

This is a lovely story of three sisters - very different from each other - who agree to their dying mother, Sita's request for them to go on a pilgrimage to India together to scatter her ashes. Eldest sister Rajni is almost a generation older than aspiring actress Jezmeen and youngest sister Shirina. Each of the women has a different perspective of the others' lives - and they are all keeping something to themselves. Rajni and her mother had actually been to India together many years before and something happened on that trip which Rajni has never spoken about. Although Jezmeen wants to be an actor, she was recently involved in a controversy that could ruin her would be career forever. Shirina is recently married - and she went onto a traditional marriage dating site to find her future husband - she has been told by him that she must do something on the trip to India and that she shouldn't come home unless it was done. She lives with him and her very traditional mother-in-law in Melbourne. Sita had in mind the goal of bringing her daughters together on the trip and had written a letter with detailed instructions on what to do in each place. However, as the sisters are not close, it all might be too much to hope for to have a peaceful and fruitful pilgrimage. Having two sisters myself and a mum who passed away four years ago, this book resonated with me.