A review by cheye13
The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

adventurous dark funny fast-paced
  • 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

4.0

This was a much more nuanced take on the women-killing-men mirco-genre than I've usually seen, and the result is something unique and uniquely amusing. It's simultaneously a very broadly relatable story (alcoholism, domestic abuse, romance, loneliness), and a story very specific to this one community (the manner of gossip, the intersection of caste and religion and wealth). Obviously, a lot of focus is on how its better for women to be widows than divorced in this specific community and their wider culture.

The main element that turns the tropes of the micro-genre into something fresh is that Geeta actively wants no part in these murders. She is not the typical man-killing mentor that the trope usually calls for, which makes for a unique plot and some amusing shenanigans. At the same time, the book does not hide the pervasive and severe misogyny these women live through, but strikes a delicate balance between acknowledging these genuinely horrifying events with the persistence of daily life.

A surpsingly fun read.
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