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Aug 02, 2018AConsolver rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
4 Stars - I recommend if you enjoy diverse contemporary fiction. Specifically books that delve into gender roles, religion, and immigrant families. Nikki is a modern woman. Despite her family's Indian and Sikh heritage, she makes her own way in the world. She works in a pub, isn't interested in arranged marriage, and smokes cigarettes. When her sister asks her to take a marriage ad to the local temple for her, she sees that they are hiring a creative writing teacher for women. Nikki jumps at the chance to empower these women, and takes the job. She doesn't realize that many of them cannot yet read or write, she's even more surprised when she finds out that they really just want to share their deepest fantasies in story form. Kulwinder's daughter disregarded their rules and culture, and now she is dead. Kulwinder spends her days afraid of stepping out of line. When Nikki is hired to teach the women, Kulwinder finds that she is more like her daughter than she is comfortable with. This story blends two cultures, multiple generations, and brings women together. Overall I really enjoyed this book. I loved that it blended "modern women" with traditional Punjabi women. I liked that it included different generations and circumstances, and allowed all of the women to learn from one another. Particularly I enjoyed the focus on the widows, in American culture we don't treat widows in quite the same way, but I thought that this book was important in showing that widows still need social activities, company, and still have an interest in romance and sex. There are bits and pieces of their erotic stories written in to the chapters, and I thought that they helped illustrate the culture and how people can surprise you. I really enjoyed how things wound up in the end. I loved seeing how far the characters came in their own lives and relationships. I thought that this book was really satisfying.