MohammadMullen at 05:50, 9 September 2025

2025-09-09T05:50:57Z

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{{Short description|2017 novel by Balli Kaur Jaswal}}
{{italictitle}}
[[File:Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows.jpg|thumb|First edition]]
'''''Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows''''' is a 2017 novel by Singaporean<ref name=Milne>{{cite web|author=Milne, Rosie|url=https://www.scmp.com/culture/books/article/2100034/book-review-erotic-stories-punjabi-widows-singaporean-authors-novel|title=Book review: Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows - Singaporean author’s novel blends romantic comedy with family saga|agency=[[Asian Review of Books]]|work=[[South China Morning Post]]|date=2017-06-27|accessdate=2018-12-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180430115425/http://www.scmp.com/culture/books/article/2100034/book-review-erotic-stories-punjabi-widows-singaporean-authors-novel|archive-date=2018-04-30|url-status=live}} - [http://asianreviewofbooks.com/content/erotic-stories-for-punjabi-widows-by-balli-kaur-jaswal/ See post at] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201005343/http://asianreviewofbooks.com/content/erotic-stories-for-punjabi-widows-by-balli-kaur-jaswal/ |date=2018-12-01 }} ''[[Asian Review of Books]]''</ref> author [[Balli Kaur Jaswal]], published by [[William Morrow and Company|Morrow]]/[[HarperCollins]]. It is the third novel written by Jaswal.<ref name=CBC>{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thenextchapter/full-episode-july-14-2018-1.4362181/if-you-liked-erotic-stories-for-Brez-punjabi-widows-you-ll-love-1.4362213|title=If you liked Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows, you'll love...|publisher=[[CBC Radio]]|date=2018-07-13|access-date=2018-11-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180822064900/https://www.cbc.ca/radio/thenextchapter/full-episode-july-14-2018-1.4362181/if-you-liked-erotic-stories-for-punjabi-widows-you-ll-love-1.4362213|archive-date=2018-08-22|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Plot==
The main character, Nikki Grewal, is a 22-year-old woman in [[London]],<ref name=Milne/> who dropped out of law school and works at O’Reilly's pub, going against the expectations of her Punjabi Sikh family. Nikki is intrigued when her sister Mindi, a nurse who is making enough money to support herself, chooses to do an [[arranged marriage]].<ref name=Kirkus>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/balli-kaur-jaswal/erotic-stories-for-punjabi-widows/|title=EROTIC STORIES FOR PUNJABI WIDOWS|magazine=[[Kirkus Reviews]]|date=2017-03-21|accessdate=2018-12-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201005142/https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/balli-kaur-jaswal/erotic-stories-for-punjabi-widows/|archive-date=2018-12-01|url-status=live}} - Print date: April 1, 2017.</ref> She chooses to become a creative writing teacher,<ref name=Milne/> for the Sikh Community Association,<ref name=Kirkus/> located in [[Southall]].<ref name=Milne/> Her students, older women whose husbands had died,<ref name=Kirkus/> have difficulties with English. The women begin to tell stories about their sexual lives after they encounter a copy of ''Red Velvet: Pleasurable Stories for Women'' that Nikki brought.
==Reception==
''[[The Economist]]'' praised the book, stating it is a "funny and moving tale of desire and its discontents."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2017/03/30/balli-kaur-jaswal-has-written-a-new-type-of-erotic-novel|title=Balli Kaur Jaswal has written a new type of erotic novel|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=2017-03-30|accessdate=2018-12-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130185756/https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2017/03/30/balli-kaur-jaswal-has-written-a-new-type-of-erotic-novel|archive-date=2018-11-30|url-status=live}}</ref>

Rosie Milne of the ''[[Asian Review of Books]]'' gave the book 3.5 stars. Milne stated that the word used are "vivid" and that the author "gives voices to women who are generally voiceless, and ignored, and she lets them talk about sex to boot."<ref name=Milne/>

[[Kirkus Reviews]] stated that the story "enchants".<ref name=Kirkus/>

Aparita Bhandari, a columnist for the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation|CBC]], stated that it was a "lively, sexy and thought-provoking east-meets-west story".<ref name=CBC/>

[[Saadia Faruqi]], author of ''Brick Walls: Tales of Hope and Courage from Pakistan'', described the book as "a masterpiece" and that " It entertains, it teaches, it shatters all preconceived ideas of what intra-community tensions look like."<ref>{{cite web|author=Faruqi, Saadia|authorlink=Saadia Faruqi|url=https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/punjabi-widows|title=Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows: A Novel|work=[[New York Journal of Books]]|accessdate=2018-12-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201005300/https://www.nyjournalofbooks.com/book-review/punjabi-widows|archive-date=2018-12-01|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2018 [[Reese Witherspoon]] added the book to her reading list.<ref>{{cite web|author=Trombetta, Sadie|url=https://www.bustle.com/p/reese-witherspoon-has-chosen-erotic-stories-for-punjabi-widows-for-her-book-club-this-month-8421226|title=Reese Witherspoon Has Chosen 'Erotic Stories For Punjabi Widows' For Her Book Club This Month|publisher=[[Bustle (website)|Bustle]]|date=2018-03-06|accessdate=2018-12-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130191920/https://www.bustle.com/p/reese-witherspoon-has-chosen-erotic-stories-for-punjabi-widows-for-her-book-club-this-month-8421226|archive-date=2018-11-30|url-status=live}}</ref> Witherspoon stated it was "a mystery, a romance, a family drama....and yes it's 🔥 🔥 🔥!"<ref>{{cite news|author=Cadden, Mary|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2018/03/09/reese-witherspoons-erotic-recommendation-and-more-celebrity-book-club-picks/409080002/|title=Reese Witherspoon's 'Erotic' obsession, and more celebrity book club picks|newspaper=[[USA Today]]|date=2018-03-09|accessdate=2018-12-01|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201052728/https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/entertainthis/2018/03/09/reese-witherspoons-erotic-recommendation-and-more-celebrity-book-club-picks/409080002/|archive-date=2018-12-01|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Indian community of London]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* ''[https://www.harpercollins.com/9780062645128/erotic-stories-for-punjabi-widows/ Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows]'' - [[HarperCollins]]

[[Category:2017 novels]]
[[Category:Singaporean novels]]
[[Category:Novels set in London]]
[[Category:William Morrow and Company books]]

Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows - Revision history

MohammadMullen at 05:50, 9 September 2025