The Bandit Queens: A Novel

Starting off a bit slow, I found myself amused by the characters as their personalities started to uncover with the storyline. An empowering women novel with a good crime plot. I wasn't sure if I agreed with the culture accuracy and dialogue but it was still an enjoyable read. Between the bases of friends and a females banning together, I found this a pleasure to read.

Heck! Why did I even pick this book up in the first place, it was so disappointing & frustrating to read. Though, the synopsis did sound promising, the plot was totally off & uninspiring & far from being humorous, let aside dark humor. I don’t know what the author was thinking while writing this book but she did portray India & its women in low light. I really don’t know what a worldwide audience is gonna think about us Indian women after reading this book. I don’t think, we Indian women go about murdering are husbands just coz we are domestically abused. India is ever progressing & I believe it has a good law system to deal such matter, be it a Panchayat in a small village or the Supreme Court. If the author wanted to write about “Nari Shakti” then she could have taken a more inspiring route rather than a brunch of women going about plotting & Poisoning their husbands to death & above all why use Phoolan Devi as an inspiration. I’m sure, she had reason for what she did & she surely wouldn’t want a women to follow in her path. The author also tried to give insights on too many topics in the book such as the Caste system, dowry and the Ramayan which added more chaos. The characters were also of such poor quality, the main protagonist Geeta was so easy to manipulate, the don Bada bhai was also such a foolish character. As for the story, I was hoping that it would end in a more humorous manner. The other aspect that I disliked about this book was the writing, its was way below average. If the author wanted to write phrases in Hindi language, she should have written it in its origin form not translated it to english that to so poorly, what the heck is “Something black in the Lentils.” Just say “daal me kuch kala hai”.🙄 Overall, a very poorly written book & not recommended atleast by me. And before I end this review, something to think of “Was Karem really the good guy in this story?”

Fantastic. It gives an entirely unique view of life in an Indian village and in how women are perceived. And the dark humor has you laughing at the most inappropriate times.

I'm so glad I came across this book. It's funny, sad, unpredictable and a treat to read.

I learned a lot from this book: suppression of women in India, caste clashes, women vs. some awfully evil men, toiling life in an Indian village, the power of women who unite to work together; the list goes on and on. It would have been overwhelmingly sad if not for the stinging humor that threaded its way through the novel. The last chapter should be studied as the epitome of dark humor.