Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows is a 2017 novel by Singaporean [1] author Balli Kaur Jaswal, published by Morrow/HarperCollins. It is the third novel written by Jaswal. [2]
Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows is a 2017 novel by Singaporean [1] author Balli Kaur Jaswal, published by Morrow/HarperCollins. It is the third novel written by Jaswal. [2]
The main character, Nikki Grewal, is a 22-year-old woman in London, [1] 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. [3] She chooses to become a creative writing teacher, [1] for the Sikh Community Association, [3] located in Southall. [1] Her students, older women whose husbands had died, [3] 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.
The Economist praised the book, stating it is a "funny and moving tale of desire and its discontents." [4]
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." [1]
Kirkus Reviews stated that the story "enchants". [3]
Aparita Bhandari, a columnist for the CBC, stated that it was a "lively, sexy and thought-provoking east-meets-west story". [2]
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." [5]
In 2018 Reese Witherspoon added the book to her reading list. [6] Witherspoon stated it was "a mystery, a romance, a family drama....and yes it's 🔥 🔥 🔥!" [7]
Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards, she has consistently ranked among the world's highest-paid actresses. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2006 and 2015, and Forbes listed her among the World's 100 Most Powerful Women in 2019. In 2021, Forbes named her the world's richest actress with an estimated net worth of $400 million.
Legally Blonde is a 2001 American comedy film directed by Robert Luketic in his feature-length directorial debut, and scripted by Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith from Amanda Brown's 2001 novel of the same name. It stars Reese Witherspoon, Luke Wilson, Selma Blair, Matthew Davis, Victor Garber, and Jennifer Coolidge. The story follows Elle Woods (Witherspoon), a sorority girl who attempts to win back her ex-boyfriend Warner Huntington III (Davis) by getting a Juris Doctor degree at Harvard Law School, and in the process, overcomes stereotypes against blondes and triumphs as a successful lawyer.
The literature of Singapore comprises a collection of literary works by Singaporeans. It is written chiefly in the country's four official languages: English, Malay, Standard Mandarin and Tamil.
Cheryl Strayed is an American writer and podcast host. She has written four books: the novel Torch (2006) and the nonfiction books Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail (2012), Tiny Beautiful Things (2012) and Brave Enough (2015). Wild, which told the story of a long hike that Strayed took in 1995, was an international bestseller, and was adapted as the 2014 film Wild.
British Indians form the largest ethno-national group in London with a population of around 542,857 or 6.6% of the population. The majority are concentrated in West London, though populations can be found throughout London.
Sikhism in Singapore has its roots in the military and policing forces of the British Empire. Currently, there are 12,000-15,000 Sikhs in Singapore. There are 7 Sikh Temples along with a missionary society, a welfare society, two youth organizations and two sports clubs.
Dalip Kaur Tiwana was one of the foremost novelists and short-story writers of contemporary Punjabi literature. She won awards, both regional and national, and was a widely translated author. She retired as Professor of Punjabi, and Dean, from Punjabi University, Patiala. She is widely credited as a tour-de-force in the creation of the contemporary literature in the Punjabi language.
Ajeet Cour is an Indian writer who writes in Punjabi. She is a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award and the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award by the Government of India.
Ali Benjamin is an American author of youth literature living in Williamstown, Massachusetts.
The Thing About Jellyfish is a 2015 children's novel written by Ali Benjamin, her fiction debut.
Balli Kaur Jaswal is a Singaporean novelist, having family roots in Punjab. Her first novel Inheritance won the Sydney Morning Herald's Best Young Australian Novelist Award in 2014, and was adapted for a film presented at the 2017 Singapore International Festival of the Arts. Her second novel Sugarbread was a finalist for the 2015 inaugural Epigram Books Fiction Prize. Her third novel, Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows was released in 2017, and garnered her a wider international following, driven in part by being picked as a selection for Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine online book club. Movie rights for Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows have been sold to Scott Free Productions and Film4. In 2019, the Business Times described Jaswal as "the most internationally well-known Singapore novelist after Crazy Rich Asians’ Kevin Kwan."
Hello Sunshine is an American media company founded by actress Reese Witherspoon and Strand Equity Founder and Managing Partner Seth Rodsky in 2016. Pacific Standard, the production company Witherspoon co-founded with Bruna Papandrea in 2012, is now a subsidiary of Hello Sunshine.
Jane Harper is a British–Australian author known for her crime novels The Dry, Force of Nature and The Lost Man, all set in rural Australia.
The Morning Show is an American drama television series starring Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Steve Carell, that premiered on Apple TV+ on November 1, 2019. The series is inspired by Brian Stelter's book Top of the Morning: Inside the Cutthroat World of Morning TV.
Little Fires Everywhere is an American drama streaming television series, based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Celeste Ng. It premiered on Hulu on March 18, 2020 and consists of eight episodes. The series stars Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington, both of whom were also executive producers, alongside Liz Tigelaar, Lauren Neustadter, and Pilar Savone. Set in the Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights, Ohio during the late 1990s, it features Witherspoon and Washington as mothers from different socioeconomic backgrounds.
Aunty Lee's Delights: A Singaporean Mystery is the first detective fiction novel in the Aunty Lee Series by Ovidia Yu. It was published in September 2013 by William Morrow and Company.
Daaka is an Indian Punjabi-language action comedy film directed by Baljit Singh Deo. The film released on November 1, 2019.
Saadia Faruqi is a Pakistani-American author.
Laura Shovan is an American author and poet.
YamileSaied Méndez is an Argentine American author of picture books, children's books, young adult books, and adult romance. She is a Pura Belpré gold medal winner for her young adult novel, Furia. She is a founding member of Las Musas collective.