Overall, what do you think of The Bandit Queens? (no spoilers)

Overall, what do you think of The Bandit Queens? (no spoilers)

Overall I enjoyed the story, although I thought the author had a strange fascination with women using profanity, it almost felt like she felt a strong women had to cuss to be considered as important as a man. I don’t really have an issue with the words them self, it just felt excessive! Other than that I really enjoyed the story of women learning to hold each other up rather than tearing each other down and how important declaring our agency is to be mentally healthy. It was an important subject yet the humor made it fun.

I enjoyed the book, but I must admit that even before I scrolled past the first line of jos's review and saw the reference to profanity, I somehow had felt a bit jerked out of the book's action by contemporary English profanity. I wish the curse words had been in the local language (as they occasionally were for other terms); to emphasize the profane word, a repetitive English phrase after it would have allowed readers to understand the definition and severity of the word. One place where the profanity seemed too American and contemporary for the story was on page 211 Geeta tells Farah that she could never be a real friend to any woman because she is "too f...'ing broken." As I read this book, I was glad that I had read (many years ago) Behind the Beautiful Forevers by Katherine Boo and that I had also watched the television adaptation of Shantaram (an incomplete series based on the true book by Gregory David Roberts.) I think it helped me to accurately picture the tough conditions in my mind. I think, overall, The Bandit Queens was a four star read for me.

Overall I enjoyed the book. It certainly gave insight into the lives of Indian women. I did think it dragged a bit after Ramesh returned.

For me this was an almost perfect book. It’s hilarious yet profound. I enjoy broadening my mental horizons by reading about different places and cultures from the ones I’ve lived in and with all my life, that of the USA. I learned about life in a rural Indian village where many of the residents don’t have access to modern conveniences like indoor plumbing and dependable electricity. I also learned of old folktales and their impact on the village people, both in inspirational ways and detrimental ways. The book shows us much about the lingering existence of the caste system and the discrimination Muslims face in India. What I found to be the best thing about the book was how it detailed the horrible yet accepted ways the men commonly see and abuse the women, the clever and hilarious ways the women deal with that sexism, and the importance of women supporting each other to combat the overwhelming sexism they face daily. Despite addressing all of these “heavy” issues, the author does it with so much humor that her novel is never a downer. I’ll highly recommend this book to my friends and family.

It was great. Non existent women's rights in India is a seriously depressing issue but the authors sense of humor and her viewpoint opened the situation to examination by making the equation-a bad husband equals a dead husband a plot point to explore. Funny how the women came to that conclusion when Geeta’s husband disappeared and also interesting that some were envious of her freedom. Yes, four stars definitely! The ending was thrilling!

I enjoyed the book, but I agree with the overuse of profanity, and I wish there had been an explanation of the caste system which would have given me more insight into the women. However, the women's solutions to escaping bad marriages were executed brilliantly interspersing a sense of purpose with a keen sense of humor.

This book was so much fun to read. It is perfect for anyone who has been in a difficult relationship. One of the best books in the past three years! I have recommended it to several people...they won't be disappointed. The writing was easy to follow and the story was engaging.

I agree with the comments above about the profanity. It really should have been left out. It was a distraction. I loved the book. It was easy to read and informative. It would make a good book for book clubs as there is a lot of available discussion items.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel. I loved the characters and especially the conversations between the women. They seemed very realistic. I loved the way they bantered!

I thought this was a very good read. The writing was sharp and very clever. It did drag in a few places, but overall had a good pace. The characters were very well defined.

I loved the writing. "For Indians, superstitions were so embedded within blessings and religion, it was difficult to divorce silliness from tradition." The reader gets a lot of those - silliness and tradition - from this book.
Following are some other writing gems.
About her necklace making:" Jars of black beads lined her station like soldiers awaiting orders."
Her self-judging honesty: "There were times in one's life, Greeta knew, where one was confronted with one's own assholery!"
My favorite simile: "Soon this odious imbecile would be plucked from her life like a wiry chin hair."
The ongoing presence of the bottle gourd was a great touch, too.

I think her ratio of humor to horror in this black comedy was just about right, her characters both despicable and human enough, and the protagonist a strong leader.
It made me laugh out loud at times and cringe at the misguided vendettas called justice at other times.

This book was very entertaining. I admire the author’s ability to write about serious subjects in such a way that I describe the book as entertaining. However, the book also did a great job of spotlighting issues facing women in villages in India. I do wonder though, do people in Indian villages talk the way the dialogue in the book was written….?

I really enjoyed the book particularly, as many have stated, with the humorous way difficult topics were addressed. I admit the use of local language phrases sometimes caused me to pause and lose the book's magic. I occasionally had to look up a word's meaning as it wasn't always obvious.

I loved this book with its mixture of sly black humor and domestic horror. I learned so much about the Indian caste system and life in a rural community. The taboos and way certain people were treated were real eye openers. It was very well written, the characters were well developed and the plot was engaging. Although it was a quick read, the themes and topics were thoughtful and provocative.

I really enjoyed the book and the camaraderie of the women. I thought it was a great story but I did have to look up a few words that I was unsure of. The cussing did not bother me but I was curious if they would be using that language as there own.

I did enjoy the book but have to agree with other readers that some of the Indian terms that were not explained or translated left me wondering what exactly the author was referring to. I also felt some of the "slang" terms seemed out of place? But who knows, maybe they use Americian terms like that in India. Just seemed a bit jarring to me.

I have read several books that deal with India, its caste system and the treatment of women in the extreme patriarchy that exists there. This is the first one that used humor in the story telling. I loved the dialogue and in my head I could hear the accents and unique sound of English as spoken in India. This would be a wonderful audio book experience.

Rarely do I enjoy books with a main cast of women but this one was a delight. The interactions of women, catty, gossipy, bantering, belittling, judgemental, conspiring and uniting are all there--making the story very realistic and interesting. The profanity when it appeared was very jarring and somehow, misplaced in my experience with ladies of this culture. The caste system is so complicated and convoluted, so imbedded in tradition that it is really hard for the Western mind to understand. Fortunately, my husband lived in Nepal for several years so he was able to give me some needed insight--as well as the significant differences between Hindu and Muslim in their acceptance of others and their customs. Overall, though I didn't see it as side-splitting funny, there were moments of chuckles and smiles as the ladies dealt with each other and with the men in their lives.

I had high hopes for this book, and in general, I was not disappointed. Important issues and historical information were covered. The character development was excellent. This is my personal taste, but I could have done without so much profanity.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and how the author uses laugh-out-loud dark humor to examine the lives of women in a small Indian village. Combining murder, mayhem, and a little mystery, this novel is entertaining and worth the read.

I loved this book- it was funny, had a variety of in-depth characters who though a bit wacky, felt real. I was saddened at times by the women’s predicaments but appreciated the representation and the realism as well as some silliness.

I enjoyed the book. I think Parini Shrove is a talented writer.She injected humor into the serious subject of women’s subjugation. The intended audience for this book is westerners.I think that the use of profanity conveys the society in which these women live.Perhaps the use of profanity reflects how they could talk to each other,a bit of freedom.

I very much enjoyed the book. The writing is crisp and clever, and the story entertaining while being informative about difficult topics. I appreciated the women learning to become bonobos and uniting to prevail over the evil men in their lives.

I loved the book, including the process of looking up the Indian phrases and words (particularly the bawdy ones), which I thought lent universality to the story. The women's profanity didn't feel excessive, but familiar - which would horrify my Southern mother.

Overall I liked the book. There were some places I felt the story dragged a bit. I liked the development of Geeta as a character/heroine. I wish there had been a little glossary or footnotes to let me know exactly what the Indian words meant. I could understand or guess meanings in context but I would like to have known more exactly. The cursing didn't bother me I just ignored it - I felt that it didn’t really seem to fit in culturally. There was good variety in the women characters which was refreshing. The topics were definitely relative.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. However, it seemed like it was assumed that I had a working knowledge of Indian culture and vocabulary. I had to look up several words in the beginning but stopped doing that after a while because it became tedious and interfered with the story. I agree with margek that a glossary or footnotes would have been helpful. I’m still not really sure about how the loan groups work. 🤔

I have enjoyed the book for the most part. I always love a book set in a different place, teaching me more about a different culture. The insight into Geeta’s simple life, the obstacles and privileges that come with being a widow, a small business owner and a micro lendee were fascinating. I agree with another post that I don’t enjoy the profanity and would have found it much more entertaining if it were in their native language. I loved the legend of the original bandit queen. However, there was something about the book that I had a hard time sticking with reading it chapter, after chapter. I had to push myself to read more. I can’t put my finger on it, but I wasn’t very vested in the story.

I liked The Bandit Queens. I thought it was suspenseful and provided significant insights into Indian language and culture. The profanity didn’t bother me and some of it was quite humorous. I thought the profanity was a means of expressing anger or strong opinions. This book would be a good book to study regarding the issues of the caste system and the extensive of misogyny in Indian culture. The only section I found tedious was when Ramesh was attempting to punish, injure and potentially kill Geeta near the end. That section was not believable to me. What did seem very believable was the way women treated each other in both good and mean ways. I also appreciated the humor that was expressed throughout the novel.

I have to confess that I am only halfway through the book and am not enjoying it at all. I have to force myself to pick it up and read it. I will even do housework to avoid it!

As i noted, I entered the above when I was about halfway through the book. After reading the rest of the book, I have to admit that it did improve; i.e. the second half was much better than the first half. It moved along at a better pace and was more interesting. None of the characters really resonated for me. Geeta seemed to be the female Indian rendition of "Ove". The almost constant use of Indian terms (in italics) made it difficult to get a reading rhythm going. I understand why the author utilized the terms; there are terms in every language that simply are not as descriptive when translated. I strongly suggest that the book be read in an electronic version so the reader can look up the terms being used. Also, I totally agree with other individuals that the constant use of "bad" language was distracting and tiresome.

Written from Geeta's viewpoint, the novel was, from what I have read about India and observed through international news reports, definitely accurate in its depiction of how women are treated and the continuing pernicious effects of the caste system, despite it being outlawed. I did learn a great deal from the book and that, more than entertainment, is my number one purpose for reading.

I really enjoyed this book. The characters were wonderfully nuanced. The book touched so many topics from poverty to sexism. The cry for women's rights was very strong. It also was a glimpse into a different culture. I highly recommend this book!

I liked the story, liked most of the characters. I thought the humor was well placed and kept the story from going flat and becoming depressing. As far as the caste system in India - or the hierarchy of determining position and respect - this book brought that to light and I felt kept it in the forefront. The interaction of the women among themselves was a good theme - expressing how they grew and assimilated. I do gravitate away from books that have a lot of foreign words or phrases that are not followed up immediately in English. I think that is disrespectful to the audience being written for. If you want to write in another language - then do that - but if you want to write for an English audience - then immediately translate foreign words and phrases.

Overall, I have really enjoyed this novel! I had selected it because it seemed entirely different from anything I've read, and, for the most part, that proved to be the case. I appreciate the insight that Shroff offered us; I knew next to nothing about the lives of Indian women living in rural settings, and the descriptions helped broaden my understanding, all without being too overly reliant on imagery.
In response to the critique about the sometimes excessive English profanity, I think that I had initially felt the same way. It was almost jarring to read so many curses in the span of a few pages, but when I reflected on why I felt that way, I realized how often I curse either out loud or in my own thoughts. I think that Geeta's expression of her emotions felt raw and real with that language, and it normalized her and made her feel more relatable to me.