Book Meet-Up | Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows

Note: Our discussions are held in English. If you're interested in setting up a German-language Book Club, please let us know: hello@quekusa.at 

This month's book is Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswal. 

From Goodreads: A lively, sexy, and thought-provoking East-meets-West story about community, friendship, and women’s lives at all ages—a spicy and alluring mix of Together Tea and Calendar Girls. Every woman has a secret life . . . Nikki lives in cosmopolitan West London, where she tends bar at the local pub. The daughter of Indian immigrants, she’s spent most of her twenty-odd years distancing herself from the traditional Sikh community of her childhood, preferring a more independent (that is, Western) life. When her father’s death leaves the family financially strapped, Nikki, a law school dropout, impulsively takes a job teaching a "creative writing" course at the community center in the beating heart of London’s close-knit Punjabi community. Because of a miscommunication, the proper Sikh widows who show up are expecting to learn basic English literacy, not the art of short-story writing. When one of the widows finds a book of sexy stories in English and shares it with the class, Nikki realizes that beneath their white dupattas, her students have a wealth of fantasies and memories. Eager to liberate these modest women, she teaches them how to express their untold stories, unleashing creativity of the most unexpected—and exciting—kind. As more women are drawn to the class, Nikki warns her students to keep their work secret from the Brotherhood, a group of highly conservative young men who have appointed themselves the community’s "moral police." But when the widows’ gossip offers shocking insights into the death of a young wife—a modern woman like Nikki—and some of the class erotica is shared among friends, it sparks a scandal that threatens them all.

Please RSVP so we know how many people to expect. Thanks! 

About the QueKuSa FLINTA+ Film and Book Club:

• Our Book and Film Club Meetups are casual spaces to discuss, dissect and debate representations of FLINTA+ people in film and literature. 
• No need to have a film studies or lit degree - just bring your own opinions (however well/ill-informed) and respectfully agree or disagree with those of others. 
• No need to identify as FLINTA+ but we expect all attendees to appreciate the centring of FLINTA+ people in our discussions.
• This is a "brave space" (where we encourage discussion) not a "safe space" (where we expect everyone to agree). 
• But remember: while we might be tough on the issues, we try to remain kind to each other.