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We are now ONE week from Virtual Book Club, and readers, we need your help, especially Nikki. She is in need of some good recaps before she dives head first into A Treacherous Curse by Deanna Raybourn, having read books one and two in 2020 and 2021 respectively. Help her, and Ashley, and all those who join us on Friday, December 9 at 7:30 p.m. CST by jogging her memory on what has happened before this book opens. While we do crave more quality time with Veronica and Stoker, time is not on our side and we are so looking forward to discussing #3 with you lovelies! If you don’t read the book, you’re still invited, but we won’t hold back on spoilers, but are otherwise V chill, just like this book, as long as you don’t forget to register here to join us!
These are our confessions:
December’s theme is always “Comfort Reads” because it’s a month filled with tradition and busy seasons, and we just want to read something that will be comforting. Emotionally comforting, or seasonally comforting, or comforting in a meets-expectations-way. Well, today, The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters did not meet expectations in a way that was comforting. And that is our confession, a dark comedy is not necessarily a comfort read even though the author is a favorite. Did I four-star enjoy this novel about three London-raised Sikh sisters going on a pilgrimage to India mandated by their recently deceased mother? Yes, yes I did. Did the themes and adventures of the sisters seem very comforting, though? No, no they did not. Each sister is still grieving the loss of their mother to cancer, coming to terms with the fact that they are now orphans, and individually dealing with a situation in their personal lives that they don’t want to share with their sisters – even though coming together and bonding is the purpose of the trip!
I always love a good story about sisters and their coming to understand that they are better people when they love their sibling unconditionally, with grace and understanding. What is immensely interesting is that Balli Kaur Jaswal does not herself have sisters! She admits in the acknowledgements: “[To] all of my friends with sisters. Too many over a lifetime to mention, and you probably didn’t know that your sibling dramas would make their way into my book. I feel I have absorbed many moments of complicated love-hate sister experiences from our conversations. I envy your sisters for having you in their lives but I’m grateful for the next best thing, your friendship.” She is a great example that you wouldn’t have had to experience a thing first hand in order to understand and write about the emotional details of a relationship. This is the beauty of fiction.
As a refresher about Jaswal, since it’s been over a year and a half since our post about Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows, she is the author of four novels and numerous short pieces of fiction and non-fiction. Her fifth novel, Now You See Us, will be released in March 2023 and I’m excited to get it on my holds list at the library. With her PhD on South Asian diaspora writing, and former fellowship in writing at the University of East Anglia, Jaswal now travels widely to writers conferences and workshops to present upon such topics as: creative writing, pursuing an artistic career, the power of storytelling, global citizenship, and social justice advocacy through literature. Those last two, man, I love those, too. And, even though I am not a professional writer, I would love to sit in on one of those lectures.
In conclusion, a 4 star review for a surprise of a book theme in a month that’s supposed to be about cozy, comforting reads. Big, anti-patriarchal feelings are not cozy and comforting. I’m ready for Veronica and Stoker, how about you?!
~Ashley
Dear readers, I need to make a confession. Shocking no one, I suggested we read and review this title knowing nothing but the title and the author. We loved Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows, and this title was …very different, but also very well executed. You guessed right, this is another double four star review, but also, my unmet expectations are sad. I should have been expecting a family drama featuring sisters from The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters but that just makes too much sense for my brain during the season that should feature all things comfort, so I’m going to talk about the things that did make me comfortable in this novel of adventure.
I didn’t grow up in the house with a sister, but I did have a brother, and, aside from the patriarchal pieces, I can see the potential for us to have a similar adventure of chaos and self discovery, which was fun. I haven’t been to Punjab, but I have been to Tamil Nadu, and most of the scenes describing the cities the sisters visited feel very similar to my experiences there, especially those of traffic, drivers, and general atmosphere. I really appreciated the efforts Jaswal went to for the sake of keeping it real with food. Yes darlings, as western folks, including those of the Indian diaspora, eating street food is very much at your own risk. It’s not about the spices and the flavors, it’s entirely about the cooties that we aren’t used to hosting in our bodies, so the need for the nice, and even bougie restaurants is real, as is the regret if you venture away. (Ask me how I know…I dare you!)
The last thing I wanted to mention is the author’s desire to tell a story of women traveling in India she mentioned in the “behind the book” section. (Reminder: Read the acknowledgements and other fun pieces that follow the end of the text!) I do recognize the experience is different for women who are white and women who are Indian, and that experience is likely different for resident and non-resident women who are Indian. As a white woman, traveling in India was very interesting, and I was almost exclusively traveling in a group of university students and professors. Adventuring in the cities was even more interesting because I did go out on my own and I did go out occasionally with one of the male students from our group. I have experienced the looks for drinking a beer at dinner, I have had the male student I was with being asked what I wanted to eat because surely I was only out with my brother or husband, and I have had the experience of being a female walking into a liquor store, but only once. All this, and I clearly am not of the Indian diaspora. I really appreciate how Jaswal brought this piece of the story to the forefront without me even recognizing it before she pointed it out. It was one of the many picturesque experiences from the novel that was so expertly done.
While The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters wasn’t what I expected, and wasn’t comforting because of the aforementioned unmet expectations, I still thoroughly enjoyed the book, especially some of the ways the story loops back to tie up loose ends. I’m very interested in reading more of Jaswal’s backlist because her writing is so engaging and transporting, and her stories are powerful.
What’s a title that wasn’t what you wanted it to be, but was still amazing?
~Nikki
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