The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
Publication Date: 03rd Jan 2023
Genre: Contemporary Women’s Fiction, Dark Fiction
(Lit Fic?)
2.7 Stars
One Liner: I like it and hate it in equal
measure
*****
Geeta's abusive husband disappeared five years ago,
making her an outcast in the village. People have decided she did something to
get rid of him. Of course, it comes with perks, and Geeta is content to be left
alone.
However, when other women from the village start
asking for her help to off their husbands, things start to spiral out of
control. Geeta may be inspired by Phoolan Devi, but can she handle the worst
that comes with it?
***
How do you identify a progressive author of Indian
origin? Their book has the following topics:
- Poor
India, slums, unclean villages
- Hindu
Vs. Muslim (beginning to feel bad for Indian Christians)
- Upper
Castes Vs. Lower Castes (upper caste are villains, lower castes are
victims)
- A
patriarchal society with loads of women abuse
- Targeting
Hindu symbols, customs, and rituals
- Abuse,
misery, and anything that’ll make readers consider India the worst place in
the world
The Bandit Queen is no exception. It satisfies each
element on the checklist and makes it a perfect choice for intellectual book
club reads. However, the book has certain elements I like and enjoy.
What I Like:
The cover is fab. Love those eyes on the black
background. So, so good!
The kids are a treat to read. I wish the book had
more of them instead of social activism. Be it Raees, Arhaan, or Irem, each has
a distinct personality and is just as adorable (and funny). Irem deserved more
space, given that she is the most likely candidate to take over when the time
comes.
The women, Geeta, Saloni, Farah, Priya, and Preity,
are layered and flawed. They are much more than the first impressions, and
knowing them through the course of the book makes them real (despite a few
hiccups). ASP Sinha is another underexplored character. The author could have
done so much for the plot with better priorities.
The book has many references to CID (it is a popular
crime show on Sony TV and one of my favorites). As someone who watched 1000+
episodes, it’s a treat to see it inspire women (let’s ignore that the
inspiration is not something the channel intended).
The story picks up pace in the second half. It is
not fast but maintains a steady momentum. The climax is Bollywoodish but
entertaining. Well, I can visualize the scenes playing out, so that’s a
plus.
The book has a good dose of dark and morbid humor.
Some may find it strange, but I like it. The interactions are coarse, crude,
and crass, which is exactly how it should be in such a setting. You have to
listen to them speak to realize it. Some women use cusswords as a part of their
speech, just like men do. And women from rural areas are more likely to have a
colorful vocab with native cusswords.
What Didn’t Work for Me:
The first half is slow, like really slooow. Imagine
reading so much only to notice that you’ve completed just a quarter of the
novel. This isn’t the kind of book I could speed-read. Sigh!
The dialogues! Yeah, I know it is hard to balance
authentic Indian dialogues and their readability for a global audience. It will
always be too desi or too western. This book tries hard to get the balance
right and manages to a certain extent. But as a desi (#OwnVoice) reader, I
could see how it is a weird blend of both. It was hard to sustain the image of
Geeta when she sounds like an American in some places (yo, F*ck ya bitch*s) and
a proper desi woman (I earn my own salt) the other time.
The translated proverbs were just as strange.
There’s only so much of ‘something black in the lentils’ I can tolerate
before screaming. It doesn’t help that this appears around half a dozen times
in the book. Please, don’t translate native proverbs into English. I endured
the same in The Island of Missing Trees very recently. *sob*
I don’t mind frustrated characters. They can be
wonderful to read. Take one jab at something, and I’ll see it as a part of the
plot and character arc. Do it repeatedly, and I’ll pick patterns. Wanna attack
unfair societal rules? Go ahead. I’ll cheer for you. Want to use it as a ruse
to target one religion, sorry, but no.
- Attack
mangalsutra as a sign of oppression (coz wedding rings and nikah don’t
affect women at all!)
- Karva
Chauth is a symbol of oppression (yeah, every woman hates her husband!
Geeta is sure of this. I’ll leave it to married women to handle this
claim)
- Karva
Chauth again- why add one more fasting to the list? (nevermind that the
character wishes another character Eid Mubarak in the next scene. Muslims
fast for a month during the Holy Ramadan period.)
- Temples
blare, screech, & blast bhajans (I wonder which temples have such
schedules; we don’t pray multiple times a day. Trivia: https://www.google.com/maps/search/jambusar+gujarat+mosque/@22.053285,72.7986077,15z/data=!3m1!4b1)
- No
caste in Islam (theoretically no; practically yes. But it’s the same with
Hinduism. Varna is not caste or jati and is flexible. A person’s varna is
determined by the character and not birth. Why use theoretical data for
one religion and societal data for another? This analysis sums up the issue in the best possible
manner.)
- From
what I know Yadavs are OBC (cattle rearers/ milkmen).
- Dhobi
(washer men) would be OBC or SC depending on the state (they are
considered auspicious and invited to happy celebrations in Andhra)
I could tell myself to ignore all of this in the name
of creative freedom. But this (read below) is ridiculous.
We have a three-page crash course on Ramayana because
a book set in India is not complete with invoking Ramayana or Mahabharata. It
adds nothing to the plot. Like zero. I still don’t mind. So what does this
version of Ramayana say? It says Raavan was madly in love with Sita, and hence
he kidnapped her. I literally choked on my glass of water when I read
this.
You write a book about perverted men abusing,
raping, and controlling women and say that Raavan was in love with Sita. Irony
downed itself in Bubble Tea.
How is it that the difference between lust, dominance,
and love is still not clear? Raavan was a rapist who abused countless women.
(He was upper caste too, and the author could have made use of this to drive
her point for the nth time. But no, he has to be in lovey-dovey love with
Sita.)
Oh, by the way, Raavan did not touch Sita because he
was cursed that he would die (his head would be blown into a thousand pieces)
if he ever touched a woman without her consent. The curse was given by Nala
Kuber when Raavan raped Ramba, Nala Kuber’s fiancé. So, darlings, his lack of
action had nothing to do with love or respect but everything to do with the
curse. End of the crash course.
A Few Other Hiccups:
- Indians
use the word postmortem more than an autopsy.
- Not
sure why Farah wears a bindi (she is a Muslim).
- Some
terms used by the characters contradict the setting and characterization.
There is less probability of them knowing such information.
To summarize, The Bandit Queens is a book I like and
hate in equal measure. I love the layered characters and compelling plotline.
But I cannot ignore the attempts at presenting a poor, pathetic, ugly, dirty
India with Indians who can’t think beyond caste and religion. This has been an
image the developed countries love and expect from third-world countries. I’m
tired of authors catering to such needs and playing an earnest brown
sepoy.
I won’t deny the existence of ugly in my country.
But we have so much good too. We have people working for equality, balance, and
overall growth of the country. Presenting a more balanced view wouldn’t make
you any less of an activist.
I came across a couple of reviews mentioning they have a much lower opinion of Indian society after reading the book. Well, I have a perfect reply for this, I’ll share this instead. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TED Talk on the danger of a single story. Listen to it from minutes 10 to 12. That is my answer.
The saddest part is that such stereotypes are encouraged and cemented by authors of Indian origin, which adds a false layer of credibility to the narrative and makes them ‘more authentic’. This view doesn’t consider that the author’s personal perceptions and ideology are the foundation of the plot. Hetero, we have a bundle of stereotypes presented as an entire country.
To quote Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, ‘show a people as one thing, as an only thing over and over again, and that is what they become’.
Thank you, NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group
- Ballantine, and Ballantine Books, for the eARC.
#TheBanditQueens #NetGalley
*****
P.S: The author mentions how she was worried about
milking Phoolan Devi’s name and past for the book and that it wasn’t her
intention. She doesn’t have to worry about it. She doesn’t commercialize Phoolan
Devi. She commercializes and sells dirty India instead. Something that’ll bring
more fame and accolades.
I mention this because the author has enough talent to create characters that carry a story without relying on a checklist.
