The Bandit Queens by Parini ShroffLonglisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2023
When Geeta’s no-good husband, Ramesh, disappears, the rumor in her rural Indian village is that she killed him. Geeta soon learns that a dangerous reputation comes with some benefits: no one messes with her or tries to control her. It’s even been good for business; no one dares to not buy her jewelry. Geeta convinces herself that she enjoys her freedom, even if its price is isolation — that is, until other wives ask her to help dispatch their no-good husbands, too. With her reputation becoming a double-edged sword, Geeta has to find a way to protect the life she’s built while juggling the personalities of a complicated band of would-be widows. For fans of Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri or the series “Dead to Me,” The Bandit Queens is a razor-sharp tale of female friendship filled with clever criminals, second chances and wry and witty women. |
About the AuthorParini Shroff holds an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin, where she studied under Elizabeth McCracken, Alexander Chee, and Cristina García. She is a practicing attorney, lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, and has family in Gujarat, India. The Bandit Queens is her debut novel.
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Finale Event with Author Parini Shroff
Sunday, February 16, 1-2 pm • In-Person or Zoom
Stevenson High School, West Auditorium, 1 Stevenson Drive, Lincolnshire
Stevenson High School, West Auditorium, 1 Stevenson Drive, Lincolnshire
Novelist Parini Shroff shares her inspiration behind this year's selection, The Bandit Queens.
This event is free and open to all. Sign-up is required to attend in-person or online.
This event is free and open to all. Sign-up is required to attend in-person or online.