Name: The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters
ISBN: 9780008209964

Balli Kaur Jaswal

Grab your passport and let the Shergill sisters take you on a journey...

The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters

The author of the Reese Witherspoon Book Club selection Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows follows her acclaimed America debut with this life-affirming, witty family drama—an Indian This Is Where I Leave You—about three Punjabi sisters embarking on a pilgrimage to their homeland to lay their mother to rest. The British-born Punjabi Shergill sisters—Rajni, Jezmeen, and Shirnia—were never close and barely got along growing up, and now as adults, have grown even further apart. Rajni, a school principal is a stickler for order. Jezmeen, a thirty-year-old struggling actress, fears her big break may never come. Shirina, the peacemaking "good" sister married into wealth and enjoys a picture-perfect life. On her deathbed, their mother voices one last wish: that her daughters will make a pilgrimage together to the Golden Temple in Amritsar to carry out her final rites. After a trip to India with her mother long ago, Rajni vowed never to return. But she’s always been a dutiful daughter, and cannot, even now, refuse her mother’s request. Jezmeen has just been publicly fired from her television job, so the trip to India is a welcome break to help her pick up the pieces of her broken career. Shirina’s in-laws are pushing her to make a pivotal decision about her married life; time away will help her decide whether to meekly obey, or to bravely stand up for herself for the first time. Arriving in India, these sisters will make unexpected discoveries about themselves, their mother, and their lives—and learn the real story behind the trip Rajni took with their Mother long ago—a momentous journey that resulted in Mum never being able to return to India again. The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters is a female take on the Indian travel narrative. "I was curious about how different the trip would be if it were undertaken by women, who are vulnerable to different dangers in a male-dominated society," Balli Kaur Jaswal writes. "I also wanted to explore the tensions between tradition and modernity in immigrant communities, and particularly how those tensions play out among women like these sisters, who are the first generation to be raised outside of India." Powerful, emotionally evocative, and wonderfully atmospheric, The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters is a charming and thoughtful story that illuminates the bonds of family, sisterhood, and heritage that tether us despite our differences. Funny and heartbreaking, it is a reminder of the truly important things we must treasure in our lives.

A Novel

Ivy Vatsala

Very well fleshed out characters and an intriguing plot - I was definitely not prepared for the final reveal! Kudos to Balli Jaswal for exploring this topic via her story. Loved the British-Indian setting and the accompanying struggles of identity and belonging that the characters face. Diaspora fiction can sometimes be repetitive but this was definitely not one of those.

Patricia Nelson

I quite enjoyed this author's previous book 'Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows' last year, and was excited to read this new book. It did not disappoint! I couldn't wait to find out what happened with the storylines about three sisters who grew up in a culture and religion different from mine, and along with it expectations and rules that are in some ways completely foreign to me and in others completely familiar. It is a well-written story that brings you along for the ride as all three very different women/sisters figure out what their path should be, by listening to their inner selves even when that is in conflict with those around them and each other. I loved these characters, and loved this book.

Nadine 

3 sisters each with their own secrets take a trip back to India as requested by their dead mother. 
Explores issues in the Punjab community

Liz Carpenter

A really engrossing story of secrets, complicated family dynamics and the meaning of "home," with (most importantly for me) characters you want to root for.

Sahi K

After reading Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows and really enjoying it, I was so excited to receive the ARC for this one. This book turned out to be quite different from what I was expecting but it was nevertheless, a very interesting read.

Rajni is the eldest sister, a school principal who likes rules and everything to be in an orderly fashion. However, she was not always like this and things that happened in her past completely changed her attitude and now when things are again uncertain in her life, she is not sure how to handle everything. Jezmeen is a struggling actress who’s just lost her job and gone infamously viral. She also has always been a rebel and resists every attempt by Rajni to follow their pilgrimage schedule and resents her sister for being so strict. Shirina has always tried to be the perfect daughter but felt too invisible in her own home and being scared of any confrontations has left her as the person who always adjusts and makes sure everyone else is happy. I could relate to some parts of each of these sisters and it made the reading experience quite surreal - sometimes nostalgic and sometimes even uncomfortable.

The writing is as usual very engaging. The author uses the stories of these three sisters to give us a picture of immigrant life in Britain, the clash of cultures between traditional parents and their British born kids and sometimes, even the second generation immigrant kids. Through the trip that the characters take, we see a different view of India too - how the noise and crowds can sometimes feel overwhelming; even after so much development, how the sexism and misogyny is so ingrained that it manifests in everyday little things; how female foeticide in parts of India is still rampant and sometimes, these ideas don’t disappear just because someone has immigrated to a more modern country. The author also manages to give us a nuanced portrait of the relationship between three sisters - who were not close while growing up and even held resentments towards each other, but being in close proximity after the death of their mother forces them to acknowledge their issues and maybe pave the way for a better relationship going forward. It’s also great to see them have each other’s back despite any lingering issues. 

This book is a very interesting portrayal of family dynamics and sisterhood, traditional vs modern thinking and how it affects our everyday life. It’s a very honest picture of three sister’s lives told with drama, humor and mystery which makes for a fascinating read. I would definitely recommend this one if you enjoyed the author’s previous book and are interested in depictions of the myriad of issues that women face in everyday life.

Full of warmth and laugh-out-loud funny, the new novel from the author of Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows Sometimes you need to leave home to discover your roots...

Madhuri Gubbala

Started off strong, I enjoyed the story till almost 2/3rd way through but the ending turned filmy and predictable. The characters were believable, the depiction of India was authentic and real, the family drama was brilliant. I am encouraged to try other books by this author.

Full of warmth and laugh-out-loud funny, the new novel from the author of Erotic Stories for Punjabi WidowsBritish-born Punjabi sisters Rajni, Jezmeen and Shirina have never been close - so when their dying mother instructs them to go on a pilgrimage across India to carry out her final rites, the sisters are forced together as they haven't been for years. Rajni is an archetypal eldest child - bossy, knows best, always right - but her perfect son dropped a devastating bombshell before she left and now she's floundering. Middle sister Jezmeen was always a loudmouth, translating her need for attention into life as a struggling actress. But her career is on the skids after an incident went viral and now she's desperate to find her voice again. Shirina has always been the perfect sister, who confounded expectations by having the most traditional arranged marriage of them all and moving to the other side of the world. But her perfect marriage isn't what it seems and time is running out to make the right choice. Each sister has her own reasons for agreeing to this ludicrous trip, and as the miles rack up, the secrets of the past and present are sure to spill out...

Moray Lyle McIntosh

Another enjoyable story from Jaswal. She always shows family and cultural tensions with clarity, complexity and humour and balances everyday dramas with big-hitting issues. It follows three British-Pakistani sisters who, eagerly and reluctantly, make a pilgrimage to lay their mother's ashes to rest in Amritsar. Each sister has a difficult relationship with her family and her roots as these issues lie at the heart of a moving and enjoyable story that explores the tensions between tradition and modernity, particularly for women of Pakistani heritage. Jaswal brings her characters and their settings to life on the page in full colour.

Pratiksha  Wadhwa

Since we have been under lockdown and I saved a bit of time, Thanks to no commute... I have been able to get back to reading a lot.

Having heard about the author, Balli Kaur Jaswal, from a lot of bookstagrammers, I picked up this one. This is a story about three Punjabi sisters who travelled to India together to honor their mother's dying wish. Each of the sisters is struggling with her own life, but keeping it to themselves.
This journey helped them bring them closer and deal with their past.

I enjoyed the story of this dysfunctional family, but wish if it didn't end like a typical Bollywood movie.

Anooshay Abbasi

I enjoyed this book so so much and wish it never had to end! I hope Balli Kaur writes more and more and more!!!

The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters

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