This book might end up one of my favorites for CBR16. It was a shockingly funny delight about women who murder their husbands. Parini Shroff was inspired to write this story after a visit to India many years ago, where she learned about the micro loan program there. Women receive loans to start their own businesses, forming small support groups that ensure participants repay their loans regularly. Shroff wondered about two things: why women receive the loans and not men (because women were seen as hard working and more responsible), and how, in a patriarchal society, do you prevent men from interfering with the women’s businesses and taking the money? The answer to the latter was essentially a shoulder shrug and throwing up of hands. With that in mind, Shroff began to imagine a micro loan group consisting of several women with abusive husbands who make both business and life in general unbearable. So they decide to take matters into their own hands.
The main character is a 35-year-old woman named Geeta. Geeta’s husband Ramesh disappeared 5 years ago, and the assumption amongst the community is that Geeta is a witch, that she killed Ramesh and somehow disposed of the body. In some ways, this misconception works to Geeta’s advantage; people leave her alone and often defer to her in order to avoid her wrath. But Geeta is very alone and unhappy, whether she admits it or not. Her childhood best friend Saloni is part of her micro loan group but they have been estranged for 16 years, since Geeta became engaged to Ramesh. Saloni and Ramesh never got along and Geeta essentially had to choose one over the other. As an only child and a daughter, Geeta needed marriage and thought that her parents had chosen a good man who esteemed her. Not long after the wedding however, she discovered Ramesh’s abusive side and became timid and accommodating in order to make life easier. Their lack of children often made Ramesh furious and so when he disappeared, Geeta felt it was a blessing.
It seems that life is going along predictably and not objectionably until the day that Farah, a Muslim member of the micro loan group, misses the weekly meeting and her payment. Geeta, as the single childless member, is expected to make up for the loss (as she has done for Farah before) but she then receives an unexpected visit from Farah. Her husband Samir is an abusive alcoholic who takes her money. Farah, looking worse for the wear and desperate, turns to Geeta for help in murdering her husband. Geeta does not want to be involved in this at all, but finds herself drawn in to help another woman, comparing what she is doing to what she has seen female bonobos do in a nature program: they band together and help one another. But of course the consequences of this action have unexpected results and snowball into more murders for more women. It turns out that the other members of Geeta’s loan group have more trouble at home than she imagined, and that men have been covering up one another’s abuses forever. The women decide it’s time for some sisterly solidarity, but the best laid plans go awry and it’s not long before the law and other nefarious forces are asking questions.
This story is just so much fun to read, even though it is about murder and about the abuses of a patriarchal, caste-based society. Animal abuse, child abuse and rape are a part of this story, so be ready for that. The characters are just amazing. These women can be so terrible to one another, and Geeta is no exception. Differences in religion and social/caste status, as well as the overbearing rule of men in women’s lives, are meant to keep women isolated and focused solely on their families. Yet we see that even when they are furious with each other, they are a kind of sisterhood, finding solidarity in unlikely places. As the body count increases and a mob boss starts looking for Geeta, the bonds of the women of the micro loan group will be tested, and the scene involving the mob boss near the end is both terrifying and hilarious. I loved this novel and can’t wait to pass it on to others.