The Unlikely Adventures of the Shergill Sisters

A Novel

By: Balli Kaur Jaswal

Narrated by: Soneela Nankani, Deepti Gupta

Length: 13 hrs and 10 mins

Publisher's summary

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 have grown even further apart as adults. Rajni, a school principal, is a stickler for order. Jezmeen, a 30-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.

©2019 Balli Kaur Jaswal (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

Absolutely ruined by narrator

This book is about three British sisters, born in the UK of Indian parents. Why, oh why, then, the choice of an American narrator. These women speak with a hybrid quasi British/American accent which ruins the whole book. Very British words are totally mispronounced, (plaits - Am. braids) pronounced as plates, the wrong syllables are stressed (CONtrary for example, which is repeated several times), and the ridiculous elongation of vowels in an attempt to sound British is like a comedy routine (Paahki, baahguette). I so enjoyed this author's earlier book, with the Indian accent of the Punjabi widows, offset by the very authentic London/British accent of the younger characters. I was expecting the same of this book, and what a disappointment. Audible, you can do better.

Just okay for me (spoilers ahead)

I really really loved “Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows” but this book didn’t resonate as deeply with me. Part of the problem was that the narrator on this audiobook was American. All of the characters are either British, Australian or Indian so the choice of accent seemed strange to me. The narrator did a great job speaking in character but the background narration with an American accent was distracting. I also found it quite unbelievable that the pregnancy wasn’t apparent to the other sisters. The big flashback reveal to the family drama which occurred during previous trip to India didn’t seem severe enough to warrant such a reaction by the characters (although I readily acknowledge the cultural differences between western & eastern norms)

You have to give it time

I admit that when I started this book I was more interested in the mother. The girls seemed shallow and juvenile. I also stopped listening so i could listen to The Lazarus File, which was amazing. Anyway, I returned to this book and actually am glad I did. It's predictable but overall a pleasant story.

Sadly Disappointed by Narration

So. I’m a British born Punjabi woman and I was really excited to read this book and I wish I had read it rather than listening. The accents of the sisters were awful. I do not sound anything like them and I wanted to see me a little bit of me reflected in them. The narration ruined this book for me.
I did relate to the story line though. It was tough growing up in the 70s and having to behave in a particular manner to appease judgmental relatives. Growing up in England was just as challenging as growing up in India with all the backward, patriarchal attitudes.
It was nice that the sisters came together at the end and supported each other.
I should have bought the book!! Or Audible should have contacted me to narrate!

Great author, Poor narrator

I loved this author's first book so very much I listened to this one despite the reviews about the narration. I rhought I could get past the narration as the book I listened to immediately prior to this one had the 2 worst narrators I've ever in life suffered to hear. So I figured this would be an improvement. And it was but still so very disappointing. I'm starting to wonder what is going on with Audible that finding quality narrators is so hard. If this book had a different narrator it would be a 5 star review. The problem was the narrator was American. The characters were English and Indian. However, the narrator only spoke with the appropriate accents if the line was in quotations. So any silent dialog the characters had to themselves were read as American. That's like me, an American, speaking like I normally do but then thinking with a Jamaican accent....like, it's ridiculous. It was just sp distracting that it took away from the writing. Balli Kaur Jaswal deserves better. I still recommend this book but maybe is written form. The story is heartwarming and illustrates the bond between sisters even when they think they don't like each other. I had several times I chucked aloud. I could see this being made into a movie.

a good story

The performance of the story was great maybe a little overbearing on some of the characters. story was a little weak but had its moments. It is worth a listen.

Perspectives and growth

A story of how different experiences and traumas shape the lens of perspective for three sisters forced to take a pilgrimage to India. I enjoyed this adventure of the Shergill sisters and learning a bit more of Indian culture. The narrator did a great job.

Love this narrator and great story

I felt it was a bit drawn out but overall a great story which I enjoyed. The narrator is amazing as always and really brought the characters to life.

I'm not a quitter, but I wanted to!

Made it through this book but it was like pulling teeth. The story is slow, the characters unlikeable and whiney. Save your credit!

Horrible Narration

The sisters are Anglo-Indian but the narrator, often in the same sentence, switches back and forth between a standard US accent and a weird campy faux Brit accent. Her performance is so distracting and off putting that I don’t think I will be able to finish the book. This book really needs to be re-recorded.