One of the things that makes the strong female characters in the novel so relatable is that they are flawed. Which flaws made the characters feel more relatable to you?

One of the things that makes the strong female characters in The Bandit Queens so relatable is that they are flawed. For example—at first, Geeta is too proud to ask for help when Farah begins to blackmail her, and we see her eventually have to swallow that pride and go to Saloni for assistance. What other flaws made the characters feel more relatable as you were reading?

I think the fact that they were often selfish and only looking out for themselves made them relatable by me to many people I know. Also, their ineptness in carrying out their plans made it funny but also made them relatable.

They all were very worried about their physical flaws

One of the things that makes them relatable is holding onto to grudges.

I think the fact that Geeta chose her relationship with Ramesh over her best friend Saloni.

For me it was definitely pride, it’s a fake I have, so hard for me to ask for help…. Definitely related to Geeta and some of the other women on that point. I also related to their doubts about self confidence though I have made great stride in both of these areas it has taken years to develop… and wonderful family and friends support!

The women are relatable in that they consistently make assumptions about motives of others and then hold onto grudges and dislike for a long time instead of just clearing the air.

The fact that all of them had insecurities.

The gossip, the grudges, the sneakiness, the lying, etc.; you name it, they displayed it.

So many flaws - back stabbing, lying, pride, keeping things to themselves, grudges