Pyjamas Are Forgiving
{{Short description|2018 novel by Twinkle Khanna}}
{{Infobox book
| name = Pyjamas Are Forgiving
| image = PyjamasAreForgiving.jpg
| caption = First edition
| border = yes
| author = Twinkle Khanna
| translator =
| illustrator =
| cover_artist =
| country = India
| language = English
| genre = Fiction
| published = Juggernaut Books (September 2018)
| pages = 256
| isbn = 9386228971
}}
Pyjamas Are Forgiving is a 2018 novel written by Twinkle Khanna and published by Juggernaut Books on 7 September 2018.{{cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-authors/twinkle-khanna-on-her-new-book-pyjamas-are-forgiving/article24945607.ece|title='I'm at the halfway mark': Twinkle Khanna on her new book, 'Pyjamas are Forgiving'|last=Couto|first=Cheryl-Ann|work=The Hindu|date=14 September 2018|accessdate=10 October 2018}} The novel is narrated by Anshu, a middle-aged woman who is suffering from sleep disorder. The story traces her 28 days spent in a spa in Kerala and her meeting with her former husband.{{cite news|url=https://www.news18.com/news/lifestyle/a-tale-of-pyjamas-better-forgiven-and-forgotten-1902657.html|title=A Tale of Pyjamas, Better Forgiven and Forgotten!|website=News18|date=8 October 2018|accessdate=10 October 2018}} Khanna has said that the novel's title came to her as she struggled to zip up her jeans after a few weeks of Diwali.{{cite news|url=https://www.dnaindia.com/just-before-monday/report-pyjamas-are-forgiving-twinkle-khanna-on-her-first-novel-2663564|title=Pyjamas are Forgiving: Twinkle Khanna on her first novel|last=Gupta|first=Gargi|work=Daily News and Analysis|date=16 September 2018|accessdate=10 October 2018}}
Reception
Nayare Ali of the Asian Age said that "Twinkle Khanna’s books resonate with her readers, because she has this wonderful knack of tying up the loose ends and ensuring that her characters find salvation at the end of the book’s journey."{{Cite web|url=http://www.asianage.com/books/260918/in-search-of-self.html|title=In search of self |last=Ali |first=Nayare |date=September 26, 2018 |website=AsianAge.com |publisher=The Asian Age |access-date=April 8, 2024}} "What could have been a story about an embittered woman, jilted by her dissolute husband, turns into a romp, thanks to Khanna’s gift for observing the absurdities of life", states Mint Lounge.{{Cite web|url=https://www.livemint.com/Leisure/9BFLsNQookhtb0JjQeKFYP/The-many-faces-of-Mrs-Funnybones.html|title=The many faces of Mrs Funnybones |last=Ghoshal |first=Somak |date=August 9, 2018 |website=livemint.com |publisher=Mint Lounge |access-date=April 8, 2024 }} Ishita Sengupta of The Indian Express said that the protagonist is "in many ways, reads like a literary counterpart of the author herself." She however felt that the narrative "bereft of Khanna’s characteristic spark and is as dry as the apricot you find hard to bite on in the morning."{{cite news|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/books/twinkle-khannas-pyjamas-are-forgiving-review-5360815/|title=Pyjamas are Forgiving review: Despite interesting premise, Twinkle Khanna's novel ceases to be engaging|last=Sengupta|first=Ishita|work=The Indian Express|date=18 September 2018|accessdate=10 October 2018}} "I could easily see Pyjamas being adapted for the stage, too. The confined setting, a wisecracking lead wreathed in sadness, a supporting cast of gays, gurus, millennials and reprobates, each repping a social hot topic — feminism, communalism, LGBTQ rights, the #MeToo movement. And some illicit sex for good measure", says Cheryl-Ann Couto of The Hindu.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-authors/twinkle-khanna-on-her-new-book-pyjamas-are-forgiving/article24945607.ece|title='I’m at the halfway mark': Twinkle Khanna on her new book, 'Pyjamas are Forgiving'|website=thehindu.com |last=Couto |first=Cheryl-Ann |date=September 14, 2018 |publisher=The Hindu |access-date=April 8, 2024}} A review carried by News18 called the plot "paper-thin" and the characters as "lacklustre". Kaveree Bamzai of Daily O writes, "If there was ever a book about women, here and now, then it is this, Twinkle Khanna's first novel and third book, Pyjamas Are Forgiving(Juggernaut). It's not merely because it is tart and juicy, like everything else she writes, but also because it has a depth of understanding about the way we are which is revelatory."{{Cite web|url=https://www.dailyo.in/arts/interview-of-twinkle-khanna-on-her-new-book-pyjamas-are-forgiving-juggernaut/story/1/26540.html|title=I am more of a dosa seeker than a dosha seeker: Twinkle Khanna |last=Bamzai |first=Kaveree |date=September 9, 2018 |website=dailyo.in |publisher=Daily O |access-date=April 8, 2024}} Urvashi Bahuguna of The Scroll states that "Khanna pushes the boundaries of what’s allowed in funny, accessible literature. She’s able to work constipation and sex into humour that doesn’t feel derivate or exploitative. She isn’t swinging for happy endings or romantic resolutions. Instead, she opts for a hybrid read that will appeal to different stripes of readers."{{Cite web|url=https://scroll.in/article/897868/pyjamas-are-forgiving-twinkle-khannas-debut-novel-is-funniest-in-its-female-company|title=‘Pyjamas Are Forgiving’: Twinkle Khanna’s debut novel is funniest in its female company |last=Bahuguna |first=Urvashi |date=October 13, 2018 |website=Scroll.in |publisher=The Scroll |access-date=April 8, 2024}} Published by Juggernaut Books, it was No 1 on Nielsen BookScan’s India list for three weeks from its debut.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theweek.in/theweek/specials/2018/09/28/wit-and-the-wordsmith.html|title=Wit and the wordsmith |last=George |first=Mathew |date=September 28, 2018 |website=theweek.in |publisher=The Week}}
References
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External links
- [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41056156-pyjamas-are-forgiving Pyjamas Are Forgiving] at Goodreads
Category:Indian literature in English