Nadine

by Vimi Bajaj

In this captivating debut story, a young woman in India about to plunge into an arranged marriage seeks the advice of an older friend - an eccentric expat who has led an unconventional life. In a quiet suburb of New Delhi, two next-door neighbors develop a friendship: one, a young woman engaged to be married, and the other, Nadine: a woman in her 60s living with her second husband. We follow these two women through their phone calls and visits together, diving deeper into Nadine's storied past: With her larger-than-life personality and proclivity to defy society's conventions, her insight weighs heavily on her young friend, about to face a major turning point of her own. Nadine is a poignant short story about the choices, big and small, that shape our lives.

Genres: Audiobook, Fiction, Short Stories, Feminism, Contemporary

Audiobook

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Tamar...playing hooky for a few hours today · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another audible plus meh. Young newly engaged woman is caught up in a toxic friendship with a jaded neighbor who has an unconventional view on life and marriage. There's nothing really wrong with Nadine's views and opinions, other than maybe she should keep them to herself instead of planting unbalancing thoughts in an already jittery betrothed. OK - the opinions are my own and probably influenced by how bored I was listening.

[Amy Ingalls · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't really know why I listened to this whole story, other than that it is short and the narrator had a nice voice. I really didn't like Nadine, but she did have a point-- women are judged much more harshly for not being good mothers than men are for not being good fathers. It did make me think, about women trapped by choices that may have not entirely been there own. As a mother my first reaction is revulsion that another mother could feel so callously, but I did take the time to really process how someone like Nadine would make the choices that she made-- don't men do it every day?

So I gave it 2 stars because it made me think a bit, but the lack of editing (especially at the end, and in such a short story) almost made me take a star back.

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short story, well narrated. It was interesting, just from the point of view of ‘friendship dynamics’, what people expect from their friendships and conversations, especially in the weird expat bubble in which Nadine moves. Also marriage - what do we expect from it, and what is a woman of a certain generation to do when she finds she is with the wrong person, or discovers she has no maternal skills. And how easy it is to judge someone for their choices, especially when they are not a likeable personality, lacking responsibility and empathy, and blind to their own privilege. And how complex a judgement it is when placed against the backdrop of the roles and definitions that constrain women’s lives in societies across the globe.

[رومولا الن emmajain-book · Rating 2 out of 5]

رواية قصيرة استمعت إليها على
@audible
نادين أمرأة بالستينات من عمرها تسعى لسعادتها وتصدم مجتمعها التقليدي بالهند نتعرف على جارتها التي تستعد لزواج مدبر من عائلتها أحببت القصه فهي مسليه وخفيفه

[Laura Scribner · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, the narrator was a pleasure to listen to, but other than that, there wasn’t much to say about this one in the positive light. It’s only about ~50 minutes long, and there were some clear editing errors, especially at the end where sentences were duplicated and details brought up, forgotten, and immediately contrasted.

[Frannie Burd · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm still trying to determine how I felt about this one. The main character, Nadine, wasn't very likeable, abandoning her husband and children to pursue her own pleasures. The narrator was fabulous, with a beautiful voice and accent. Throughout the story, I kept trying to figure out why the storyteller was friends with such a selfish, self-centered woman.

[Tabitha Callaway · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this short story, a story of a pair of friends one of whom is departing her own brand of advise before the others wedding. Felt intimate and real.

“First they take your power then they take your pleasure.”

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. Main character was whatever. Not super likable. I feel like it ended abruptly, but that is how I typically feel at the end of a short story.

[Sara · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are good stories and bad stories. This is not even a story.

[Tova · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was a lovely short story. Nadine reminds me a lot of myself, and I loved how it really felt like I was participating in a phone call with her. For a story I picked up purely on a whim, that was incredible.

[Ronie Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

The voice actor was a treat
The story stands in defeat
No time to lament
I have a reading list to defeat
# IAWThoughts #aprilpoem

[Tracy Hollen · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Star Forbis · Rating 2 out of 5]

“These are the peculiar wonderments of life.”

[Hannah Kaye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this short story, although the ending was a little abrupt. The narrator was great and I loved the way that Nadine and the narrator interacted with each other. Women definitely get a bad reputation with these things but I thought she was portrayed in a good light!

[Nadine · Rating 1 out of 5]

Rambling, at best.

[Anna Kristín · Rating 3 out of 5]

3. Þetta er smásaga eða örsaga. Fjallar um indverskar vinkonur, önnur rúmlega tvítug á leiðinni í hjónaband en hin er rúmlega sextug og tvígift. Þetta eru samtöl þeirra á milli þar sem sú eldri hefur orðið.
Ekki mikið um þetta að segja, sú eldri, Nadine, hafði yfirgefið mann sinn og börn fyrir löngu. Vildi lifa sínu lífi með manni sem tekur hana eins og hún er. Segist ekki sjá eftir neinu, en talar mikið um drengina sína sem hún yfirgaf það vel að hún hafði ekki samband við þá aftur fyrr en sá eldri giftist, engar kveðjur eða ekki neitt.
Niðurstaðan hjá henni þegar hún lítur yfir líf sitt er að ekki giftast manni sem þú elskar ekki, það verður aldrei til gæfu.

[Iva · Rating 3 out of 5]

This Audible Original short story is a series of conversations between two neighbors in New Delhi about marriage and being a woman, one is Nadine an expat a lady in her sixties, a wise woman who is open minded and has seen the world. The other is her next door neighbor, a young, local girl heading into an arranged marriage. The story was interesting because it discuses women's right to a choice in both a subtle and an open way.

[G_occasionally_reads (back-ish) · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting audiobook about Nadine who left her first husband and kids because she felt isolated and neglected.
In a world where it’s ok(ish) for men to do that, but not for women — her story ends up in the local newspaper and she’s called a wh0re.
Other than that, meh, nothing really exceptional.
I give it 3 ⭐️ because the narrator was AWESOME 😎

[Luke · Rating 2 out of 5]

So basically the main character in the story hates man and thinks they’re trying to control women’s lives. The main character is extremely full of herself and abandon her two children and didn’t care what happened to them.

[Seema Dubey · Rating 3 out of 5]

#Nadine #VimiBajaj

The story begins well. I listened to the novella with much interest. It's performance is excellent. But, the story doesn't go anywhere, it felt as if the story was going on a good journey, then for no reason it abruptly jumped off a cliff!

[Mahoghani 23 · Rating 2 out of 5]

No one can tell you about marriage and the wrong decisions not to make. However, they vacant talk about their wrong decisions and bad choices and that’s what Nadine does in this story.

A short, mildly entertaining story about life choices and it’s consequences.

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

An Audible original which promised more than it gave. The arranged marriage seemed to be second to the sixty year old boasting about all the risqué things she did in her youth. Not really for me this one.

[Wynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just feel like we were reminded constantly what Nadine did and why we should judge her for it. I didn't care for her as a character but this just felt overdone and like there wasn't really a story here to tell.

[Hilal Tunçkol · Rating 2 out of 5]

A woman who is about to get married get marriage advice from her kind of awkward friend who married ones, left her husband and kids and got married again.

Nothing special, yet another lacklusyer Audible short.

[Simi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Our protagonist is about to embark on an arranged marriage when she connects with the eccentric Nadine, a woman who has lived a life so very different to what others expect. Short and sweet, they dive into her life and why she went down that path.

[Danica San Juan, LMSW-C · Rating 1 out of 5]

This short story is not intriguing at all. The only good thing about this is the fact that it is a short story I listened to in its entirety on my way to work, so I didn’t think I wasted too much of my time.

[Katdarling Darling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Need more!

[Salwa Alqallaf · Rating 1 out of 5]

شي ماله معنى

[Jessica✨ · Rating 1 out of 5]

The narrators were excellent, but this story was a big pile of nothing ever happens.

[Hali Davidson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book held you in the grasp of an older woman both confident of herself and fearful to be judged of her past. It was fun to listen to as I cooked.