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Hollywood actress Reese Witherspoon picks Singapore writer's novel for monthly book club

Renowned Singaporean author Balli Kaur Jaswal’s book was picked by Hollywood actress Reese Witherspoon for her book club.

The Big Little Lies and Legally Blonde star picked Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Jaswal for her book club’s March reading selection.

Witherspoon shared her selection on a post on the Reese’s Book Club x Hello Sunshine Instagram account and Facebook page with a photo of herself sprawled on a couch reading the book.

Her book club has 390,000 followers on Instagram and close to 60,000 followers on Facebook.

In her post, the actress described the book as “a story about liberating women at every age, and empowering them to express their hopes, dreams, and what makes them feel good.”

Her post on Facebook received over 120 shares with other leading writers and creatives from Singapore such as award-winning filmmaker Kirsten Tan reacting to the post.

Jaswal, who turns 35 this year, is one of Singapore’s hottest young novelists.

Her third novel, Erotic Stories For Punjabi Widows was published by international brand HarperCollins in the United Kingdom and the United States last year.

Movie rights for the bestselling book have been sold to Ridley Scott’s production company, Scott Free Productions, and Film4.

The novel follows Nikki, a daughter of Indian immigrants living in West London and doing everything she can to distance herself from the traditional Sikh community. However, she becomes unexpectedly immersed with women from the community through a teaching job at a writing class.

Witherspoon, who is also involved in the #TimesUp movement, said, “Most of all, it’s about how women across all generations can come together to change their community.”