The Khan by Saima Mir: book review theskinny.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from theskinny.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
ISBN: 978-1786079091
336pp.
Journalist Saima Mir’s debut novel, The Khan, tells the story of Jia Khan, daughter of Akbar Khan, the head of a powerful crime syndicate in a city in northern England. Jia has managed to escape this murky world and become a successful London barrister, but she is compelled to return to her home city and her family after a 15-year estrangement, as she must try to rein in the chaos created by her father’s murder.
The story has obvious parallels with Mario Puzo’s The Godfather: both are about organised crime and both tell the story from the perspective of the families and the immigrant community involved. Because of this, an easy way to reference the novel might be ‘The Godfather set in a city such as Bradford, with a female in the Michael Corleone role.’ But The Khan goes beyond that simple description, as it is also a searing indictment of white privilege and systemic racism in modern Britain.
WHEN you visit a bookshop, how many books in the window displays and tables that take centre-stage are written by authors from diverse backgrounds? Last summer the Black Lives Matter movement generated a conversation around diversity, or lack of, in the publishing industry. Authors, agents, editors and other members of the industry took to social media to talk about the lack of opportunities for authors who are black or from other ethnic backgrounds and the lack of opportunities for those wanting to work as agents, editors, publicists and publishers. In a Twitter hastag #PublishingPaidMe authors shared the advance they received for their book, and there was a shocking gulf between white authors who had five or six digit deals, and authors who were black or from other ethnic backgrounds, some of whom received as little as £500 as an advance.
Updated: 18/02/2021, 9:26 am
Granite Noir has unveiled a glittering line-up of world-class crime writers – including Ian Rankin, Val McDermid, Jo Nesbo and David Baldacci – when it returns next month.
While Aberdeen’s award-winning crime writing festival is moving online due to the coronavirus pandemic, organisers say its mix of live streaming and pre-recorded messages offers the best of Granite Noir and hope it can reach an even wider audience when it runs from February 19 to February 21.
Jane Spiers, chief executive of Aberdeen Performing Arts, which produces the event, said: “Obviously this year is a bit different, being online, but we are still bringing the best of Granite Noir, the essence of Granite Noir.