Scan barcode
A review by xvicesx
The Khan by Saima Mir
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
This was incredibly painful to get through, even though it was a reasonably short book. The writing wasn't necessarily bad, but it was all over the place and the zoom of the narrator kept moving around as if it was some low budget sitcom. It was a very annoying feature, and very often felt unnecessary because it didn't add much to the story.
Nothing actually happens in the first 33% of this book. Nothing. There's a randomised grouping of various events that don't necessarily tie together and don't make a ton of sense. The book blurb states the father is murdered, it's the whole premise. Except it's not. It's a wedding. The father's still alive at the 33% mark.
The characters, I will not deny, are painted with a good background and with baggage in an attempt to make them vivid. They have large chips on their shoulders about their heritage, cultural and criminal, and it influences much of their relationships with each other. Is it readable, though? Not really.
I also found a few segments very preachy, focusing on misrepresentations of Islam, "whiteness" and "brownness" and the baggage on either side. I think either that discourse takes place in non-fiction books that deal with the topic at length, with a beginning, a middle and an end, OR, if it's fiction, it should take place in more natural contexts as the book actually proceeds through its plot (except there seems to be none here).
Nothing actually happens in the first 33% of this book. Nothing. There's a randomised grouping of various events that don't necessarily tie together and don't make a ton of sense. The book blurb states the father is murdered, it's the whole premise. Except it's not. It's a wedding. The father's still alive at the 33% mark.
The characters, I will not deny, are painted with a good background and with baggage in an attempt to make them vivid. They have large chips on their shoulders about their heritage, cultural and criminal, and it influences much of their relationships with each other. Is it readable, though? Not really.
I also found a few segments very preachy, focusing on misrepresentations of Islam, "whiteness" and "brownness" and the baggage on either side. I think either that discourse takes place in non-fiction books that deal with the topic at length, with a beginning, a middle and an end, OR, if it's fiction, it should take place in more natural contexts as the book actually proceeds through its plot (except there seems to be none here).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, and Racial slurs