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A review by dearbookshelves
The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
The Djinn Waits A Hundred Years is the best book I've read so far this year. When Sana and her father move into this strange house with an eclectic group of tenants, Sana begins to uncover the history of this strange house.
This book has a bit of everything. There's horror - some scenes at the beginning really had me creeped out. There's a mystery - Khan has mastered the slow reveal of bits of information about both the present timeline and the past to keep you reading. I haven't read anything this quickly all year, it seems. This book is part historical as it details the original owner of the house in 1930s South Africa and the more current timeline is set in 2014. It's also a sad story. There are some dramatic reveals and then Khan hits you in the chest with a line that perfectly sums up grief or trauma or an imperfect love.
"But don't you know? The best songs are the sad ones. It's like love-the best love stories are the painful ones,"
I initially thought that this would be great for a list of "weird house" books but it's so much more than that. I highly recommend.
This book has a bit of everything. There's horror - some scenes at the beginning really had me creeped out. There's a mystery - Khan has mastered the slow reveal of bits of information about both the present timeline and the past to keep you reading. I haven't read anything this quickly all year, it seems. This book is part historical as it details the original owner of the house in 1930s South Africa and the more current timeline is set in 2014. It's also a sad story. There are some dramatic reveals and then Khan hits you in the chest with a line that perfectly sums up grief or trauma or an imperfect love.
"But don't you know? The best songs are the sad ones. It's like love-the best love stories are the painful ones,"
I initially thought that this would be great for a list of "weird house" books but it's so much more than that. I highly recommend.