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A review by fizreads
The Khan by Saima Mir
4.0
The Khan was something that I have never read before. The book is a crime/mystery where Jia (our m/c) has come to her childhood home which she left behind because she must be the matriarch in her family because her father was murdered and she has to now take his place. Akbar Khan- Jia’s father- is ‘The Khan’ the man who was respected, feared and was the leader of the crime syndicate their Pakhtun/Pakistan community which is called the Jirga.
I listened to this as an audiobook and I didn’t really know what to expect. So far fiction audio books haven’t worked for me so will this. I have to say it totally did. Mina Anwar did an amazing job at all the characters she got each character and I have to say I couldn’t stop listening, the characters, the plot I got invested. The book follows Jia as she takes over her fathers role and basically questions can she hold her own in a man’s world.
I really loved this book it was gritty and dark and really dealt with heavy themes that are taboo and not spoken about especially in a South Asian community. I wish I read this (not that I didn’t like the audio) just because there were so many passages and quotes I would have love to taken note of. I loved the first half of the book more than the latter, Maria’s wedding and the backstory of Jia’s childhood, Zan’s death, her marriage to Elyas and her relationship with her father-and mother and her fraught relationship with Benyamin. Also (me and my side characters) but I love her uncle so much. The second half of the book I didn’t like as much but was equally gripping to listen to. Jia’s rise as ‘The Khan’ but being the ice queen towards Elyas and Ahad and the revelation at the end of the book made me kind of hate her it really messed with me. I still can’t get over it and it has been a couple of weeks. It is character driven, a family story that deals with heavy themes, race, corruption, betrayal, loss, grief, power, being a woman in a man’s world. 4.5 (just because I still can’t find myself to forgive Jia, maybe I need to read the book to understand it better). Loved it highly recommend it.
I listened to this as an audiobook and I didn’t really know what to expect. So far fiction audio books haven’t worked for me so will this. I have to say it totally did. Mina Anwar did an amazing job at all the characters she got each character and I have to say I couldn’t stop listening, the characters, the plot I got invested. The book follows Jia as she takes over her fathers role and basically questions can she hold her own in a man’s world.
I really loved this book it was gritty and dark and really dealt with heavy themes that are taboo and not spoken about especially in a South Asian community. I wish I read this (not that I didn’t like the audio) just because there were so many passages and quotes I would have love to taken note of. I loved the first half of the book more than the latter, Maria’s wedding and the backstory of Jia’s childhood, Zan’s death, her marriage to Elyas and her relationship with her father-and mother and her fraught relationship with Benyamin. Also (me and my side characters) but I love her uncle so much. The second half of the book I didn’t like as much but was equally gripping to listen to. Jia’s rise as ‘The Khan’ but being the ice queen towards Elyas and Ahad and the revelation at the end of the book made me kind of hate her it really messed with me. I still can’t get over it and it has been a couple of weeks. It is character driven, a family story that deals with heavy themes, race, corruption, betrayal, loss, grief, power, being a woman in a man’s world. 4.5 (just because I still can’t find myself to forgive Jia, maybe I need to read the book to understand it better). Loved it highly recommend it.