Sairish Hussain

Sairish Hussain is a local author and her debut novel is set in my home town, so of course I couldn't resist! The story starts out slow - a young British Pakistani man living in Bradford is left to raise his young son and newborn daughter when his wife dies in childbirth. His mother steps in to help, along with his best friend, and their two sons grow up like brothers. I was wondering if the pace was ever going to pick up - son Saahil starts school, toddler daughter Zahra nearly gets run over, the family travels to Birmingham to spend Eid with Amjad's obnoxious brother, all very ordinary - when suddenly the whole book exploded into a bumper edition of an EastEnders Christmas drama! Vicious beatings, homelessness, drugs, alcoholism, revenge attacks - I was completely thrown, but also hooked!

The characters are very well drawn and very sympathetic, particularly Zahra. The story covers twenty years of her life, and she grows up to be the smart, strong, sensible heart of the family. For me, the dialogue was stronger than the narrative, particularly the scenes between Saahil, Zahra and their friends, although the writing does 'mature' with the children. I also loved trying to place the settings!

An engaging and instructive story with a powerful political message for the current times.… (més)