The Khan
The Khan by Saima Mir
Reviewed by Linda
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The Khan is a gripping and thought-provoking novel that examines the internalised power struggle of a tight-knit organised crime unit governing the streets of the North. But it is also the intimate story of the Khan family, simultaneously drawn together and torn apart by betrayal, murder, and allegiance.
Delving deep into the heart of this Bradford criminal underworld, we meet Akbar Khan, the eminent ruler of his community, the defender of the land, and revered by his people. Above every common law, and with only God to answer to, it is solely death that can make such a man relinquish his power and surrender his empire, built on blood and crime, to his children.
It doesn't need explaining that this setup feeds into the patriarchy but in a twist of fate, it is Jia Khan, Akbar's eldest daughter, who takes the baton and gives into the pitfalls of greed and the seduction of power to assume leadership. A well-seasoned and successful London lawyer, Jia is hardened by grief and guilt and what appears to be the courage to escape from the inherited Jirga life at the start of the novel, changes so finely throughout the story that her conversion to the dark side is almost seamless.
Steeped in controversy and intrigue, The Khan is the ultimate novel that will test your conscience and moral compass. And it is Saima's penmanship and ability to blur the lines between chivalry and corruption that makes the book a modern masterpiece and I'm speaking this into the universe here, befitting of a stellar TV adaptation.
