Ready to discover another great book for this 2021? Take a look…

No Honour by Awais Khan

Genre: Psychological Thriller
Source: Random Things Tours
Rating: 5/5
Publisher: Orenda Books
Amazon, Hive

About The Book

In sixteen-year-old Abida’s small Pakistani village, there are age-old rules to live by, and her family’s honour to protect. And, yet, her spirit is defiant and she yearns to make a home with the man she loves.
When the unthinkable happens, Abida faces the same fate as other young girls who have chosen unacceptable alliances – certain, public death. Fired by a fierce determination to resist everything she knows to be wrong about the society into which she was born, and aided by her devoted father, Jamil, who puts his own life on the line to help her, she escapes to Lahore – only to disappear.
Jamil goes to Lahore in search of Abida – a city where the prejudices that dominate their village take on a new and
horrifying form – and father and daughter are caught in a world from which they may never escape.

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My Thoughts

I think this is one of the most difficult books I’ve ever read, not because I didn’t “enjoy” the read, but because of the story that tells; so real that it’s impossible to not feel connected to it.
I don’t know when the “forced marriages” were explained to me, I think I was quite young and my mum was looking at a journal report on tv. My mum was almost crying and she tried to explain the situation to me, a young girl that probably in another country could be in the same situation; forced to marry a man you don’t know and being killed if you don’t accept it.
This is the story of Abida, who escapes from a traditional and conservative small village where her “future” seems to be planned to Lahore, the big city where dreams can be fulfilled, or at least that’s what she thinks…
I think this is a deep and difficult read; it talks about traditions and power, how difficult is for women to be listened and not be ignored by their family/friends just to follow the traditions/religion.
I don’t think I’ve ever read a story where you don’t want to continue reading but you can’t stop turning pages, where breathing is a pain and you don’t want to arrive at the end of the book scared of what the future awaits for the characters.
This is a must read, written with delicacy but with important values to transmit, a story that should be read.
Are you ready for “No Honour”?

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About The Author

Awais Khan is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario and Durham University, and studied creative writing with Faber Academy. His debut novel, In the Company of Strangers, was published to much critical acclaim, and he now regularly appears on TV and radio. Awais also teaches a popular online creative writing course to aspiring writers around the world. He lives in Lahore and is currently working on his third novel.