GRANT LEISHMAN
  • ABOUT
  • MY BOOKS
    • THE SECOND COMING
    • RISE OF THE ANTICHRIST
    • HOLY WAR
    • JUST A DROP IN THE OCEAN
    • PARANORMAL ALLEY
    • TORTURED MINDS
    • THE PHOTOGRAPH
  • ARE YOU AN AUTHOR?
  • MY BLOG
  • Be A Part of the LIMITLESS Anthology
  • BOOK REVIEWS
    • BOOK REVIEWS
  • CONTACT & LINKS
  • AFFILIATE - Rachel McGrath
  • THAT'S LIFE
    • FOOD - PINOY STYLE
    • THE GREAT BEETROOT HUNT
    • GETTING AROUND THE METRO
  • PHILIPPINES
    • PLACES TO VISIT >
      • BORACAY
      • OCCIDENTAL MINDORO
  • SPORT
    • NEW ZEALAND SPORT
    • PHILIPPINE SPORT
  • TRANSFORMATIVE POWER
    • THE SECRET
  • GALLERY
  • ABOUT
  • MY BOOKS
    • THE SECOND COMING
    • RISE OF THE ANTICHRIST
    • HOLY WAR
    • JUST A DROP IN THE OCEAN
    • PARANORMAL ALLEY
    • TORTURED MINDS
    • THE PHOTOGRAPH
  • ARE YOU AN AUTHOR?
  • MY BLOG
  • Be A Part of the LIMITLESS Anthology
  • BOOK REVIEWS
    • BOOK REVIEWS
  • CONTACT & LINKS
  • AFFILIATE - Rachel McGrath
  • THAT'S LIFE
    • FOOD - PINOY STYLE
    • THE GREAT BEETROOT HUNT
    • GETTING AROUND THE METRO
  • PHILIPPINES
    • PLACES TO VISIT >
      • BORACAY
      • OCCIDENTAL MINDORO
  • SPORT
    • NEW ZEALAND SPORT
    • PHILIPPINE SPORT
  • TRANSFORMATIVE POWER
    • THE SECRET
  • GALLERY
GRANT LEISHMAN

in the company of strangers by awais khan

12/8/2019

2 Comments

 
Picture
Picture
Reviewed For Readers' Favorite by Grant Leishman 

​In the Company of Strangers is the debut novel from Awais Khan. It takes us inside the elite classes of Pakistani society and exposes the hypocrisy and double-standards of Pakistani life, especially from the perspective of the women of that country. Mona, a forty-one-year-old Socialite in Lahore has been married to construction magnate, Bilal for over twenty years, who although he loves her dearly is a typically conservative, male Muslim Pakistani who firmly believes a woman’s place is in the home, demure, quiet and always ready to service her man whenever he requires it. If necessary, Bilal will reinforce his dominance with physical violence, although, of course there is no problem with Bilal having a string of girlfriends and affairs. Mona has everything materially she could ever wish for but she lacks the one thing she needs more than anything - love. With her children grown and studying in Canada, Mona struggles with the meaningless circuit of gossiping, backstabbing, society women. When she meets Ali, an aspiring young, male model, whose desire to help his mother and especially his brother, who lost his leg in a terrorist bombing now has him floating on the edges of the terrorist’s threat, their mutual attraction is undeniable. When her best friend during her student days, Meera, the successful owner of a modeling agency, returns to town, Mona finally feels emboldened to try to break free from her gilded prison.     

In the Company of Strangers is an incredibly powerful story of love and loss in a country trying to come to terms with the juxtaposition of twenty-first century morality and conservative Muslim lore and law. Mona, as a character, was a bold effort, especially on debut, from author Awais Khan. He manages to successfully capture the many sides of this complicated character and the difficult, near impossible position she finds herself in. The author’s ability to capture the raw emotion of the characters and the horror of the terrorist’s actions is admirable and a credit to his writing abilities. For those of us who live outside of Pakistan he was able to provide a clear insight into the workings of a predominantly Muslim country and their social contracts, such as marriage. As I social commentary on modern-day Pakistan I was enthralled and as a story of love, loss and hope, I was captivated. Khan clearly has real ability and by concentrating for his debut novel on something he clearly knew, understood and had probably lived he was able to bring real urgency and believability to his work. Full of emotion and action, this is a thoroughly readable story that I can highly recommend. I look forward to more work from this clearly highly talented author.    


Picture
You can find, In the Company of Strangers, here on Awais Khan's Amazon page: 

2 Comments
Carole Parkes
14/8/2019 20:43:28

Wow! It sounds powerful in getting the double standards across. Another one for my TBR list.

Reply
Grant Leishman
16/8/2019 10:02:33

Hi Carole, thanks for your comment. Yes, it was very powerful in that respect. What I personally liked the most was the insight it gave me into a culture and religion I knew very little about. Double standards, it seems, are inherent in all cultures and religions....lol

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    Please Subscribe

    Author

    In this section I will review books I have read. All the opinions expressed here are my personal opinions only.

    Archives

    August 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015

    Categories

    All
    Anthologies
    Children's
    Contemporary Lit
    Dystopian
    Fantasy
    Fantasy/Romance/Erotica
    Historical Fiction
    Humour
    Mystery/Mayhem
    Non Fiction/Memoirs
    Non-Fiction/Memoirs
    Romance/Adventure
    Science Fiction
    Young Adult

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.