Overview

In an old wardrobe a djinn sits weeping. It whimpers and murmurs small words of complaint. It sucks its teeth and berates the heavens for its fate. It curses the day it ever entered this damned house. Akbar Manzil was once a grand estate overlooking the sparkling ocean beyond South Africa's eastern coast. Now, its Palladian windows and marble parapets, its golden domes and Romanesque towers have fallen into disrepair. Now, Akbar Manzil is where people come to forget, or to be forgotten. Teenage Sana arrives with her father, Bilal, both of them hoping for a fresh start after the tragedies that have blighted their family. But when the ghost of Sana's sister alerts her to the presence of a djinn that lingers just out of reach in the shadowy corners of the house, Sana embarks on a quest to uncover the history of her unnerving new home. Soon, her own story intertwines with that of a young woman who lived there some eighty years earlier, a woman whose tragic fate holds the key to Akbar Manzil's ultimate secret. Endlessly playful and richly imaginative, Shubnum Khan's vibrant debut delves into the transformative powers of love and grief as it explores the legacy of South Africa's complicated past.

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9780861546268

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Reviews

'A cracking novel... Shubnum Khan unfolds a devastating history woven into the present with mastery and poise.'  -- Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, author of The First Woman 'With its shades of The House of Spirits and Rebecca, is one of the best books I've read this year... Khan's gorgeous writing lays bare what it means to love, grieve, haunt and, ultimately, let go.' -- Sarah Addison Allen, NYT-bestselling author of Garden Spells 'Filled with wonder and colour, the secrets of the dilapidated mansion Akbar Manzil come to life in this rich tale of loss and love... I was enthralled and completely swept away.' -- Yangsze Choo, bestselling author of The Night Tiger 'An utterly intoxicating novel that hums with life... Full of mirth and full of gore. Its pages will leave you breathless, haunted.' -- Karina Lickorish Quinn, author of The Dust Never Settles 'A dark and heady dream of a book, which reveals itself in layers as a gothic horror, a tragic romance, and a classic coming-of-age tale. Hauntingly gorgeous.' -- Alix E. Harrow, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January 'South African novelist Khan blends gothic tropes with Indian mythology in her poignant [UK] debut... Playful and evocative.' -- Publishers Weekly 'Beautiful, just beautiful... Filled with everything that makes for an absorbing read: love, intrigue, conflict, mystique, and so much character.'

'Filled with wonder and colour, the secrets of the dilapidated mansion Akbar Manzil come to life in this rich tale of loss and love... I was enthralled and completely swept away.' -- Yangsze Choo, bestselling author of The Night Tiger 'A dark and heady dream of a book, which reveals itself in layers as a gothic horror, a tragic romance, and a classic coming-of-age tale. Hauntingly gorgeous.' -- Alix E. Harrow, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January

'Grand and gorgeous and brave... A novel that is an ambitious delight, with rich characters and some exceptionally lovely writing.' New York Times 'In lively, beautiful prose that seems to almost dance across the page, Khan expertly repackages gothic and supernatural tropes into a richly imagined coming of age treat.' Daily Mail 'Filled with wonder and colour... I was enthralled and completely swept away.' Yangsze Choo, bestselling author of The Night Tiger 'With its shades of The House of Spirits and Rebecca, is one of the best books I've read this year... Gorgeous.' Sarah Addison Allen, NYT-bestselling author of Garden Spells 'A dark and heady dream of a book, which reveals itself in layers as a gothic horror, a tragic romance, and a classic coming-of-age tale. Hauntingly gorgeous.' Alix E. Harrow, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January 'A cracking novel... Shubnum Khan unfolds a devastating history woven into the present with mastery and poise.' Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, author of The First Woman 'An utterly intoxicating novel that hums with life... Full of mirth and full of gore. Its pages will leave you breathless, haunted.' Karina Lickorish Quinn, author of The Dust Never Settles 'Lush, sweeping, gloriously eerie... Shubnum Khan is a writer of rare and luminous imagination.' Violet Kupersmith, author of Build Your House Around My Body 'Shubnum's magical storytelling creates a dark and luscious mood, where every character is expertly given life. Rich with family and community, this is a novel full of redemptive love.' Melody Razak, author of Moth 'South African novelist Khan blends gothic tropes with Indian mythology in her poignant [UK] debut... Playful and evocative.' Publishers Weekly 'Beautiful, just beautiful... Filled with everything that makes for an absorbing read: love, intrigue, conflict, mystique, and so much character.' Siphiwe Gloria Ndlovu, author of the City of Kings trilogy 'The Djinn Waits A Hundred Years is a cinematic spectacular, rife with doomed love and vengeful spirits and a lurking violence always waiting to pounce. Shubnum Khan has written a gorgeous gothic mystery, a fascinating meditation on the nature of forgiveness and time.' Julia Fine, author of Maddalena and the Dark 'An atmospheric and haunting novel that transports you from India to Durban across a hundred years in search of answers to a long-forgotten love story. Perfect for fans of Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca, Elif Shafak’s The Island of Missing Trees and Neema Shah’s Kololo Hill.' Marie Claire, 'Summer Reads' 'A moving and utterly glorious gothic update.' Irish Daily Mail

'Filled with wonder and colour, the secrets of the dilapidated mansion Akbar Manzil come to life in this rich tale of loss and love... I was enthralled and completely swept away.' -- Yangsze Choo, bestselling author of The Night Tiger 'A dark and heady dream of a book, which reveals itself in layers as a gothic horror, a tragic romance, and a classic coming-of-age tale. Hauntingly gorgeous.' -- Alix E. Harrow, author of The Ten Thousand Doors of January 'Haunting and healing, The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years, with its shades of The House of Spirits and Rebecca, is one of the best books I've read this year. Touches of literary magical realism are made accessible by an earnest young protagonist, and Khan's gorgeous writing lays bare what it means to love, grieve, haunt and, ultimately, let go.' -- Sarah Addison Allen, NYT-bestselling author of Garden Spells

Author Information

Shubnum Khan is a South African author and artist. Her first novel, Onion Tears (2011) was shortlisted for the Penguin Prize for African Writing and the University of Johannesburg Debut Fiction Prize. Her writing has also appeared in the New York Times, McSweeney's, HuffPost, Oprah Magazine, The Sunday Times, Marie Claire, and others. She has a degree in Media Studies and a Master's in English from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Her essay collection, How I Accidentally Became a Stock Photo was published in South Africa and India by Pan Macmillan in 2021.

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