Hashim & Family

An Observer Best Book of 2020

'A story of quiet striving and determination, of love and friendship' Guardian

It is New Year's Eve, 1960. Hashim has left behind his homeland and his bride, Munira, to seek his fortune in England. His cousin and only friend, Rofikul, introduces Hashim to life in Manchester - including Rofikul's girlfriend, Helen. When Munira arrives, the group must learn what it is to be a family.

Over the next twenty years, they make their way in the new country - putting down roots and building a home. But when war breaks out in East Pakistan, the struggle for liberation and the emergence of Bangladesh raises questions about identity, belonging and loyalty.

Hashim & Family is a story of family ties, of migration and of a connection to home, and is the debut of an extraordinary new talent.

“A personal migrant experience told with beauty and insight”

Stylist
A riveting debut inspired by the writer's personal immigrant experience . . . An exquisite epic about the ties each of us share with our family and homeland Bookriot
A likeable celebration of female friendship as well as the often unsung heroism of migrant experiences Sunday Times Culture
Shahnaz Ahsan recalls how shopping and cooking with her Bengali family in Manchester shaped her life and her debut novel Observer Food Monthly
A story of quiet striving and determination, of love and friendship Guardian
Ahsan's biggest triumph is that her characters feel innately Bangladeshi . . . Her flowing prose is impressive with an ease and smoothness to it Daily Star
A wonderful, enriching read, everything I want in a novel: epic, engaging, insightful and honest Observer New Review

Shahnaz Ahsan was born and raised in Keighley, West Yorkshire, and is of Bangladeshi heritage.

An award-winning writer of short stories, she holds degrees from the University of Oxford, the University of Bradford and the University of Pennsylvania, where she was a Thouron Award scholar.

She has lived in London, Philadelphia and Addis Ababa, but her flattened northern vowels remain victorious.

It is New Year's Eve, 1960. Hashim has left behind his homeland and his bride, Munira, to seek his fortune in England. His cousin and only friend, Rofikul, introduces Hashim to life in Manchester - including Rofikul's girlfriend, Helen. When Munira arrives, the group must learn what it is to be a family.Over the next twenty years, they make their way in the new country - putting down roots and building a home. But when war breaks out in East Pakistan, the struggle for liberation and the emergence of Bangladesh raises questions about identity, belonging and loyalty. Hashim & Family is a story of family ties, of migration and of a connection to home, and is the debut of an extraordinary new talent.

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