Edgware Road: Yasmin Cordery Khan

Product Information

However, the key difference here is that there are a large number of narrative threads opened by Khan, including Khalid’s involvement with the BCCI, Alia’s relationship with her family in Pakistan, Denby’s troubled home life – just to name a handful. These plot moments, amongst others, do not feel fully explored. Continuing on, it strikes us how handsome much of the architecture is along here. An art deco gem is now inhabited by a Waitrose. And to think this looks like it was once a grand theatre or cinema. We later discover it was a Woolworths. You might argue it's a classier joint than it ever was before. We are still just about in Touristville at the southern end of Edgware Road, as evidenced by a carousel of royal postcards. But this is pretty much as far as most workaday tourists will venture.

As the Arabic script sandwich boards and estate agent windows suggest, we are now entering what came to be known as 'Little Beirut'. Arabs have descended on Edgware Road since the end of the 19th century and have long since transformed it into one of central London's most characterful thoroughfares — an infinitely more interesting pavement to pound than nearby Oxford Street or Tottenham Court Road. Just up from it, on the other side of the road, a beautiful pawnbrokers appears to have weathered the centuries well. Earlier images online suggest it's been going since 1797. In search of more shade, we retreat to leafy Paddington Green, which comes with the added bonus of a grass sprinkler.Where do you find a lost father? In the mirror, in the sweep of an arched eyebrow, in the sheen of hair? In the echo of a phrase that comes in the night, passed on and learned.”

I must note that Alia’s character left a big impression on me because she grew so much as a character as the book progressed. As she learned more about her family, her father and the past, she found a sense of belonging and finally realised who she really is and for me, that is one of many strong messages that this book was trying to convey to the readers. Firstly, I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. It’s an ambitious book, well-written and thoughtful, and I think it’s pretty much achieved its ambitions. There is certainly more to it than I expected. I look forward to seeing how this is received by proper critics. This is a book full of delicious surprises! It starts with the slow-burn of a domestic drama of a family torn apart by one man's ambition and inability to control his gambling addiction, and then heads off into a glorious twisty and expansive mystery thriller that delves into corruption, ineptitude, and very dark deeds.

Pacing is also an issue. The first third of the novel is well paced, but the rest, from the middle section through to the conclusion, feels rushed. Alia’s on-off relationship with her flatmate goes nowhere, and whilst Denby’s perspective is an interesting one, he often reads like an afterthought and never quite earns his place in the story. There were lots of topics discussed in this book that did sometimes leave me feel confused and feeling like I’d missed something. However, I did really enjoy the way it was written and I loved that all the characters’ stories were interconnected. One evening he has a date with destiny, Mr K. (Adnan Kashoggi) walks into the casino with a sizeable entourage. On his departure he hands Khalid his business card. As Khalid learns more about Mr K.’s jet-set lifestyle he is intrigued. Khalid has a connection to BCCI bank and learns Mr.K needs an introduction.

The digitally native, all year round, online literature and books festival, with new content released every week is a free-for-all-users festival. The second timeline is set in 2003 and follows Alia Quraishi, Khalid’s daughter, as she is determined to find out what happened to her father in the late 80s when he just disappeared when she was just a little girl. Alia follows her faint memories of her father, which leads her to not only find out the destiny of her father but also allows her to explore her roots, her family relationships and herself. In the meantime, Lord Denby a Labour Peer for Oxford East is tipped off about the shady dealings of BCCI bank and slowly unravels the questionable financial activities that connect an international bank founded by a Pakistan Businessman that has branches on British soil. They and her grandmother are delighted to see her again. There are countless relatives at the party for her. She represents something. Alia’s father is Khalid, whom we meet first as a young man, a popular croupier in London’s Playboy Club. There are real people populating the story, and although I wasn’t familiar with the scandals, even I recognise some of the names, including Hugh Hefner, of course. That always makes something like this more interesting. The author is a highly regarded historian, and it’s obvious from this that she is very much at home writing about these people, places, and times.Seconds later, we come to The Green Man. Could this now be the only functioning pub left on Edgware Road? Khan notes, ‘it [Edgware Road] was a Roman Road - dead straight - that goes out to Edgware….it starts in Mayfair and then it goes out to money transfer shops and suburbs.’ The 24-hour reception staff are happy to help any time of the day. Start your morning the right way with an Italian coffee and breakfast in our coffee lounge, or stop off for a cake when you need a pit stop throughout the day. The story is told between two different time periods; 2003 where Alia Quraishi wants to know who her father was and what happened to the kind mind she remembers. And then the past, 1981, where the young Khalid Quraishi starts his dangerous life in gambling.