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SHORTLISTED FOR THE DIVERSE BOOK AWARDS
'Tender, challenging and as warm as it was razor-sharp' Beth O'Leary
'If you've read Joanna Cannon I think you'll love this' Simon Savidge
'A sublimely witty and touching story' Jonathan Coe
The standout new novel by acclaimed author Ayisha Malik - perfect for fans of David Nicholls and Candice Carty-Williams.
In the sleepy village of Babel's End, trouble is brewing.
Bilal Hasham is having a mid-life crisis. His mother has just died, and he finds peace lying in a grave he's dug in the garden. His elderly Auntie Rukhsana has come to live with him, and forged an unlikely friendship with village busybody, Shelley Hawking. His wife Mariam is distant and distracted, and his stepson Haaris is spending more time with his real father.
Bilal's mother's dying wish was to build a mosque in Babel's End, but when Shelley gets wind of this scheme, she unleashes the forces of hell. Will Bilal's mosque project bring his family and his beloved village together again, or drive them apart?
Warm, wise and laugh-out-loud funny, This Green and Pleasant Land is a life-affirming look at love, faith and the meaning of home.
About the author
Ayisha Malik is a writer and editor, living in South London. She holds a BA in English Literature and a First Class MA in Creative Writing. Her novels
Sofia Khan is Not Obliged and
The Other Half of Happiness, starring 'the Muslim Bridget Jones', were met with great critical acclaim, and
Sofia Khan is Not Obliged was chosen as 2019's Cityread book. Ayisha was a WHSmith Fresh Talent Pick, shortlisted for the Asian Women of Achievement Award and Marie Claire's Future Shapers Awards. Ayisha is also the ghost writer for
The Great British Bake Off winner, Nadiya Hussain.
Summary
Timely, humorous and deeply moving. This is the absolute standout new novel by acclaimed author (and 2018 Asian Woman of Achievement nominee) Ayisha Malik.
Foreword
LONGLISTED FOR THE DIVERSE BOOK AWARDS 2020
Timely, humorous and deeply moving. This is the absolute standout new novel by acclaimed author (and 2018 Asian Woman of Achievement nominee) Ayisha Malik
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I absolutely devoured this book . . . It was tender, challenging and as warm as it was razor-sharp - I was in awe of Ayisha's ability to cut you to the core in one paragraph and make you laugh in the next. Every single character was fascinating, and so many of them stayed with me after finishing the book that I was basically carrying the whole village round in my head for a while . . . Beth O'Leary, author of The Flatshare
