The Miraculous True History of Nomi Ali

Khan (Thinner than Skin) draws on the history of a British prison colony on the Andaman Islands in this carefully plotted examination of power and oppression. The story opens on the morning Japanese soldiers arrive on the archipelago in 1942 and oscillates throughout the better part of 11 years, from 1936, when a political prisoner known only as 218 D (D for dangerous) is brought to the island, to 1947, when Britain’s rule in India ends. At the core are four vividly drawn characters; along with 218 D, there are siblings Zee and Nomi and their friend Aye, all “Local Borns.” In Khan’s intricately intertwined narrative, the characters experience the brutalizing rule of the various occupiers. Upon embarrassing a Japanese soldier during an incident on the street involving a chicken, Zee must flee or suffer dire consequences. 218 D joins a hunger strike in the prison, where Aye witnesses horrible atrocities while working for the jail’s superintendent. Nomi is swept up in the drama, and Khan unfolds her story of survival, which bears out to be miraculous indeed. Khan engages readers with a confident style and seamless storytelling. Agent: Laura Susijn, Susijn Agency. (Apr.)