All PDF Details And All in one Detail like Improve Your Knowledge
Friday, June 28, 2024
#BlogTour – #BookReview of #NorthernBoy by Iqbal Hussain @ihussainwriter @Unbounders @RandomTTours #RamdomThingsTours
For my first post of the day I'm delighted to welcome you to my stop on the blog tour for the life affirming and joyous Northern Boy by Iqbal Hussain. Thank you to Anne Cater and Unbound for giving me the opportunity to read and review this abs…
For my first post of the day I'm delighted to welcome you to my stop on the blog tour for the life affirming and joyous Northern Boy by Iqbal Hussain. Thank you to Anne Cater and Unbound for giving me the opportunity to read and review this absolutely wonderful gem of a book.
About the book:
Joyful, defiant and dazzling, this is the story of Rafi Aziz – a Northern boy dreaming of his name up in lights.
It's 1981 in the suburbs of Blackburn and, as Rafi's mother reminds him daily, the family moved here from Pakistan to give him the best opportunities.
But Rafi longs to follow his own path. Flamboyant, dramatic and musically gifted, he wants to be a Bollywood star.
Twenty years later, Rafi is flying home from Australia for his best friend's wedding. He has everything he ever wanted: starring roles in musical theatre, the perfect boyfriend and freedom from expectation. But returning to Blackburn is the ultimate test: can he show his true self to his community?
Navigating family and identity from boyhood to adulthood, as well as the changing eras of ABBA, skinheads and urbanisation, Rafi must follow his heart to achieve his dreams.
About the author:
Iqbal Hussain is a writer from Blackburn, Lancashire and he lives in London. His work appears in various anthologies and on websites including The Willowherb Review, The Hopper and caughtbytheriver.
He is a recipient of the inaugural London Writers' Awards 2018 and he won Gold in the Creative Future Writers' Awards 2019. In 2022, he won first prize in Writing Magazine's Grand Flash competition and was joint runner-up in the Evening Standard Short Story Competition. In 2023, his story 'I'll Never Be Young Again' won first prize in the Fowey Festival of Arts and Literature short story competition. He was also Highly Commended in the Emerging Writer Award from The Bridge Award.
Northern Boy is his first novel.
My Review:
Debut novel Northern Boy is a life affirming and joyous read that I honestly can't praise highly enough! Iqbal Hussain has written a lovely, warm and uplifting book that I must say has completely stolen my heart. It is a hard hitting yet charming story about life, love, family and acceptance.
It tells the story of Rafi Aziz, a Northern boy who dreams of being a Bollywood star. Growing up in the very different world of 1980's Blackburn, Rafi is flamboyant, dramatic and musically gifted. But, following their move from Pakistan, all his family want is for him to grow up and take advantage of the best opportunities the UK has to offer.
Twenty years later Rafi has everything he ever wanted, a successful career and a life free from expectation. But then an invitation to his best friends wedding arrives and Rafi finds his life turned upside down once again. Now living in Australia with his boyfriend, Rafi returns home to the ultimate test: can he be his true self in front of his community? And if he does will they accept him for who he truly is?
In a story that goes from 1981 through to the early twenty first century, we accompany Rafi as he learns to navigate the ups and downs of life, from the changing world around him to the growing awareness of his own awakening identity. Following his heart to achieve his dreams, can Rafi achieve everything his heart desires at the same time as being someone his family can be proud of?
Northern Boy by Iqbal Hussain is a beautifully written coming of age tale that explores themes of life, love, family, awakening sexuality and faith. It is a stunning debut novel, full of a warmth and humour that really does make your heart sing.
A sparkling gem of a debut novel that I wouldn't hesitate to recommend.
Northern Boy by Iqbal Hussain is available to buy now:
Follow along with the blog tour to see what these other fabulous bloggers have to say about this book:
No comments:
Post a Comment