REVIEW_______________________________________________________________________
A World Rudely Awoken
By: Juwairiyyah Jeena
Review: Mirror Cracked
Author: Raashida Khan
I t’s been a while since I picked up a book
that drowned out surrounding sounds and
transported me to its setting. Made me feel
the same emotions the characters felt and
simultaneously stirring up my very own
emotions; while bringing personal prejudices
sprinting to the surface and provoking
perceptions of the little worlds that we create
for ourselves. Mirror Cracked had me torn
between my favourite TV series and its
gripping pages, the book won.
Author Raashida Khan (50), is a writer, content
creator, copywriter and “unicorn” as she calls
herself. Khan holds a BA Honors degree in
Economic History at the University of
KwaZulu-Natal. Khan worked at a bank and
then with NGO’s before starting her writing
career three and a half years ago. Written in the
first person, Mirror Cracked is a grasping novel
that gives insight into a Muslim family’s
“perfect” home and world that is rudely
unraveled by a series of traumatic events. Khan
uses three protagonists to tell this one story but
from three perspectives; while addressing taboo
topics such as gender identity, sexuality and
mental health, which are often frowned upon in
many societies and cultures.What was once
comfortable, loving and certain is now chaotic
and unidentifiable by Azraa and Fareed, two of
the three protagonists. Azraa is the female
protagonist in Mirror Cracked and is also one of
the people who seems to bare the brunt of all
the traumatic events that unfold. Her journey, a
long with the other two characters, is intriguing,
however, it is through these traumatic events
that Khan was able to objectively highlight the
strength of women as well as address the issues
of gender identity, sexuality and mental health.
“I’ve been inspired by many women in
my life and I like to write about strong
women characters. So that’s my basis,
to always be able to focus on women
and how they deal with challenges
and hardships in their lives. This
controversial topic of questioning
your gender identity came to me first”
Author Raashida Khan pictured above. Photo :Juwairriyyah Jeena