Khalid works hard and risks everything to give his daughter Alia the best he possibly can. The bond between father and daughter is a theme prevalent throughout the story. Khalid cuts an endearing figure. We come to Nawras, an emporium peddling luxury chocolates and dates — as well as glitzy trinkets to serve them from. Behind the till, Hannane tells us that it is largely customers from the Middle East who shop here. In this heat, juices and ice cream are wheeled out the front of the shop too. Just to the east, lies its Circle line cousin, where Allan Sly's sculpture of a window cleaner removes his cap and scratches his head in exasperation. Why? These three narrative threads are interwoven into a compelling structure with some solid characters, each perspective alternating between 1987 and 2003. Firstly, I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

But Khalid’s story also displays youth and how the world actually is your oyster for a while, and there really is jam tomorrow; and that such truths can in rare circumstances be multiplied by emigration, where some combination of displacement and survival instinct can result in meteoric climbing, both social as well as financial. The sounds on the radio conveyed the rhythm of something familiar, something comforting. The sound of her father on the telephone. “ But I can assure you that it’s worth the read, even if the beginning seems slow paced is like a spider web that attracts you and you don’t know how to leave.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. That’s all interesting, but it was the characters of Khalid and Alia I enjoyed most, and the contrast between their generations and the cultures and how people mix – or not. The story is narrated through the eyes of Alia, initially as a child and later as an academic at Oxford University. As the novel progresses and Alia reaches adulthood, her writings and observations become more succinct. At times, the novel feels autobiographical given the fact the author is an Associate Professor at Oxford.

A gripping family mystery with emotional depth and intriguing social context – Edgware Roadis a riveting, smartly-written debut.What a lovely debut! I was immediately hooked by a tale that I find hard to describe (and is probably why I enjoyed it so much). This is best described as a part character, part plot-driven mystery wrapped up in historical fiction. 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. Waves of Middle Eastern residents have brought with them great colour to this part of town. Including the many independent fruit stalls and supermarkets, with their unwrapped mounds of chilies, okra and baby aubergine.