The Djinn Waits A Hundred Years | Shubnum Khan

Sana and Meena will never meet. They share little beyond Akbar Manzil, the sprawling mansion high on a clifftop above Durban that they both call home. When Meena fell in love with the owner of the house it was the grandest residence on South Africa’s eastern coast, its shining marble parapets and golden domes a testament to the wealthy Indian family’s prosperity.

Eight decades later when teenage Sana follows in her footsteps, Akbar Manzil stands in ruins, an isolated boarding house for eccentrics and misfits. This is a place where people come to forget. Or to be forgotten.

But unlike her neighbours Sana is curious about her new home, and finds herself irresistibly drawn to its deserted east wing. As she moves closer to unearthing Meena’s story, a grieving djinn begins to stir from its long sleep.

Shubnum Khan is a South African author and artist. Her first novel, Onion Tears (Penguin South Africa, 2011) was shortlisted for the Penguin Prize for African Writing and the University of Johannesburg Debut Fiction Prize. Her writing has also appeared in The New York Times, McSweeney’s, HuffPost, Oprah Magazine, The Sunday Times, Marie Claire, and others. She has a degree in Media Studies and a Master’s in English from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Her essay collection, How I Accidentally Became a Stock Photo was published in South Africa and India by Pan Macmillan in 2021.