Awais Khan: No Honour [2021] paperback

A young woman defies convention in a small Pakistani village, with devastating results for her and her family. A stunning, immense beautiful novel about courage, family and the meaning of love, when everything seems lost...

'A compelling and compassionate story' Anna Mazzola, author of The Story Keeper

'A shocking portrait of lives lived under the shadow of threat and prejudice. A brave book' Vaseem Khan, author of the Inspector Chopra series

'A bold, gifted storyteller, dealing with a gritty, thorny issue of female honour. Compulsive reading' Qaisra Shahraz MBE, author of The Holy Woman

'Beautifully written and immersive, No Honour starts with a powerful opening that propels you into the shocking themes. A must-read' Sarah Pearse, author of The Sanatorium

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In sixteen-year-old Abida's small Pakistani village, there are age-old rules to live by, and her family's honour to protect. And, yet, her spirit is defiant and she yearns to make a home with the man she loves.

When the unthinkable happens, Abida faces the same fate as other young girls who have chosen unacceptable alliances - certain, public death. Fired by a fierce determination to resist everything she knows to be wrong about the society into which she was born, and aided by her devoted father, Jamil, who puts his own life on the line to help her, she escapes to Lahore and then disappears.

Jamil goes to Lahore in search of Abida - a city where the prejudices that dominate their village take on a new and horrifying form - and father and daughter are caught in a world from which they may never escape.

Moving from the depths of rural Pakistan, riddled with poverty and religious fervour, to the dangerous streets of over-populated Lahore, No Honour is a story of family, of the indomitable spirit of love in its many forms ... a story of courage and resilience, when all seems lost, and the inextinguishable fire that lights one young woman's battle for change.

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'So powerful' Heat magazine

'Addictive, brave and powerful' Louise Fein, author of People Like Us


'Deeply emotional' Eastern Eye

'A stunningly written, immensely important book' A. A. Chaudhuri

'Perfectly paced story structure and eloquent dialogue ... shocking, deeply moving and hugely important' Carol Lovekin

'A truly heart-wrenching tale of the human spirit's quest for love, freedom and survival' Tim Glister

'It will shake you, anger and sadden you, but also restore hope in the power of love to triumph over evil, even in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles' Tony Frobisher,Daily Times

'Soul deep, mind-blowing and heart-wrenching ... you are left reeling' Faiqa Mansab

'Khan is a masterful storyteller' Aliya Ali-Afzal

'Beautiful, striking and eye-opening' Louise Beech

'Khan writes about the dance between fathers and daughters, men and women, authority and no authority, and No Honour is a page-turner' Soniah Kamal

'Tense and gripping' Polly Crosby

'Beautifully rendered, moving and insightful ... this book is not always an easy read but it is a compelling and rewarding one' Neema Shah

'Spectacular... a joy from start to finish' Charlie Carroll

'Hypnotic, atmospheric and by the end, so hopeful' Sarah Sultoon

'This book is devastating, vitally important and beautifully written. Astonishing' Rob Parker

'Insightful and sympathetic to the unique experiences of women, whilst evoking the atmosphere of Lahore ... hard to put down' Alex Morrall

'An epic, gut-wrenching story of love and survival in the face of barbaric oppression' Heleen Kist

'A gripping, horrifying, compulsive read' Jennie Godfrey

'This is a book that will stay with me for a long time ... I was horrified by what I was reading but literally couldn't put this book down' Madeleine Black

'A compelling, brave and uplifting read for our time' Eve Smith

'Compelling main characters make it memorable and the heavy subject matter in handled the way it should have been - with empathy' Mashable