Review: Stained by Abda Khan

 

I closed my eyes. I wanted to see nothing, I  wanted to feel nothing. I just wanted darkness, blackness, but my eyes kept dragging me back to it all. And still, all I could hear was the tick tock, tick tock, tick tock. I put my hands over my ears, desperately trying to banish the incessant noise that was on repeat in my head, to no effect. How was I ever going to get that sound out of my head? Tick, tock, tick, tock, tick tock….

 

 

Stained is a story of a beautiful intelligent young British Pakistani woman whose life’s aspirations and dreams are put on hold due to the scandalous actions of a supposedly trusted member of society. This is only the surface summary of the story. The book delves into weighty and sensitive issues that those involved and those who look on, wish to sweep under the rug rather than face it head on, culling out the guilty and restoring justice and solace to the victim.

When I first read the premise of the book, what caught me was the social commentary that goes along with it. The story fit in to a category of books that we do not normally see in a library or a book store. The untold stories of victims of the rape culture we see simmering beneath the facade of what seems to be peaceful communities. What drives the actions of these misguided members of society and how the victims deal with the trauma is often unheard of. What is saddening, is to see that honour becomes more important than honesty, and the innocent in the face of society is disregarded.

Stained, no doubt, is a voice for women, loud and clear, from highlighting the unfair treatment of daughters, to disregarding of girls rights to education and most importantly to their consent in all its forms. Selina, goes on to achieve the unthinkable in this story by fighting for her name on her own, and in the end clearing her name of the dishonor that had befallen her.

On reading the story I must stress that this is a debut novel and the writing, though it could be better, doesn’t diminish the urgency and importance of Selina’s situation and the matter at hand. It is written in first person, and is an almost diary entry like narrative. This fits well with the story and her situation and it’s almost like Selina confides to the reader what she cannot confide in anyone around her. I don’t know if it was intentional but descriptions highlighted what was deemed important in these societies, and I felt very much immersed in the lifestyle Selina led.  In addition, the author peppers the book with symbolism,  tropes and metaphors at every turn which adds to the pathos of the story. We are left feeling overwhelmed at Selina’s unfortunate turn of events and the reactions she receives when she tries to be honest.

Ms. Khan also touches on issues of identity to children of migrant individuals. Is she British, or in this case is she Pakistani? Is her label otherwise, a Muslim? The diversity of Selina’s character is in these questions she’s seeking answers to. I’m pretty sure any individual in her shoes will have a similar questioning of identity and these are issues that are not often talked about, yet something numerous people are affected by this situation.

 

 

Many thanks to Adba Khan and Harvard Square Editions for sending me a copy in exchange of an honest review. I enjoyed the book very much 🙂

You can get your copy of Stained @ Amazon 

 

If you have read Stained, what are your thoughts on the story? Is justice restored to Selina and the other victims? Do they fully recover from such incidents?  What is the role that authors plays removing the stigma of rape culture victims? Is it more important than we think it to be?

 

 

 

 

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