The Djinn’s Apple by Djamila Morani and translated by Sawad Hussain is one of the books that I’m most excited for this year. I should actually have been reviewing it for this tour, but because of various technical difficulties on my end, I’m going to have to wait and review at a later date.
As former linguist (does anyone ever really stop being a linguist?) I’m especially excited by the fact that this book won an English PEN Translates Award. Good literary translations are really difficult to do, so I’m excited to look at Hussain’s work.
Morani’s novel is described on the Neem Tree Press site as:
Historical fiction meets crime fiction in The Djinn’s Apple, an award-winning YA murder mystery set in the Abbasid period—the golden age of Baghdad.
A ruthless murder. A magical herb. A mysterious manuscript.
When Nardeen’s home is stormed by angry men frantically in search of something—or someone—she is the only one who manages to escape. And after the rest of her family is left behind and murdered, Nardeen sets out on an unyielding mission to bring her family’s killers to justice, regardless of the cost…
Full of mystery and mayhem, The Djinn’s Apple is perfect for fans of Arabian Nights, City of Brass, and The Wrath and the Dawn.
The book comes out on February 29th, 2024. You can buy your copy direct from the publisher here, or from your usual bookshop.
THE INQUISITIVE NEWT 
Brilliant review
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