Part memoir, part travelogue and part love letter, Shubnum Khan’s latest book takes readers on a journey around the world.
So popular is the author of How I Accidentally Became A Global Stock Photo and Other Strange and Wonderful Stories, that the cover reveal video on Shubnum’s Twitter account reached 10 000 views only four hours after it was posted. And the book has received interest and shout outs from influential individuals across the country. But for this freelance artist, writer and self-dubbed dreamer though, it’s not about the accolades. It’s about reaching people who are trying to be brave.
‘I’ve always loved reading and eventually I became interested in how to tell a story’, says the travelling Durbanite, whose first novel, Onion Tears, was shortlisted for the Penguin Prize for African Writing. Her new book draws from her life journey, which has been full of unexpected twists and turns, interspersed with reflections on culture and religion, as well as musings on family, relationships and love.
Whether it is teaching children in a remote village in the Himalayas, attending a writers’ residency where the movie The Blair Witch Project was shot, getting pulled out of the ocean in Turkey or becoming a bride on a rooftop in Shanghai, Shubnum is quirky, moving and vulnerable in what she shares. She offers an introspective reflection on what it means to be a woman, particularly a single Muslim woman in South Africa, trying to find herself in a modern world.
The Mindy Project meets Bridget Jones’s Diary with a side of Keeping Up With The Kandasamys, How I Accidentally Became a Global Stock Photo and Other Strange and Wonderful Stories is a book about holding on to hope, and a reminder that once you step off the edge, anything can happen.
‘It was easier to write the memoir than the novel, but also more scary, because you tend to touch on so many truths. Rejection for me is one of those. It really is one of the things that moulded me into who I am today.
‘It made me tougher and harder and, eventually, somehow also softer.’
Shubnum talks about these things in detail in the book which, in essence, is about a girl trying to find her way through life while having some crazy adventures around the world. But the real message she has set out to get across is that we all have a choice over who we become when bad things happen, because they do happen. It is how we deal with them that moulds us into who we ultimately become.
‘I think anyone can read this book, but it’s really for people who are trying to follow their own heart. For those who believe their path may not always be the one they’re given. It’s for anyone who is trying to be brave.’
Shubnum says when she reads over the book and reflects on some of the stories that describe her life growing up, she feels rich inside because she is able to laugh at the memories.
‘I remember how my sisters and I would run to the kitchen fridge to stick our heads inside and laugh, especially if there were visitors because we found everything funny or embarrassing. I think of my mum – the most practical, sensible, hardworking and generous woman who has taught me so much… about how not to get involved in drama, that the details DO matter, how to cook (I’m nowhere near as good as her), how to save money and most importantly, how to sacrifice stuff. My sisters and I would joke and call her the ‘sacrificer’ because she would sacrifice her chair, the best piece of meat, her dessert for us. I really aspire to that.’
With the pandemic putting a spanner in the works on Shubnum’s itchy travel toes, she’s enjoyed being back in the sizzling city she calls home, and has spent her days not only wrapping up her book, but also indulging in her love of drawing and self-reflecting.
‘You can only love yourself when you forgive yourself. That is a truth I know. Not only that, but I think when you start acknowledging your shortcomings and start making good choices, ones that you’re proud of, you slowly start to grow from there and your self-respect increases. The more you get to know yourself and understand yourself, the more you will see yourself as a friend and that’s the first step to self-love which leads to confidence. When you know who you are, you feel strong and secure. At my worst, I didn’t know who I was at all and that was when my self-confidence crumbled.
‘All I want for those whose paths I cross is to be able to remind them of who they really are. All I want out of life is to be able to always hold a sense of wonder. I’m glad I did the memoir but fiction will always be my first home. Now it’s time to organise some things in my life, hopefully get a vaccine and start travelling again. And maybe, perhaps, find a path to love.’
Details: shubnumkhan.com
