Every year hundreds of interesting and quirky books slip under our radar thanks to information overload. In this series, we highlight books published this year you may have missed that are worth a second look.

Scottish doctor and author Suhayl Saadi published his third book this year, a fictional ‘magical realism’ story titled Joseph’s Box.

Born in Yorkshire to Afghan-Pakistani parents, he says the book draws from his heritage, albeit in an abstract way.

“It draws on multiple religious, historical and folk-tale narratives. The central motif refers to the Islamic (or should one say, the ‘Judeo-Islamic’?) story of ‘Yusuf and Zuleikha’, which, in the end, is a quest narrative, a search for unity through the attainment of spiritual beauty,” he says.

His first book, a short story collection called The Burning Mirror (2001), was shortlisted for the Saltire Society Scottish First Book of the Year Award.

His debut novel Psychoraag was described in the Guardian as an: “ambitious first novel ….about race and invisibility, voice and silence, whose central theme is the question of whether anyone out there is actually listening.”

In Joseph’s Box, Recently-bereaved Zuleikha MacBeth wades into the Clyde one morning and recovers a large box, with which she becomes obsessed. The discovery of the box brings her together with Alex, a lute-playing clerk, and they manage to open the box – only to find six further boxes inside which they can only open once they have followed cryptic clues.

The clues lead Zulie and Alex on a physical and emotional journey modulated through music across Glasgow, Argyllshire, Lincolnshire, Sicily, Lahore, and finally the frozen peaks of the ‘Roof of the World’.

He says the book draws on a wide framework of cultural and spiritual reference, with touches of sensuality and magical realism.

Saadi is also a aidely published dramatist and poet. His radio and stage plays include: The Dark Island (BBC Radio 4 in 2004), Saame Sita (2003), The White Cliffs (2004), and The Garden of the Fourteenth Moon (2006).

www.josephsbox.co.uk
Interview with the author on Kitaab Online