Nazneen Sadiq was born in Srinagar, Kashmir and studied philosophy and literature at Punjab University before she emigrated to Canada in 1964. Sadiq lives in Thornhill, Ontario and is perhaps best known as a writer of young adult or adolescent fiction. She also writes fiction for adults and poetry. Her most recent books have been issued under the name Nazneen Sheikh, including two autobiographic works, Tea and Pomegranates (2005) and Moon Over Marakkech (2010).
Fiction (Juvenile)
Camels Can Make You Homesick and Other Stories
Illustrated by Mary Cserepy.
Toronto: Lorimer, 1985.
Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)
Growing up can be difficult and confusing for anyone—especially if you’re growing up in two cultures at the same time.
The five stories in this book examine both the harmonies and dissonances of growing up Canadian and East Indian….
Awards and Honours
1985 Canadian Children’s Book Centre Our Choice Selection
Fiction
Chopin People
Toronto: Lugus Publications, 1994.
Fiction (Juvenile)
Heartbreak High
Toronto: J. Lorimer, 1988.
Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)
Rachel and Tariq are high school students who are crazy about each other. Rachel is Jewish and Tariq is Muslim, and they find themselves fighting with their parents and even with each other.
Fiction
Ice Bangles
Toronto: James Lorimer, 1988.
PS8587 .A239 I2 1988
Publisher’s Synopsis
As a young bride, Naila Siraj arrives in Toronto from Pakistan with four suitcases of saris. She has left her parents’ wealthy home in Karachi for a cramped downtown apartment with a hide-a-bed. Ice Bangles is the story of Naila’s adventures as she attempts to adjust to Canadian life.
Fiction
I Left You Behind
Toronto: Mawenzi House, 2024.
Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)
Spanning several decades and three countries, these enchanting short stories dwell unsentimentally on shifting homes and lost ancestral homelands, distant memories and fragmented family ties. Largely inspired by the author’s own life experiences, they depict close parental bonds, poignant encounters, tragedies and personal triumphs.
Injustice, the importance of education and a love of literature are recurring themes in the more autobiographical stories. At the age of thirteen in Pakistan “the girl” is forced to learn to read the Quran, without understanding its verses until adulthood. During a school year spent in Texas, she witnesses the ugly realities of American racism and segregation. At university in Pakistan, she visits a teenaged royal bride who is forced to observe purdah, to whom she later sends samples of classical English fiction, in the hope of inspiring her, and being a comfort and an inspiration. Years later, she visits her former philosophy professor at Oxford, with whom she shares her decision to become a writer.
These are stories of dislocation, relocation, and longing, evoking the physical and mental isolation made so tangible during the Covid pandemic. Rich in dialogue and description, the sixteen stories are Persian carpets, interwoven with numerous threads to produce a vivid tapestry of lives lived.
Fiction
Lucy (Juvenile)
Toronto: Lorimer, 1989.
Based on characters and stories from the TV series Degrassi Junior High.
Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)
Lucy knows she’s a bit on the wild side—she likes to take risks and shock her friends—but that’s what being a teenager is all about. Anyway, Lucy also knows that everyone at Degrassi thinks she’s pretty cool
Fiction
The Place of Shining Light
Nazneen Sheikh.
Toronto: House of Anansi, 2015.
Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)
Three men race against time to take possession of a sacred 5,000-year-old Buddhist sculpture: Khalid, a leading Pakistani antiquities dealer, arranges for the illegal importation of the statue from neighbouring Afghanistan. Ghalib, a wealthy art collector with political aspirations, has purchased the statue for his private collection. Adeel, a highly recommended ex-military officer, is hired by Khalid to transport the sculpture to its final destination.
When Adeel first views the statue in a cave in Bamiyan — known as “the place of shining light” — he has a profound spiritual reaction and decides to steal the sculpture for himself. When Khalid and Ghalib realize their prized possession is missing, they conspire to do whatever it takes to have it returned — before it’s lost forever.
Taking readers on a wild journey from the valleys of Afghanistan, to the magical mountain kingdoms of Northern Pakistan, and the diplomatic enclaves of Islamabad, The Place of Shining Light is a riveting and timely story of art, war, greed, and spirituality.
Selected Criticism and Interpetation
Jones, Raymond E., and Jon C. Stott. Canadian Children’s Books: A Critical Guide to Authors and Illustrators. Don Mills, Ont.: Oxford University Press, 2000.
PS8081 .S86 2000
Links
Publisher James Lorimer
Publisher House of Anansi
Publisher Mawenzi House
Nazneen Sheikh on The Moon Over Marrakech: A Memoir of Loving too Deeply in a Foreign Land, part of CBC Radio One’s The Next Chapter with Shelagh Rogers, episode “Nazneen Sheikh” first broadcast January 31, 2011. Also available is an extended interview