{"id":538,"date":"2012-06-15T19:35:05","date_gmt":"2012-06-15T19:35:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/library.ryerson.ca\/asianheritage\/authors\/nazneen-sadiq\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T13:13:04","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T17:13:04","slug":"sadiq","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/authors\/sadiq\/","title":{"rendered":"Nazneen Sadiq \/ Nazneen Sheikh"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Nazneen Sadiq was born in Srinagar, Kashmir. She moved with her family to Pakistan following India’s seizure of Kashmir. In her teens, she attended high school on scholarship in Texas. She earned a BA in philosophy and literature from Kinnaird College, University of the Punjab University prior to emigrated to Canada in 1964 with her first husband. Sadiq’s early writings were chiefly aimed at young adults and adolescents. She also writes fiction for adults, poetry and non-fiction.\u00a0 Her most recent books have been issued under the name Nazneen Sheikh, including two autobiographic works, Tea and Pomegranate<\/em>s: A Memoir of Food, Family and Kashmir<\/em> (2005) and Moon Over Marakkech: A Memoir of Loving Too Deeply in a Foreign Land<\/em> (2010). Nazneen Sheikh lives in Toronto.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Fiction (Juvenile)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Camels Can Make You Homesick and Other Stories<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Illustrated by Mary Cserepy.
Toronto: Lorimer, 1985.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Growing up can be difficult and confusing for anyone\u2014especially if you\u2019re 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….<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Awards and Honours<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

1985 Canadian Children’s Book Centre Our Choice Selection<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Fiction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Chopin People<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Toronto: Lugus Publications, 1994.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Fiction (Juvenile)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Heartbreak High<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Toronto: J. Lorimer, 1988.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Fiction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ice Bangles<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Toronto: James Lorimer, 1988.
PS8587 .A239 I2 1988<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher’s Synopsis<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Fiction (Short stories)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I Left You Behind<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Toronto: Mawenzi House, 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s own life experiences, they depict close parental bonds, poignant encounters, tragedies and personal triumphs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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 \u201cthe girl\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Fiction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lucy (Juvenile)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Toronto: Lorimer, 1989.
Based on characters and stories from the TV series Degrassi Junior High.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Lucy knows she’s a bit on the wild side\u2014she likes to take risks and shock her friends\u2014but that’s what being a teenager is all about. Anyway, Lucy also knows that everyone at Degrassi thinks she’s pretty cool<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Fiction<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Place of Shining Light<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Nazneen Sheikh.
Toronto: House of Anansi, 2015.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher’s Synopsis (From its website)<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Adeel first views the statue in a cave in Bamiyan \u2014 known as \u201cthe place of shining light\u201d \u2014 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 \u2014 before it\u2019s lost forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/em> is a riveting and timely story of art, war, greed, and spirituality.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Selected Criticism and Interpetation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Jones, Raymond E., and Jon C. Stott. Canadian Children’s Books: A Critical Guide to Authors and Illustrators<\/em>. Don Mills, Ont.: Oxford University Press, 2000.
PS8081 .S86 2000<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Links<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Publisher James Lorimer<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher House of Anansi<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Publisher Mawenzi House<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nazneen Sheikh on The Moon Over Marrakech: A Memoir of Loving too Deeply in a Foreign Land<\/em>, part of CBC Radio One’s The Next Chapter with Shelagh Rogers<\/a>,  episode “Nazneen Sheikh” first broadcast January 31, 2011.  Also available is an extended interview<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Nazneen Sadiq was born in Srinagar, Kashmir. She moved with her family to Pakistan following India’s seizure of Kashmir. In her teens, she attended high school on scholarship in Texas. She earned a BA in philosophy and literature from Kinnaird … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":16,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-538","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=538"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/538\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21692,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/538\/revisions\/21692"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/16"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/library.torontomu.ca\/asianheritage\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}