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I would definitely recommend this book to people who enjoy tense neighborhood dramas that explore current societal issues. I know this won't work for everyone, but for the Readers who do end up enjoying it, I think they'll walk away feeling like they've had a memorable reading experience. If Jane Austen were alive, she would not be writing about zombies but the sorts of novels that Kia Abdullah does. They perch on society’s fault lines, observing how the codes of class and race determine actions, how good intentions can be weakness, how a word or a gesture can lead inexorably to catastrophe.’ Salma Khatun, her husband Bil, and teenage son Zain move to a nice neighborhood of Blenheim for a fresh start. Zain is expelled from his old school and Bil's restaurant closed up for good due to the pandemic.
Those People next Door (1952) | BFI Those People next Door (1952) | BFI
A gripping thriller about nightmare neighbours, Those People Next Door explores the loss of innocence and how far we’re prepared to go to defend ourselves and the people we love. i loved the eerily realistic themes and events of the current political and social world we live in right now and think Abdullah’s writing was chef’s kiss (per usual).A rollercoaster ride of a toxic tale of neighbours from hell. Brilliantly pacey and wonderfully written with a lovely big twist.’ A gripping thriller about nightmare neighbours, Those People Next Door explores the loss of innocence and how far we’d go to defend ourselves and the people we love. As with all of this authors work, heavy themes and thought-provoking intense scenarios are presented and explored. Emotions take hold of these characters decisions and things escalate toward grave consequences. This book takes neighbourhood drama to a whole new level. As far as Thrillers with a Legal bent go, I don't read a lot of them, only a few a year, but the ones I read, I do tend to enjoy. I feel like Abdullah brings such substance to her stories though, they almost go above and beyond.
Those People next Door (1952) | BFI
In Kia Abdullah’s latest, Those People Next Door, she gives something slightly different from her other books. She still has written a thought-provoking psychological thriller and courtroom drama with her trademark twist. She adds more drama to the story while exploring class, race, aggression, community dynamics, and neighbors misbehaving, and the underbelly of a picture-perfect suburban town. This is an odd one, the central idea really only acts as bookends to the film with odd bits of filler inbetween. Many thanks to NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP PUTNAM/G.P. Putnam's Sons for sharing this amazing book's digital review copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.
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Salma Khatun has moved to the suburban development of Blenheim, together with her husband Bil and teenage son Zain. This is meant to be a move for the better, a safe environment where her son will no longer be under the influence of boys who were in the process of leading him astray. He’d already been thrown out of college and this was to be a new start.
Those People Next Door | Kia Abdullah | 9780008433710 - NetGalley Those People Next Door | Kia Abdullah | 9780008433710 - NetGalley
A few months ago, this book's very discriminatory publisher declined my NetGalley request to review this audiobook which, ironically, was a book about discrimination and rejection. The Khatun’s move into a tight-knit community looking for a fresh start. Not long after the awkward initial neighbourhood party, they spot their next door neighbour ripping out an anti-racist sign they have in their front garden. Confronting the next door neighbour begins a neighbourhood battle that ends in violence, drastically changing everyone’s life. Whenever I see Kia Abdullah’s name attached to a book, I get very excited, and ‘Those People Next Door’ was a perfect example of why this author elicits such feelings. As communication breaks down between all parties, the neighborhood rapidly turns into a suburban battleground. Although there was some tension, their first neighborhood barbeque and meeting the neighbors went okay.One of the things that ai like most about this authors writing is that she is not afraid to go there. She will push that boundary and talk about the things that others may not be brave enough to. This book is all about racism and class. It always feels authentic in the writing and the characters are believable. You really do have strong feel is one way or another on what is happening and to who it is happening. I feel like her style is a great platform for Readers to have some real self-reflective, as well as shoe-on-the-other-foot, moments. It feels written with such intention and what's not to appreciate, and respect, about that. Well, these are those neighbours. With a different craziness taking it to extreme levels. The drama spiralling out of control -on both sides of the fence. But there is a dog. And that had me lose my sh*t. Took me a good 10% to ‘settle’ into this book, not sure why?, maybe we are so used to the big starts now that any ‘build up’ seems laborious BUT once I had settled what a thriller this turned into
Those People Next Door - movie: watch streaming online Those People Next Door - movie: watch streaming online
Zain posts a video online where Tom makes a statement to Salma that could be interpreted as racist. The result is Tom being fired from a job where he had worked diligently for many years. In Salma's misguided attempt at revenge, there is an altercation between Tom and Willa, his beautiful pregnant wife, and Salma and Zain. This accidentally ends in tragedy and further hatred. People who see themselves as different feel that way for a reason, and it can be as much about us as it is about the individual. And there’s an ending, well there’s more than one that blindsided me….I thought I knew the ending and actually admonished the author in my mind for making it ‘too easy to see what was going to happen’ how wrong I was and how great a book this is 🤗This is my second novel from Abdullah and I have given both 5-stars. I think it's fair to say, I'm a huge fan! One of my ten best reads of the year. Easy five stars’ Lisa Jewell * Waterstones Thriller of the Month – August 2023 * The court part of the book takes up a little less space than in her previous books, but these parts are perfectly written, making you feel angry, agitated, confused, and eager to keep reading to find out how the big mystery will unfold. We then switch to the other family who are determined to put an end to the relationship because of the gulf that exists between them in terms of their social standing. The mother gives up on the idea writing to the girl's parents and… A stunning, thought-provoking and morally challenging read. It had me guessing until the ingenious reveal – a world-class story’ Graham Bartlett, author of Bad For Good
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