This Green and Pleasant Land : Winner of The Diverse Book Awards 2020

I absolutely devoured this book . . . It was tender, challenging and as warm as it was razor-sharp - I was in awe of Ayisha's ability to cut you to the core in one paragraph and make you laugh in the next. Every single character was fascinating, and so many of them stayed with me after finishing the book that I was basically carrying the whole village round in my head for a while . . . * Beth O'Leary, author of The Flatshare * Beautifully written. If you've read Joanna Cannon I think you'll love this * Simon Savidge * A gorgeous, funny, smart, uplifting story about seeking unity during times of division. Wish I could prescribe it to the country * Daisy Buchanan * I have to say it's not often I read a book as thoughtful, funny, excellently written and important as this one. I've always been a fan of Ayisha's writing, but this book takes her work to another level. I really hope this becomes a huge hit, because it deserves to be read by everyone. Witty, insightful, and shot through with pathos, Ayisha Malik's This Green and Pleasant Land is the prescient tale of Bilal, a middle-class British muslim and his quest to fulfil his mother's dying wish that he builds a mosque in the sleepy English village of Babbel's End. This book is laugh out loud funny, but is so much more than that. It challenges out preconceptions and our prejudices about what it means to be British in today's world. As such, in these turbulent times, it is also an important book. It's Malik's best work to date, and more importantly, for me, it's the standout book of the year * Abir Mukherjee * A modern comedy of manners ... Malik's great gift is to present seemingly insoluble issues of faith and intolerance in a light, accessible manner * Guardian * Malik was another of last year's standout discoveries for me . . . she writes about the Muslim experience of living in England from the inside, and in this novel constructs a sublimely witty and touching story . . . It has an Ealing comedy vibe to it, but is of course utterly contemporary, offering many clear-eyed perspectives on the fractured, mutually-uncomprehending country we have somehow managed to create for ourselves * Jonathan Coe * Beautifully written. If you've read Joanna Cannon I think you'll love this. * Simon Savidge, (Savidge Reads) * Warm, funny and thought-provoking...A joy to read. * The People's Friend *
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Ayisha Malik is a writer and editor, living in South London. She holds a BA in English Literature and a First Class MA in Creative Writing. Her novels Sofia Khan is Not Obliged and The Other Half of Happiness, starring 'the Muslim Bridget Jones', were met with great critical acclaim, and Sofia Khan is Not Obliged was chosen as 2019's Cityread book. Ayisha was a WHSmith Fresh Talent Pick, shortlisted for the Asian Women of Achievement Award and Marie Claire's Future Shapers Awards. Ayisha is also the ghost writer for The Great British Bake Off winner, Nadiya Hussain.
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