The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years
Ratings11
Average rating3.7
Akbar Manzil was once a grand estate off the coast of South Africa. Nearly a century later, it stands in ruins: an isolated boardinghouse for eclectic misfits, seeking solely to disappear into the mansion’s dark corridors. Except for Sana. Unlike the others, she is curious and questioning and finds herself irresistibly drawn to the history of the mansion: To the eerie and forgotten East Wing, home to a clutter of broken and abandoned objects—and to the door at its end, locked for decades.
Behind the door is a bedroom frozen in time and a worn diary that whispers of a dark past: the long-forgotten story of a young woman named Meena, who died there tragically a hundred years ago. Watching Sana from the room’s shadows is a besotted, grieving djinn, an invisible spirit who has haunted the mansion since her mysterious death. Obsessed with Meena’s story, and unaware of the creature that follows her, Sana digs into the past like fingers into a wound, dredging up old and terrible secrets that will change the lives of everyone living and dead at Akbar Manzil. Sublime, heart-wrenching, and lyrically stunning, The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years is a haunting, a love story, and a mystery, all twined beautifully into one young girl’s search for belonging.
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This book was not what I expected, the story was a little bit too slow for me and nothing much happened, but I loved the dynamics between the characters and the past/present timelines. The ending surprised me a lot, there was something I was definitely not expecting! Overall, this book was pretty good.
I am in love with this house! The author did an amazing job at making the house feel vaguely alive. The colors, smells, and feelings are well described and there is a feeling that the house reacts to these things and the people within. The historical story is well told. The author does a great job of making even the horrid people seem almost reasonable or at least pitiable. The found family aspect of the modern storyline is heartwarming. The djinn haunted the background. I wanted more of the djinn, but that would have made this a different story. The twist at the end was pretty obvious by the time we got there, but I wasn't upset that I had figured it out because I wanted to know what that character had to say.
Beautiful writing, memorable story, and a great setting.
3.5 stars!!!
This is not what I was expecting at all! I saw it was categorized as horror on Goodreads and I was hoping this would lean a lot darker, but the fact that it didn't, actually didn't lower my enjoyment levels at all! I really enjoyed how the timeline was made in this book because either I missed it or I was too immersed in the story that I didn't give myself time to process how the timelines line up. There were also so many good quotes in here about colonization and simply being a woman. I just had a great time following these characters!
Thank you to Viking for providing me with an eBook copy to review on NetGalley.
