One of my favourite quotes by Kafka insists that books must break the frozen sea inside us. I think that we are our lived stories and having an ongoing conversation with life through the exchange of words in reading and writing and speaking. Every book we read is part of that conversation. As a writer every story I write adds a layer to my own understanding of life.”

Shafinaaz Hassim is a South African author, poet and sociologist. Her works include Daughters are Diamonds: Honour, Shame & Seclusion – A South African Perspective (2007), Memoirs For Kimya (2009) and SoPhia (2012). The latter is a novel about domestic violence. Hassim has just released her latest novel for children titled Nisa Qamar and the Master of Jinniaville. She is also the editor of Belly of Fire: an anthology (2011).

“Sophia is more than just another novel about domestic abuse… It is a beautifully crafted narrative about the human spirit …” Review by Ismail Mahomed, Festival Director, National Arts Festival, South Africa.

“A powerful, moving work; and an important story …” Phillippa Yaa de Villiers, SALA award-winning poet and writer

“There is a tactile sensuality and raw emotional energy that emerges from every page of this novel…” Lubna Nadvi, lecturer at University of Kwazulu Natal

Thank You, Shafinaaz Hassim, for sharing your perspective on what it means to #bewellread. This forms part of our campaign to call people back to the first Qur’anic command to mankind which was ‘Read’. #callto1stverse