BLF: Falling Through The Cracks

Birmingham Literature Festival: Falling Through the Cracks with Shady Lewis and Tawseef Khan

Shady  Lewis’s novel, On the Greenwich Line, is both a funny and scathing indictment of the experiences of migrants seeking refuge in the UK and the endless layers of bureaucracy that keeps their lives in stasis. Following the journey of a jaded London housing officer, tasked with organising the funeral of a young Syrian refugee, it traces the absurdities of racism, austerity, and bureaucracy in contemporary England.

Tawseef Khan’s Determination follows exhausted immigration solicitor, Jamila Shah, as she battles against hostile government policies in the hopes that their ‘determinations’ will keep her clients from being deported. Jamila’s law firm, Shah & Co, is a beautifully drawn reminder that there is human kindness and resistance pushing back against a broken system.

Join Shady and Tawseef as they discuss their novels and the very real challenges and injustices their books reflect.

Chaired by Kavita Bhanot

Running time approx. one hour