The Djinn Waits A Hundred Years is a ghost story, featuring a haunted house in Natal, South Africa. The house itself, called Akbar Manzil, has its own character and memories, and it is full of people who are likewise haunted by the ghosts of their pasts. This novel involves a love story set in the early 20th century as well as a coming of age story for 15-year old Sana Malek who has come with her father to live in Akbar Manzil 80+ years after a mysterious tragedy occurred there. The Djinn, awakened by Sana’s curiosity about the house and its former residents, is torn between its desire to forget the tragedy and its undying love for the young woman at its center. As Sana investigates, she and the other residents of Akbar Manzil will find themselves having to confront the things about their pasts that they have striven to bury and avoid for years.
When Sana and her father arrive at Akbar Manzil, she is already a girl haunted. Her mother, who had never been overly loving toward Sana, died four years ago, and we learn that Sana had had a conjoined twin who died when they were 6 months old as a result of the surgery that separated them. The ghost of her twin comes in and out of her life and is a malevolent force. Sana herself is quiet and withdrawn. Her father is excited that they will live close to the ocean and finds the house wonderful, even though it is an ancient, rundown ruin of a mansion that has been turned into apartments. When they arrive, some of the residents expect that they won’t last long; people never do. There is a gloom about the place that is off-putting, except to people who want to be forgotten and/or forget their pasts. Among these residents are the Doctor, a pleasant old man who lost a leg in the war; Razia Bibi, a cranky older woman who complains and is hyper critical of everyone; Fancy, a former friend of Razia, who is much nicer and has an annoying parrot; and Zuleikha, an eccentric and arrogant former concert pianist who prefers to keep to herself. Pinky is the maid who rarely does her job and who loves watching movies, especially Bollywood classics. While exploring the forgotten parts of the decrepit mansion, Sana discovers the rooms in the east wing that are for junk/overflow, and she discovers a secret room with an old photo of a young couple clearly in love with one another.
The discovery of this photograph leads Sana to speaking more with residents of Akbar Manzil; she is very curious about this couple and about love itself. Real love seems to involve a merging of people and spirits, but when she asks Pinky and Zuleikha about love, their responses are quite cynical. Meanwhile, the Djinn, hyper aware of Sana’s quest, is grappling with its own grief about the woman in the photo; ultimately, even though it is invisible, it finds a way to show Sana where to find answers to some of her questions.
The story of Akbar Manzil’s origins is the story of an Indian man named Akbar Ali Khan who came to South Africa in 1919 with his bride Jahanara. They are an odd couple. Akbar believes in “Signs” that guide one’s life; he loves poetry and is curious about the world. Jahanara is a light skinned descendent of Mumtaz Mahal (of Taj Mahal fame) who is an Anglophile and social butterfly. Jahanara is very unhappy to find that they are staying in South Africa and even more unhappy when her overbearing mother in law comes to live with them and take over the running of the household. Akbar and Jahanara have two children and then Akbar makes a shocking announcement: he is taking a second wife, a very young woman named Meena who sweeps the floors at his sugar factory. Meena is Tamil and comes from poverty. She also has rather revolutionary ideas, having grown up experiencing racism and oppression at the hands of colonizers. Meena does not want to marry Akbar but does so for her parents. Both Jahanara and Akbar’s mother detest Meena; she is the wrong color and wrong class. Even the servants in the mansion mostly resent Meena for being raised above her station. But Meena has a stubborn streak and especially enjoys annoying Jahanara and the mother-in-law. She expects she won’t last long at Akbar Manzil and is eager to leave. No one expects what happens next.
The Djinn for its part had been wandering the earth for hundreds of years and was weary of humans when he discovered the girl Meena singing on the beach one evening. Her beauty brought him happiness and he followed her everywhere, even to Akbar Manzil. He did not care much for the other inhabitants of the house, but he put up with them so that he could stay near Meena. His joy is short lived, however, and after the tragedy, the Djinn essentially shuts himself away, locked in a deep depression that affects the actual physical structure of the house as well as those who dwell within.
This novel deals with the pain of love and loss, with depression (trigger warning for suicide), with grief and with guilt. It can be dark at times. Nonetheless, I thought it was a beautiful story that resolved its plot lines in a very satisfying way in the end. I will be thinking about this one for a long time.