“The Hand of Iman” by Ryad Assani-Razaki is a powerful and emotionally charged tale that explores themes of friendship, race, poverty, and identity.

Set in an unnamed African country, where children are sold for money, Toumani has only ever known suffering as he moves from one master to the next. Treated as less than human and forced to endure abuse at the hands of those who own him, Toumani tries his hardest to survive and retain his identity.

Things change for Toumani when he meets Iman, a biracial man of African and European descent who desires to find an escape to Europe, where he believes life must be easier. Iman loses himself to his obsession with finding a way of leaving his home for this idyllic but unreachable place, to the point where those close to him find him both fascinating and elusive.

When Iman saves Toumani from death, the two form an inseparable bond, one they both needed, but one that doesn’t change their circumstances. They both are obsessed with their futures, ones that seem pointless if they’re not livable. As they try and navigate the path set out before them, they both fall in love with the same girl who sets them on a trajectory neither one of them could see coming.

Wow. An emotional, heartbreaking, whirlwind of a story that will leave readers gasping for air by the end. Assani-Razaki paints a vivid landscape of the poverty and morally corrupt country Iman and Toumani live. A place where dreams go to die, where there’s never enough money for the working man, and children are sold for a few extra francs to get by. Iman’s desire to flee to Europe, where there are more opportunities and a better life, makes so much sense, even from the first few pages when children are being sold to masters, only to live out a bleak and painful life.

Some characters are more likable than others, but all of them come with their complexities and suffering. They stand out in this story, no matter how short a part they play, they are important in shaping the landscape of the country and have their own impact on the main characters that affects the choices they make, whether the main characters know it or not. Every person the reader meets is tangible and makes a lasting impression.

There are points when the trajectory of the story gets lost due to the strong details of the characters, and the purpose of the story becomes buried under the events of the characters and differing perspectives. Yet, because the characters are so three-dimensional, it almost doesn’t matter. So much happens to the characters that it’s easy to become invested in their lives and to follow wherever they go and through whatever happens to them, however horrifying and ugly.

This story touches on important themes, ones that make this a very impactful read with a long-lasting impression. I do not feel I can do it justice enough to describe them in this review, but it makes for an insightful and heartbreaking read. I highly suggest adding this book to your TBR lists and giving it a read once it’s published. The French version of “The Hand of Iman” by Ryad Assani-Razaki was published in 2011, but the English version is expected to be published on August 12th, 2025. Thank you to NetGalley and House of Anansi Press Inc. (Arachnide Editions) for providing me with a free e-arc copy of this story and providing me with the opportunity to share my honest opinion in this review.

Oh my goodness, this book really impacted me. I feel almost haunted by it.

It tells the story of Toumani and Iman, two friends growing up in an unnamed country in sub-Saharan Africa. Toumani was sold by his father when he was six years old, abused and crippled, and saved by the outstretched arm of Iman, a young biracial boy being raised by his grandmother. We see their existence through their eyes, and that of the people around them: Iman's mother and half brother, his grandmother, Toumani's crush Alissa.

The youth of this country, growing up on the streets, have the weight of the world on their shoulders. Injustice reigns. The book explores faith and loss of it, forsakenness, misery, despair. Choices, and whether or not they are ours to make, whether we are washing our hands of responsibility by saying we have none. Children are forced to grow up too soon. They are turned into empty shells, unable to dream of a better future. Some turn to gangs, some to prostitution, to destitution, and Iman turns to escape: he decides he is going to get to Europe.

This book is dark, it is tense, it is intense. Lots of content warnings for lots of kinds of violence.

If you can stomach it, this is an incredibly impactful read. The characters are intricately crafted, and seeing the same unfolding events through their different eyes, the descent into madness, creates a level of suspense that I would expect to find in a thriller.

4.5 stars

This was an ARC of an English translation, and the original was published in French in 2011. thank you to NetGalley and House of Anansi Press for this ARC to read and review.

I’m incredibly grateful for the content warnings, as this book is very dark and intense but is a story I want on my shelf.

The cover is quite cool.

The book starts off extremely dark and slurs are thrown in so I need to put this one down for the time being and pick it back up once published. This is going to be one of the stories I read that leaves a rather large impact on me so I want to make sure I go in with the right mentality.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read this ARC! I appreciate the opportunity to leave honest feedback voluntarily.