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Dead: A Ghost Story
A multicultural ghost story dealing with the immigrant experience, in which Nasreen -- the Indian-American protagonist -- grapples with her life and death in West Texas.
Author's Note: While my other stories are romances, to be specific genie romances, I wanted to write a simple, haunting ghost story for Halloween. I hope you enjoy the read.
This is a short story.
Author's Note: While my other stories are romances, to be specific genie romances, I wanted to write a simple, haunting ghost story for Halloween. I hope you enjoy the read.
This is a short story.
- GenresHorrorShort Stories
16 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 21, 2012
141 people want to read
About the author
Mina Khan
9 books159 followersMina Khan is a Texas-based writer and food enthusiast. She daydreams of hunky paranormal heroes, magic, mayhem and mischief and writes them down as stories. Between stories, she teaches culinary classes and writes for her local newspaper. Other than that, she's raising a family of two children, two cats, two dogs and a husband.
She grew up in Bangladesh on stories of djinns, ghosts and monsters. These childhood fancies now color her fiction.
You can find her at www.facebook.com/Mina.Khan.Author
http://minakhan.blogspot.com/
or on twitter @SpiceBite
Join Mina Khan's Quarterly Newsletter to Receive:
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She grew up in Bangladesh on stories of djinns, ghosts and monsters. These childhood fancies now color her fiction.
You can find her at www.facebook.com/Mina.Khan.Author
http://minakhan.blogspot.com/
or on twitter @SpiceBite
Join Mina Khan's Quarterly Newsletter to Receive:
News about exclusive contests and giveaways
Sneak peeks and teasers
The most up-to-date book news, cover reveals and more
Book signings and appearances
Upcoming sales
To sign up, copy and paste this into your browser's address bar: eepurl.com/wb-8n
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 13, 2012
Mina Khan, is known for great romance stories, but Dead: A Ghost Story is totally not a romance story. This is a short ghost story about an immigrant woman and her dead beat husband that was unfaithful and abused her. I really felt for Nasreen, so bad that I wanted to find the guy and beat him to a pulp LOL. I was surprised at for the detail and how easy it was to read. I really enjoyed this short story.
May 12, 2015
“Now she is of even less substance than the fragile and forgotten cobweb hanging in the darkest corner of the house.”
Such a great line, and it’s representative of the lyrical prose of Mina Khan’s “Dead: A Ghost Story”. While it’s ostensibly a ghost story about a dead woman haunting her husband and his lover, Dead is mostly a story about the emotions/self-examination we experience when we see an ex behave in such an utterly different fashion with his/her new partner. While holding us enrapt in her sumptuous storytelling Khan plays a different note with her rules of the afterlife, allowing ghostly protagonist Nasreena to experience a nearly full range of senses (the itch of the eyes, the smell of food) and not just sight and hearing, as is typical in the ghost story. The effect is to give the reader a sense (no pun intended) of Nasreena’s maddening existence, postmortem, as she reflects bitterly on her wasted life. It can often feel like this, as we see this ex moving on, feeling that we’re little but ghosts, able to experience the pain of existence without feeling like we can touch life meaningfully in any way. It’s a brilliant metaphor, executed seamlessly and folded into an otherwise conventional ghost story, transforming it from the prosaic to something far beyond the average.
A refreshing surprise here is Khan’s use of both flashback and a present tense POV to excellent effect. Though the former appears frequently in short fiction, very few authors use it in a way which adds to the story’s overall impact. So improperly used, its effect is to disrupt narrative flow and weaken the story overall. For Dead, the flashbacks are not only used to show how Nasreen got to her present state but to flesh out the character of Matin, her diabolical husband, thus allowing the metaphor described in the previous paragraph to flourish. The present tense POV adds an immediacy to Nasreen’s misery, one of haunting the motel where she’s died under mysterious circumstances, and it adds to a burst of narrative energy at the story’s end.
That’s not to say the story isn’t without its problems, however. It’s more than a little tiresome to see fat and balding automatically cozied up to brutish, violent behavior. It’s equally tiresome to equate a middle-aged man with a lack of skills in the bedroom. It’s a genre novelist trick, where fairy tale shorthand is rife where characterization is concerned, but it’s also an extremely overused trope that’s not so much offensive as it is boring. Khan really lays the physical imperfections on thick, too. At every turn she demonstrates just how much of a pig Matin can be, from his eating habits to the way he jiggles when making love, from his thick lips to his thinning hair. The effect is to make Matin a grotesque caricature rather than a proper character.
Dead’s other glaring problem is the abruptness of its ending. We get a hint of something nefarious going down, but, rather than doing the right thing and bringing the story to a full conclusion, it ends instead with an unsatisfying thud. Dead needs perhaps another thousand to two thousand words of text for a proper narrative arc. After all, you can’t just show a reader something important, and then go flying off (literally, in this case) in another direction almost immediately afterward. In mathematical terms, Khan does a fabulous job showing her work on an equation up to the last two or three steps, and then it’s as though she’s tired of progressing logically, and decides to just scribble down her answer and move on to the next problem on the test.
Despite these issues, Dead is still an excellent read. It’s not mere hyperbole to say Mina Khan is one of the purest storytellers of the 21st Century. Every sentence is perfect, and every image is crystalline. One’s style seriously cannot get much better than this. Khan demonstrates a near-mastery of craft, evoking feelings typically reserved for when discussing well-established writers who lurk around the bestsellers lists. Conclusion: Dead is a delightful story which should be held up as an example in writing courses for creating — and maintaining — atmosphere.
Such a great line, and it’s representative of the lyrical prose of Mina Khan’s “Dead: A Ghost Story”. While it’s ostensibly a ghost story about a dead woman haunting her husband and his lover, Dead is mostly a story about the emotions/self-examination we experience when we see an ex behave in such an utterly different fashion with his/her new partner. While holding us enrapt in her sumptuous storytelling Khan plays a different note with her rules of the afterlife, allowing ghostly protagonist Nasreena to experience a nearly full range of senses (the itch of the eyes, the smell of food) and not just sight and hearing, as is typical in the ghost story. The effect is to give the reader a sense (no pun intended) of Nasreena’s maddening existence, postmortem, as she reflects bitterly on her wasted life. It can often feel like this, as we see this ex moving on, feeling that we’re little but ghosts, able to experience the pain of existence without feeling like we can touch life meaningfully in any way. It’s a brilliant metaphor, executed seamlessly and folded into an otherwise conventional ghost story, transforming it from the prosaic to something far beyond the average.
A refreshing surprise here is Khan’s use of both flashback and a present tense POV to excellent effect. Though the former appears frequently in short fiction, very few authors use it in a way which adds to the story’s overall impact. So improperly used, its effect is to disrupt narrative flow and weaken the story overall. For Dead, the flashbacks are not only used to show how Nasreen got to her present state but to flesh out the character of Matin, her diabolical husband, thus allowing the metaphor described in the previous paragraph to flourish. The present tense POV adds an immediacy to Nasreen’s misery, one of haunting the motel where she’s died under mysterious circumstances, and it adds to a burst of narrative energy at the story’s end.
That’s not to say the story isn’t without its problems, however. It’s more than a little tiresome to see fat and balding automatically cozied up to brutish, violent behavior. It’s equally tiresome to equate a middle-aged man with a lack of skills in the bedroom. It’s a genre novelist trick, where fairy tale shorthand is rife where characterization is concerned, but it’s also an extremely overused trope that’s not so much offensive as it is boring. Khan really lays the physical imperfections on thick, too. At every turn she demonstrates just how much of a pig Matin can be, from his eating habits to the way he jiggles when making love, from his thick lips to his thinning hair. The effect is to make Matin a grotesque caricature rather than a proper character.
Dead’s other glaring problem is the abruptness of its ending. We get a hint of something nefarious going down, but, rather than doing the right thing and bringing the story to a full conclusion, it ends instead with an unsatisfying thud. Dead needs perhaps another thousand to two thousand words of text for a proper narrative arc. After all, you can’t just show a reader something important, and then go flying off (literally, in this case) in another direction almost immediately afterward. In mathematical terms, Khan does a fabulous job showing her work on an equation up to the last two or three steps, and then it’s as though she’s tired of progressing logically, and decides to just scribble down her answer and move on to the next problem on the test.
Despite these issues, Dead is still an excellent read. It’s not mere hyperbole to say Mina Khan is one of the purest storytellers of the 21st Century. Every sentence is perfect, and every image is crystalline. One’s style seriously cannot get much better than this. Khan demonstrates a near-mastery of craft, evoking feelings typically reserved for when discussing well-established writers who lurk around the bestsellers lists. Conclusion: Dead is a delightful story which should be held up as an example in writing courses for creating — and maintaining — atmosphere.
October 29, 2012
How a propos that I read this story right before Halloween. Mina Khan presents a sexy, empowering, chilling short story in "Dead: A Ghost Story." Nasreen is a young wife whose luck ran short when her father promised her hand in marriage to Matin, a 'successful New York businessman' who returns to his motherland of Bangladesh in search of a wife. He's more than a decade older than Nasreen, who is a teenager when the two meet and marry. As it turns out, Matin is barely getting by in his cleaning business. Life in New York is difficult, so Matin suggests they head out west and open a hotel. Nasreen's circumstances grow worse. Matin becomes abusive and, like many cases of domestic violence, this one has a tragic ending. But it doesn't end for Mina Khan, and the ensuing story is one of redemption and hope.
November 4, 2013
This is a short ghost story and would be pretty perfect as a Halloween story to get in the right mood. This was the first I have read from this author and her writing was very good and it had a nice flow. I think am going to pick up other books from this author in the future.
The story itself was also a bit exotic to me with people and culture from India, something I really liked. The female we follow is from India and has moved to the US after an arranged marriage to Martin. It is not a happy affair at all and my thought when finishing the story was karma is a bitch.
It was a nice short quick read. 3,5 stars.
Book provided by the Author through PNR NaUBA group Author/Reader Exchange for an honest review.
The story itself was also a bit exotic to me with people and culture from India, something I really liked. The female we follow is from India and has moved to the US after an arranged marriage to Martin. It is not a happy affair at all and my thought when finishing the story was karma is a bitch.
It was a nice short quick read. 3,5 stars.
Book provided by the Author through PNR NaUBA group Author/Reader Exchange for an honest review.
June 5, 2013
This was a sad, haunting tale that really had no happy ending. There was a lot of strings left untied and characters left behind but I think that was perhaps the purpose of the story. To give shivers and leave the reader a little haunted. The story was well written and vivid as it detailed the life and death of Nasreen, her slow release on everything she had been, and perhaps, finally moving toward the happiest ending she could obtain.
November 27, 2012
A short story told in the POV of ghost of an immigrant woman who was married a very callous man who treated his wife in a distasteful manner.
The book was interesting just wish there was more and the ending had me questioning what was next but in my mind all I could think of Karma was going bite the man in the butt...
The book was interesting just wish there was more and the ending had me questioning what was next but in my mind all I could think of Karma was going bite the man in the butt...
January 11, 2013
Actually, while reading, I considered that the author, Mina Khan, had the foundation for a novel. “Dead: A Ghost Story” is a very powerful read. Filled with emotion, there is a lot of depth packed in this short story. Matin, is a character who is difficult to read, let alone image, but necessary in order to make this tale come alive. Nasreen is a “true” heroine.
November 1, 2012
I love anything Mina Khan writes and this story is not exception. It is not a HEA (Happliy Ever After) story. It is about the ghost. It is really different and I liked it. It is however, very, very short. Mina, you have got to make your stories longer. Keep writing so I can keep reading.
October 2, 2014
I enjoyed this story of a young wife who comes to haunt her husband a day after her death. Nasreen's voice as a ghost worked really well for this piece, her story poignant and all too familiar from a domestic abuse perspective.
September 13, 2013
I loved this story. Sad, beautiful and complex at the same time.
I'll honestly read anything of Mina's because her writing voice captivates me, whatever the genre :)
I'll honestly read anything of Mina's because her writing voice captivates me, whatever the genre :)
February 16, 2015
A sad tale of domestic violence. It spoke out loud and clear
February 24, 2015
Dead: A Ghost Story by Mina Khan is about Nasreen, a recently dead Indian woman whose incorporeal self seems to be anchored to her unfaithful, misogynistic husband Matin. Nasreen is coming to terms with her circumstances while reminiscing and lamenting the choices that led her to America and her current situation. The story is simple, but well written with a slight Hitchcokian element that seemed telegraphed a little too early in the story for my tastes, taking away from its potential impact. Ultimately I enjoyed the short, easy read and if it weren't for the fact that most of the author’s other work isn't really my genre of choice I would definitely consider reading more of her work. 3.5 stars.
December 19, 2015
Poignant
Very interesting perspective and really wished this had been a full length book. Even as I cried while reading, having an all too familiar knowledge of the life Naseen endured, I wanted to know more of her journey. As always Mina Khan delivers an excellent read.
Very interesting perspective and really wished this had been a full length book. Even as I cried while reading, having an all too familiar knowledge of the life Naseen endured, I wanted to know more of her journey. As always Mina Khan delivers an excellent read.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews