Jinn in the Family

by R. Y. Abdulrehman

When a Western-trained psychologist returns to Zanzibar, the stories he once dismissed as superstition rise up to meet him; alive, layered, and rooted in blood.
Raised in Canada and shaped by science, he believed identity was a matter of will. But in the heat and hush of his ancestral island, whispers of jinn and witches begin to unearth a deeper truth; one carved by exile, memory, and spirits that do not forget.
Told in two intertwined timelines, “modernity” and “antiquity”, Jinn in the Family blends poetic fiction with cultural myth, weaving Arab, African, and Indian lineages into a haunting tapestry of inheritance. This novel asks what is lost when diasporic people abandon identity and the unseen, and what might be reclaimed when we finally listen to what was never gone.

More than folklore. More than horror. This is the story of what lives in the quiet, and what refuses to die.

156 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 31, 2025

Reviews

[Zainab Bint Younus · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Jinn in the Family" by @dr.r.abdulrehman is pitched as a novel, but reads like a family's collection of lore - historical, a little spooky, and impossible to tell if the tales are exaggerated or just the tip of the iceberg.

A Canadian psychologist of Zanzibari origin, AbdulRehman, this book switches between tales set in modernity and antiquity. The stories told by his great-aunt about their family leech into the present day; history, colonization, revolution, immigration, and, of course, jinn connections, are all woven together tightly, each facet impossible to separate.

I found myself utterly mesmerized by each story, intrigued and bewitched, fascinated by Zanzibar's complex history and the author's family fables.

If you're uptight about jinn stories and especially about people having ~ connections ~ to the jinn, don't read this book. If you adore rich, lyrical stories that are definitely spooky but not quite horror, this is for you!!!

Even the mild need for some copyediting did not dissuade me from reading further, or even dampen my enjoyment - which y'all know is huge for me!!!

ETA: this is definitely adult, *not* YA - descriptions of violence, torture etc during the revolution in Zanzibar.

[Safiyyah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jinn in the Family is a Zanzibar Gothic written by Canadian Psychologist Dr. R. Y. AbdulRehman that explores ancestral lore caught between modernity and antiquity.

I enjoyed this book so much that I hardly put it down. It felt like a love letter written to the matriarchs in his family. It was a joy being introduced to characters like the fiery (pun intended) formidable Baya and Zainab, who have yet to leave my mind. He explores the loss of homeland and roots, and that lifelong yearning for home that every immigrant knows deeply. Each family fable layered with haunting tales of grief, yearning, fried onions or cabbage (🌚), loss of homeland and beloveds, vitumbua and the Jinn.

It was captivating and unapologetically steeped in Muslim, African, and Arab history. Culture, history and faith effortlessly weaved into every character, every journey, every Jinn.

It’s one of those books that’ll have you doing a deep dive on Zanzibar’s history and its cuisine at 3am…which is most definitely way too late to be frying sweet puffy balls of grounded rice alone (or maybe not so alone) in the kitchen.

[Caleb Morfit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jinn in the Family is a nuanced blend of poetic storytelling, thought provoking observations, and nostalgia for a different way of seeing the world.  By taking you through a fictionalized journey of the main characters recent past and his extended family history, Abdulrehman uses each character to share reflections that alternate between provocative and wistful. Each story is framed against a world where magic and mystery are ingrained in everyday life, even as logic and science struggle to keep it contained.

Part fiction, part exploration of extended identity, part historical evaluation, Jinn in the Family is beautiful and vulnerable collection of stories that invites the reader to reconsider their views and recognize the incredible value of keeping your mind open to new ways of seeing the world.

[Jessica C · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sultry. Evocative. Mesmerizing. Jinn in the Family is a journey through time and place. Zanzibar becomes a character — beautiful, tragic, and irresistible. Sensual descriptions of food, women, and scent pull you in and tantalize the senses. You are transported to a magical world of whispered prayers and forbidden desires.

While family is the backbone of the stories, love, lust, and loss capture the yearning so many of us are missing. By the end, you’re so engrossed in this world that you want to suspend all you know to be true for the chance to be part of this reality, to surrender to it.

[Katie Victoria Rekus · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read for lovers of history, culture, humanity, and the spiritual realm. The author, R. Y. Abdulrehman, weaves together stories from antiquity and modernity in such a way that the reader feels literally spellbound. I found the prose poetic and seductive as the author plays on all the senses to recreate the world of Zanzibar for his readers. Are the stories told myths and legends? Or true tales taken from a rich family history? I believe it's both, demonstrating that there's still some magic to be found in this world.

[Tayib · Rating 5 out of 5]

Previous to reading this affair, Zanzibar was a mysterious place to me and I did not know that cursing one’s enemies could be as easy as frying cabbage. Nor did I know that the scented smoke of oud could not only traverse seas but grow stronger with each passage. Rosewater too seems to hold charms and cures I was unaware of and should perhaps be more beware of. Now that I’ve digested this novel, I can be sure— Zanzibar is indeed mysterious and perhaps more so by the day. Highly recommend and eagerly awaiting the next installment. It will make you hungry in every way.