Shappi Khorsandi is one of the country’s finest comedians, having launched herself back in 2006 with her sell out Edinburgh show, Asylum Speaker.
Shappi’s career has taken her to all corners of the globe, she has appeared on countless TV and Radio shows including; Live At The Apollo, 8 Out Of 10 Cats, and Have I Got News For You. She is the author of the bestselling childhood memoir, A Beginner’s Guide To Acting English, which tells the story of how her family were forced to flee Iran and gain asylum in the UK.
On 28 July, Shappi’s fantastic debut novel will be published in the UK. We think the book will be a great choice for reading groups, and wanted to let our reading group community know a bit more about it.
Nina is Not OK
Nina does not have a drinking problem. She likes a drink, sure. But what 17-year-old doesn’t?
Nina’s mum isn’t so sure. But she’s busy with her new husband and five year old Katie. And Nina’s almost an adult after all.
And if Nina sometimes wakes up with little memory of what happened the night before , then her friends are all too happy to fill in the blanks. Nina’s drunken exploits are the stuff of college legend.
But then one dark Sunday morning, even her friends can’t help piece together Saturday night. All Nina feels is a deep sense of shame, that something very bad has happened to her…
The interview
We asked Shappi to tell us a little about her book, writing, and herself as a reader.
What book are you reading at the moment?
Wild Swans by Jung Chang, it’s a tearjerker, but a very enlightening insight into the history of Chinese society.
At The Reading Agency we are passionate about inspiring people to read. What book do you most often recommend to people?
For children it’s Johnny Swanson by Eleanor Updale, a great book to read with and to your children. I also don’t think anyone should go through their life without reading To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee.
Where is your favourite place to write? Do you have any particular writing habits or routines?
I would like to say my holiday home by the sea, but practically I like to write in any café or pub that is no more than 10 minutes from my house, and have friendly staff and a quiet corner.
What were the different challenges you found when writing Nina compared to preparing a comedy routine?
You have to concentrate more on a novel, they are worlds apart, sitting still and concentrating for long periods of time almost killed me.
What inspired you to write Nina is Not OK? Which character did you identify with most?
I identify with Nina but also her best mate Beth, and her little sister is based on 2 people – Holden Caulfield’s little sister and my son.
The incident with Nina and Max could be seen as Nina’s ‘rock bottom’ moment. Do you think this was a necessary event to force Nina to make changes in her life?
We all need rock bottom moments to make monumental changes, the difference between this moment and the other moments, was that this one meant she had to leave her accommodation.
The book explores the darker side of social networking. How do you think the pressures of being a teenager have changed since you were growing up?
With social networking being around, teenagers don’t seem to gather the way they used to, face to face, with nuanced, textured relationships and any misdemeanour can be filmed to be made public, whereas when I was a teenager, I did appalling things but no one had a camera phone to hand.
The best books for discussion are those that divide opinion. What do you think might be the topics in Nina that will inspire the most debate?
I didn’t write it to inspire debate, but looking back on it, I can see that addiction, slut shaming, and drunken sex will be topics that might be discussed.
Now that Nina is ready to be let loose, what will you be working on next?
My stand up tour in the autumn and there is another novel percolating.
Get involved
Have you read Nina is Not OK? You can leave a review, and see what other readers thought.
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