Description
The Fall of the Black-Eyed Night by Sean Badal is a sharp, contemporary South African novel that delves into identity, displacement, and the lure of revenge.
In 2006, a year after the London bomb scares, Shehzad Shadhili returns to Cape Town searching for stability and redemption. He takes a job at the luxurious Bay Regal Hotel, a melting pot of eccentric guests and uneasy secrets—a German property developer chasing paradise, his rebellious daughter, a fading Bollywood actor, a Chinese chef on the run, and a dangerously alluring hotel manager.
Haunted by a humiliating past in London and trapped by family and religious expectations, Shehzad becomes consumed by a desire to reclaim control. When the opportunity for revenge presents itself, he seizes it—setting in motion a chain of events with devastating consequences.
Intelligent and darkly observant, Badal’s debut explores modern identity, post-9/11 tensions, and the fine line between justice and self-destruction.
