This coming Tuesday, retired law enforcement officer-turned author S. Khubiar is set to release her latest novel, Just A Hat. Coming more than six years after the release of her then latest novel, Vital Statistics: The Die Is Fair, the forthcoming novel is set for publication through Blackstone Publishing. The 245-page presentation is a work that proves reading at least once. That is due in large part to its story, which will be discussed shortly. The story’s chapter lengths unquestionably add to the novel’s appeal and will be examined a little later. The transitions between the chapters put the finishing touch to the presentation, bringing everything full circle. They will also be examined later. Each item noted here is important in its own way to the whole of the new novel. All things considered they make Just A Hat an intriguing book that is worth reading at least once.
Just A Hat, author S. Khubiar’s latest novel, is a literary presentation that most audiences will agree is worth reading at least once. Its interest comes in large part through its story. The book’s story has been largely marketed by officials at Blackstone Publishing as being a coming-of-age story about a young Persian Jew named Joseph, who is growing up in Hazel, Texas with his family amid a community of white southerners. The family had moved to the largely white, southern, Christian community from California. That move from California to Texas is at the center of the novel’s true story, which is in reality focused more on Joseph’s relationship with his father than any coming-of-age elements. This is made obvious from early on as Joseph originally feels ashamed by his father for not standing up to certain people in the family’s new community but eventually changes how he views his father by the story’s end. That change comes as he eventually convinces his father – who Khubiar names only as “Baba” – to confess why the family actually moved from Iran to California and then to Texas. That revelation, combined with the interaction between Joseph and his father throughout the story shows that while yes, there is some coming of age element to the story, the real story is that of Joseph’s relationship with his father.
The coming-of-age elements come into play in part as Khubiar brings up the matter of the Iranian hostage situation and how it plays into the reaction of everyone in the community toward Joseph and his family. Joseph’s relationship with Vonda, whose father happens to be a clearly evangelical minister, also plays into that coming-of-age story as he deals with her father’s extremely conservative views and how it influences her own decisions. Other than those elements, the coming-of-age story in this novel is in reality more secondary than primary. The story’s finale is a little abrupt (and will be left for readers to discover for themselves) but can be forgiven, considering the overall way in which Khubiar tells the story. That in mind, the overall story makes for its own share of interest.
The story presented in Just A Hat is just one point of interest in this latest of Khubiar’s novels. The noted way in which Khubiar tells Joseph’s story also plays into the story’s interest. In simpler terms, the chapter transitions play their own role in the book’s interest. From one chapter to another, Khubiar tends to move from one to the next as if they are acts in a play. One chapter ends and the next begins, but the transition is not necessarily just fluid from end to beginning to end. Rather each ends and the next just begins, following. It is an approach that, while a little unorthodox in formal literature, does still manage to work here. To that end, the transitions still manage to help make the story work in their own way, adding – again – to the story’s appeal in their own right.
Building on the interest ensured through the story’s chapter transitions is the very length of the chapters. The longest of the book’s chapters comes in at roughly nine pages (late in the story) while the shortest chapters run four pages each (throughout the story). That rather short length of each chapter, paired with the manner in which Khubiar tells the story from one chapter to the next, will leave readers feeling fulfilled as they read the story. They will feel like they are accomplishing something and in turn want to keep reading. This is just as crucial to any story’s success as the story itself. Keeping that in mind, the short length of each chapter brings everything together here and completes the book’s presentation, making for even more appeal. When it is considered along with the story and the way in which it is told, the whole makes Just A Hat worth reading at least once.
Just A Hat, author S. Khubiar’s latest novel, is an intriguing offering from the former law enforcement officer. The independent writer’s forthcoming work proves intriguing in part through its featured story. The story is largely a tale of a young man’s relationship with his father during a key period in the pre-teen’s life. It also incorporates a certain coming-of-age element to help advance its presentation and keep readers engaged. In addition, it also incorporates an element that Khubiar has used in her previous novels – that of the relationship between white, evangelical Christians and Jews (more specifically Persian Jews) – to help flesh out the story. The whole of the story gives readers reason enough to read the book. The way in which Khubiar tells the story – the chapter transitions – helps add to the story’s interest. That is because the transitions are not the typical transitions readers expect. They are more along the lines of how a play proceeds. This is certain to appeal to certain audiences. The chapters’ lengths play alongside the transitions to make for even more interest. That is because they are so relatively short. The longest chapter barely breaks the nine-page count while the shortest chapters are only four pages in length. This is certain to keep readers motivated to keep going from one chapter to the next. When this element is considered alongside everything else examined, the whole makes Khubiar’s novel overall a presentation that most audiences will find worth reading at least once.
Just A Hat is scheduled for publication Tuesday through Blackstone Publishing. More information on this and other titles from Blackstone Publishing is available at:
Website: https://BlackstonePublishing.com
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