The Roles We Play

’[A] razor-sharp, resilient and generous view of what it means to believe, belong and breathe within spaces that are designed to keep you out.’ - Zeba Talkhani, author of My Past is a Foreign Country. ‘Absorbing’ - The Bookseller. ‘A moving, important work: beautifully drawn.’ - Preti Taneja. ‘A beautiful and bittersweet book.’ - Nikesh Shukla. ‘What a cherishable book! Moving and irresistible.’ - Anne Karpf. ‘Conjures auto-bio trailblazers like Alison Bechdel and Craig Thompson. A touchstone in the making, this is the book I’ve been waiting for.’ - Nyla Ahmad. ‘Wonderfully intelligent and balanced…moving, wide-ranging and uplifting. I absolutely loved it.’ - Umi Sinha. ‘That’s the beauty of The Roles We Play - a deeply human response to a situation in which, suffocated by the “mothering” of both her community and herself, Khan was constantly shape-shifting, trying to fit in, being judged. She broke the cycle through love, art and understanding.’ - Ben East, The National News. ‘Communicated with astonishing clarity and precision born of a mental acuity which I can barely fathom, THE ROLES WE PLAY is the single comic which has most broadened and deepened my understanding on any given subject. I have waited my lifetime for a graphic memoir like this.’ - Stephen Holland, Page 45. ‘Strong writing and thoughtful layouts which point to her training as an architect makes for a thought-provoking read.’ - Dave’s Comics, Instagram. ‘Through her art, Sabba shares her deepest thoughts, ideas and fears, and this speaks loudly to many second-generation immigrant children. A very beautiful and inspirational book.’ - Samia Aziz, 9 Book Recommendations for South Asian Heritage Month. ‘Thoroughly impressed, impassioned and proud. There were many instances from Khan’s childhood, and early adult journey, that I resonated with, and I was surprised to find my eyes watering. And, oh, the artwork! Khan’s distinctive style is elegant yet abstract, romantic yet refined. This is a book that really can’t be picked apart, each page is part of the whole - pieces of which mirror many of our own lived experiences as second-generation kids formulating our own beliefs, priorities and goals outside our culturally influenced comfort zones’ - Hafsa Lodi (@hafsalodi on Instagram). ‘So this is actually the first graphic novel I’ve ever read!? And honestly… MashaAllah I was so moved. Whatever I imagined graphic novels to be like, I did NOT anticipate this!! I love how @sabbakhanart tells her personal story with such honouring of the colonial and complex histories we have all inherited. Not to mention the beautiful illustrations and representations and honouring of women throughout! Honestly, I’m inspired and you all deserve to read this.’ - Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan (@thebrownhijabi on Instagram). ‘Uncompromisingly honest… there’s a constant sense of fragility to her narrative, a delicateness, a vulnerability… and yet there is also an undeniable inner strength. Khan’s artistic style…forms such an immediate communicative bond with the reader; our empathy assured by its careful combination of accessibility and eloquence. This is [a book] that you’ll never stop fully unpacking, unpicking and reflecting upon.’ - Andy Oliver, Broken Frontier. ‘I very rarely feel like I could read a book over and over again, or that I could open it to any page and fully immerse myself… but I certainly feel that way with The Roles We Play. Sabba reminds us that we don’t exist with the labels others put on us, but we each have our own identities, heritages and lives. And we should own it. Really a beautiful book, I hope everyone reads it.’ - Samia Aziz (@readwithsamia on Instagram). ‘Deftly sustaining a captivating balancing act between a British now with the idealised Kashmir she never knew, Khan has manifested a compelling journey laced with humour, warmth, hope and unshakable determination.’ - Win Wiacek, Comics Review. ‘The palate and spareness of its visual identity allows it to show the architecture of place, the character of people, metaphor, abstraction and wit. I am very proud that Jerwood Arts gave the space for Sabba to complete the novel with such brilliance.’ - Jon Opie, Jerwood Arts. ‘One of the most poignant graphic novels I’ve read. A fascinating, informative and aesthetically stunning read.’ - Benjamin Worku-Dix, PositiveNegatives.

Sabba Khan is an architectural designer, artist and maker living in Newham, East London, and one half of architectural practice Khan Bonshek. She is an advocate of increasing working class black and brown representation in the arts and publishing, as well as in architecture and construction. Sabba’s work on The Roles We Play is supported by the Jerwood New Work Fund.