Airplane Mode

'Habib (is a) ruthlessly honest and funny observer.' New York Times 'Should be required reading.' Los Angeles Times Truly unique and illuminating, Airplane Mode asks: What does it mean to be a joyous traveller when we live in the ruins of colonialism? The conditions of travel have long been dictated by the colours of passports and the colour of skin. For Shahnaz Habib, travel and travel writing have always been complicated pleasures. Habib threads the history of travel with her personal story as a child on family vacations in India, an adult curious to experience our world and its margins guidebook-free, and an immigrant for whom round trips are an annual fact of life. 'Habib is also brilliant at evoking the quieter pleasures of travel ... this 'need to see for oneself what the world was like'.' Financial Times 'A memorable and unique travelogue that explores what it means to explore the world through the lens of colonialism, capitalism, and climate change.' Debutiful

Shahnaz Habib is a writer and translator based in Brooklyn. She translates from her mother tongue, the south Indian language of Malayalam, and has translated two novels, Jasmine Days, winner of the 2018 JCB Prize, and Al Arabian Novel Factory. Airplane Mode, her first book, has been longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medals of Excellence.