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| 13 Aug 2025 | |
| Written by Chloe Sawbridge | |
| Blog |
This month's Book of the Month is Tale of Ahmed by Henry Cockburn (MT 1995-2000).
About the Book
Tale of Ahmed is a gripping fictional account of the dangerous journey of a teenage boy, Ahmed, who travels from Afghanistan, across the Middle East and Europe, to seek refuge in England.
Written in the form of an epic poem and richly illustrated by the author, Tale of Ahmed describes how its eponymous hero gets help from fellow travellers and finds unexpected friends along the way. But Ahmed is also exploited for money by crooks and cheats, as well as targeted as a pariah. This unusual and unputdownable fable recounts with great sensitivity the Afghans’ sufferings and their courage and resilience in making a gruelling passage.
Recommended for
About the OKS Author
Henry Cockburn attended King’s in Mitchinson’s House from 1995 to 2000. At his time at King’s, he was a Cleary Art Scholar and was awarded the Pfizer Award for young artists in 1999. Since leaving King’s, Henry went to Wimbledon Art College and Brighton University where he faced some mental health struggles. Even so, he continued to paint, and upon his return from various mental health hospitals, began to write.
Henry’s work has been commended by critics in Britain and the US, short-listed for the Costa prize, and has been transformed into a radio play on BBC4.
Tale of Ahmed was published in 2024 and is available to purchase from Amazon.
