'The Silent Minaret' falls into that frustrating category of books that really should be great, and would be — if only their writers hadn't been so precious about their creations. But despite this, it's a memorable book which lingers in the mind.

The story, such as it is, revolves around the disappearance of a graduate student, and the reactions of his friends and family. Issa Shamsuddin, a quiet, reserved young South African, is living in London and working on his PhD thesis in history.

No-one, it seems, really knew Issa, but his absence leaves a profound gap in the lives of his elderly neighbour, Frances, his Afrikaans friend Katinka, and his mixed-race Johannesburg family, Vasinthe, Gloria and Kagiso.

All respond in their own way. An increasingly frail Frances ponders the similarities between Islam and Catholicism, Katinka hands out "Missing" leaflets, Kagiso joins her in London to help with the search and ponders their family history, and Vasinthe refuses to turn her cellphone off in case her son calls home. And in the background, but increasingly intrusive, the War Against Terror takes shape.

Ishtiyaq Shukri's first novel is more mood piece than mystery novel. We never find out why Issa disappeared, and in fact there's no hint of any "sinister forces", referred to in the blurb, which may have carried out the deed. The author is far more concerned with the collision between past and present, personal ideals and world events, religious faith and globalisation.

Are we silent, like the mosques of London, in the face of world events? Have we been silenced, or are we simply indifferent? What response do we have to the present collision of civilisations? Can our faith and our principles offer a way out?

The writing is indeed beautiful, but be warned; nothing much happens in this book. Shukri's self-conscious style means that his characters' speech is too intellectual and letter-perfect to be believable, often coming across as contrived. And all his characters appear equally obsessed with the way we use language.

Frustratingly, the author seems more concerned with atmosphere — post-9/11 London provides a rich backdrop indeed — history, and the intellectual and pop-culture influences on his characters — including Pink Floyd, TE Lawrence and Eminem — than with the characters themselves.

The devastating impact her son's disappearance must have had on Vasinthe is never adequately explored, and I couldn't help wondering why Issa's family only took action four months after his last sighting.

Of all the characters, Katinka is perhaps the most finely-drawn, and least predictable. An Afrikaans, freethinking plaasnooi, abandoned by her family, she meets Issa and Kagiso in the Karoo when they give her a lift to Cape Town, where Nelson Mandela is being released. Later, in London, she falls in love with a Palestinian and sets herself the task of learning Arabic.

Issa and Kagiso's personal histories are bound up with defining political moments. Kagiso, who is black, is awarded a place at the University of Cape Town, but affluent, Indian Issa is able to turn his back on UCT in favour of the leftist, politically-involved University of the Western Cape, and the brothers begin to grow apart. Vasinthe, by contrast, seems content to let politics happen to other people, despite her own forging of an unconventional family.

And yet, while representations of history are a crucial theme of the novel, colour and racial identity — so often the stock theme of South African novels — seem strangely absent. Not altogether a bad thing, perhaps.

The text is littered with quotes and intriguing word-pictures; Shukri is certainly not short on talent. 'The Silent Minaret' is a cerebral read, and I found his images and ideas stayed with me long after I'd finished the book.

'The Silent Minaret' won the EU Literary Award for Best First Novel. It's also part of Exclusive Books' Homebru collection.

Title:The Silent Minaret
Author:Ishtiyaq Shukri
Publisher:Jacana
ISBN: 1-77009-069-X