Award-winning Sudanese-Scottish writer Leila Aboulela is to publish a new novel, River Spirit, on 7 March 2023. The novel explores the imperialist history of Sudan during the Mahdist War in the 19th century.
The US edition will be published by Grove Press and the UK edition will be published by Saqi Books. The book is currently available to pre-order.
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Set in the 1880s in Sudan, the Caine Prize-winning author’s spellbinding new novel is about an embattled young woman in the years leading up to the British conquest of Sudan.
When Akuany and her brother Bol are orphaned in a village raid, they’re taken in by a young merchant, Yaseen, who promises to care for them: a vow that tethers him to Akuany through their adulthood. As a revolutionary leader rises to power – the self-proclaimed Mahdi, prophesied redeemer of Islam – Sudan begins to prise itself from Ottoman rule, and everyone must choose a side.
Yaseen feels beholden to stand against this false Mahdi, a decision that threatens to splinter his family. Meanwhile, Akuany moves through her young adulthood and across the country alone, sold and traded from house to house, with only Yaseen as her intermittent lifeline. Their struggle mirrors the increasingly bloody struggle for Sudan itself – for freedom, safety, and the possibility of love.
Through the voices of seven men and women whose fates grow inextricably linked, River Spirit illuminates a fraught and bloody reckoning with the history of a people caught in the crosshairs of imperialism. This is a powerful tale of corruption, coming of age, and unshakeable devotion – to a cause, to one’s faith, and to the people who become family.
Aboulela is an award-winning author who currently lives in Aberdeen, Scotland. She was born in Cairo, grew up in Khartoum, and moved to Aberdeen in her mid-20s. Nominated three times for the Orange Prize (now the Women’s Prize for Fiction,) she is the author of five novels, including Bird Summons (2019), The Kindness of Enemies (2015), Minaret (2005), and The Translator (1999) and Lyrics Alley (2010), which was Fiction Winner of the Scottish Book Awards. She was the first winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2000, and her short story collection, Elsewhere Home, won the Saltire Fiction Book of the Year Award.
Advance praise for River Spirit:
‘A tale set in nineteenth-century Sudan that explores themes of faith and conquest without compromising on rich characterisation or compelling plot development…Aboulela reveals the thin lines that can demarcate religious zeal and patriotic fervour, social crusade and personal recklessness, as she creates a finely wrought and compellingly in-depth drama about a land and its people.’Booklist, Starred Review
‘A tale set in nineteenth-century Sudan that explores themes of faith and conquest without compromising on rich characterisation or compelling plot development…Aboulela reveals the thin lines that can demarcate religious zeal and patriotic fervour, social crusade and personal recklessness, as she creates a finely wrought and compellingly in-depth drama about a land and its people.’
‘The action-packed latest from Aboulela turns on Sudan’s religious civil war in the late 19th century…Aboulela casts a scrutinous and perceptive eye on the motives of religious leaders and colonial forces, and she layers the narrative with a rich blend of languages and cultures. This brims with drama and nuance.’Publishers Weekly
‘The action-packed latest from Aboulela turns on Sudan’s religious civil war in the late 19th century…Aboulela casts a scrutinous and perceptive eye on the motives of religious leaders and colonial forces, and she layers the narrative with a rich blend of languages and cultures. This brims with drama and nuance.’
‘River Spirit had me gripped from the first page. This is real history, imagined in splendid detail, a story of ordinary people caught in extraordinary times. The characters’ interwoven narratives create a book shaped into twists and turns all the way to its thrilling end. River Spirit is a triumph of storytelling.’ Aminatta Forna, Author of The Memory of Love
‘River Spirit had me gripped from the first page. This is real history, imagined in splendid detail, a story of ordinary people caught in extraordinary times. The characters’ interwoven narratives create a book shaped into twists and turns all the way to its thrilling end. River Spirit is a triumph of storytelling.’
‘A novel of extraordinary sympathy and insight… a wonderful achievement.’Abdulrazak Gurnah, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature
‘A novel of extraordinary sympathy and insight… a wonderful achievement.’
‘In River Spirit, Aboulela’s writing soars. It is urgent and it is critical. She joins writers like Maaza Mengiste, Namwali Serpell and Ayesha Haruna Atta in excavating history, breathing life into it, and presenting it in a new light. It is so far my best read this year.’Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, Author of The First Woman
‘In River Spirit, Aboulela’s writing soars. It is urgent and it is critical. She joins writers like Maaza Mengiste, Namwali Serpell and Ayesha Haruna Atta in excavating history, breathing life into it, and presenting it in a new light. It is so far my best read this year.’
‘In rich, evocative detail, Aboulela captures one of the most important moments in Sudanese history. But ultimately, this is a story about people. Everyone—from Akuany to Yaseen to Musa to Fatima to Robert—reminded me of the hearts and minds affected by the winds of imperialism. You must read this.’Dolen Perkins-Valdez, Author of Wench and Take My Hand
‘In rich, evocative detail, Aboulela captures one of the most important moments in Sudanese history. But ultimately, this is a story about people. Everyone—from Akuany to Yaseen to Musa to Fatima to Robert—reminded me of the hearts and minds affected by the winds of imperialism. You must read this.’
‘Leila Aboulela weaves together strands of Sudan’s history in this fascinating and unforgettable tale. By far my favourite of all her works, Aboulela employs elegant, poetic prose to create yet another masterpiece. This is a story that demands to be read. It is an excellent novel.’Goretti Kyomuhendo, Author of Waiting
‘Leila Aboulela weaves together strands of Sudan’s history in this fascinating and unforgettable tale. By far my favourite of all her works, Aboulela employs elegant, poetic prose to create yet another masterpiece. This is a story that demands to be read. It is an excellent novel.’
‘Painted with the words of an artist who loves and understands their subject, this novel is a historical portrait of freedom. Aboulela skilfully draws the uncertain colours of what freedom means to different individuals in a Mahdist Sudan to the last full stop.’Zukiswa Wanner, Author of The Madams
‘Painted with the words of an artist who loves and understands their subject, this novel is a historical portrait of freedom. Aboulela skilfully draws the uncertain colours of what freedom means to different individuals in a Mahdist Sudan to the last full stop.’
Pre-ordering of River Spirit is now available:Pre-ordering from the UK www.amazon.co.uk/River-Spirit-Leila-AboulelaPre-ordering from the US www.amazon.com/River-Spirit-Leila-Aboulela
Picture of Leila Aboulela, courtesy of Rania Rustom
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