River Spirit, Leila Aboulela

Description

1890s. When Akuany and her brother Bol are orphaned in a village raid in South Sudan, they are taken in by a young merchant Yaseen. His promise to care for them 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 slip from the grasp of Ottoman rule, and everyone must choose a side. A scholar of the Qur'an, Yaseen feels beholden to stand against this false Mahdi, even as his choice splinters his family. Meanwhile, Akuany moves through her young adulthood and across the country alone, sold and traded from house to house, with Yaseen as her inconsistent lifeline.

Dimensions

1.02" H x 8.19" L x 5.51" W, 320 pages, paperback.