Ghost Season
by Fatin Abbas
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Pub Date 6 Jul 2023 | Archive Date 6 Jul 2023
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Description
A dynamic, beautifully orchestrated debut novel connecting five characters caught in the crosshairs of conflict on the Sudanese border.
A mysterious burnt corpse appears one morning in Saraaya, a remote border town between northern and southern Sudan. For five strangers on an NGO compound, the discovery foreshadows trouble to come.
South Sudanese translator William connects the corpse to the sudden disappearance of cook Layla, a northern nomad with whom he’s fallen in love. Meanwhile, Sudanese American filmmaker Dena struggles to connect to her unfamiliar homeland, and white midwestern aid worker Alex finds his plans thwarted by a changing climate and looming civil war. Dancing between the adults is Mustafa, a clever, endearing twelve-year-old, whose schemes to rise out of poverty set off cataclysmic events on the compound.
Amid the paradoxes of identity, art, humanitarian aid, and a territory riven by conflict, William, Layla, Dena, Alex, and Mustafa must forge bonds stronger than blood or identity. Weaving a sweeping history of the breakup of Sudan into the lives of these captivating characters, Fatin Abbas explores the porous and perilous nature of borders―whether they be national, ethnic, or religious―and the profound consequences for those who cross them.
Ghost Season is a gripping, vivid debut that announces Abbas as a powerful new voice in fiction.
Advance Praise
Endorsements:
'Ghost Season travels that narrow road between austere and gut-wrenching, and does it with incomparable grace. From the first words of this gorgeous novel to the last, Fatin Abbas holds us spellbound, immersed in the lives and the world that unfolds in its pages. Beyond the debris of war and displacement, she reminds us, rests something else that can never be truly extinguished: hope.’
—Maaza Mengiste, author of The Shadow King, shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize
‘Utterly mesmerizing, and a brilliant depiction of the blurry psychological and physical borders that divide Sudan and South Sudan. An extremely promising and important first novel.’
— Dave Eggers author of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and The Eyes and the Impossible
‘Immersive and astonishing, Ghost Season brings alive with brilliant specificity the South Sudanese border town of Saraaya, and an unforgettable cast of characters linked by circumstance and fate. Fatin Abbas is a remarkable writer, and this novel an extraordinary debut.’
—Claire Messud, best-selling author of The Burning Girl
and The Emperor’s Children
Press:
Chicago Review of Books, 12 Must-Read Books of January 2023, January 3
“Ghost Season is a gripping debut from Fatin Abbas about the porous and perilous nature of human made borders.”
—Apple Books, “Best Books of January,” announced January 3
Apple Books, Most Anticipated Books of 2023, January 3
The Big Thrill, interview for “Africa Scene” feature, January issue
“[A] remarkable debut… The sense of place is powerful, the characters superbly drawn.”
—New York Journal of Books, glowing review, January TK
“Abbas adds just the right amount of sense of place to paint the scene and the cultures without letting it get in the way of her characters and their stories. Ghost Season is a wonderful debut from a truly talented writer. This is an author to watch and, above all, to read.”—Michael Sears
—Booklist, review, November 11 issue
“Abbas’ first novel gets an A for its evocation of setting…”
—Publishers Weekly, wonderful review, November 4 issue
“Abbas skillfully navigates boundaries between the disparate players and builds a fine drama out of their negotiations and bonds. Readers will be captivated by this immersive novel.”
Available Editions
| EDITION | Hardcover |
| ISBN | 9781914344763 |
| PRICE | £16.99 (GBP) |
Links
Available on NetGalley
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