River Spirit

Set during Sudan’s Mahdist period of the 1880s, this sweeping historical novel centers on a young village girl called Akuany (later Zamzam) and Yaseen, a traveling merchant who takes Akuany and her brother under his protection after their village is raided. Leaving the children with his sister’s family, Yaseen attends university and begins a career. While awaiting his return, Akuany becomes enslaved, while Yaseen takes a stand against the Mahdi, a self-proclaimed “redeemer of Islam” who is leading a rebellion against the waning Ottoman Empire and eventually the British Empire. Along with Zamzam and Yaseen, we get points of view from diverse characters, including Musa, a true believer in the Mahdi; Yaseen’s mother, Fatimah; and Robert, a Scottish artist working for the British shipping interests.