ThespellbindingnewnovelfromNewYorkTimesNotableAuthorandCainePrizewinnerLeilaAboulelaaboutanembattledyoungwoman’scomingofageduringtheMahdistWarin19thcenturySudan.LeilaAboulela,hailedas“aversatileprosestylist“(NewYorkTimes)hasalsobeenpraisedbyJ.M.Coetzee,AliSmith,andBenOkri,amongothers,forherrichandnuancednovelsdepictingIslamicspiritualandpoliticallife.HernewnovelisanenchantingnarrativeoftheyearsleadinguptotheBritishconquestofSudanin1898,andadeeplyhumanlookatthetensionsbetweenBritainandSudan,ChristianityandIslam,colonizerandcolonized.InRiverSpirit,Aboulelagivesustheunforgettablestoryofapeoplewho--againsttheoddsandforabrieftime--gainedindependencefromforeignrulethroughtheirwillpower,subterfuge,andsacrifice.WhenAkuanyandherbrotherBolareorphanedinavillageraidinSouthSudan,they’retakeninbyayoungmerchantYaseenwhopromisestocareforthem,avowthattethershimtoAkuanythroughtheiradulthood.Asarevolutionaryleaderrisestopower-theself-proclaimedMahdi,prophesiedredeemerofIslam-SudanbeginstoslipfromthegraspofOttomanrule,andeveryonemustchooseaside.AscholaroftheQur’an,YaseenfeelsbeholdentostandagainstthisfalseMahdi,evenashischoicesplintershisfamily.Meanwhile,Akuanymovesthroughheryoungadulthoodandacrossthecountryalone,soldandtradedfromhousetohouse,withYaseenasherinconsistentlifeline.Everythingeachofthemisstrivingfor-love,freedom,safety-isallonthelineinthefightforSudan.Throughthevoicesofsevenmenandwomenwhosefatesgrowinextricablylinked,Aboulela’slatestnovelilluminatesafraughtandbloodyreckoningwiththehistoryofapeoplecaughtinthecrosshairsofimperialism.RiverSpiritisapowerfultaleofcorruption,comingofage,andunshakeabledevotion-toacause,toone’sfaith,andtothepeoplewhobecomefamily.
