Afro Book Club discussion

Discussion thread for Season of Migration to the North

anyone reading this book yet?

"Yet each one of them in that court would rise above himself for the first time in his life, while I had a sort of feeling of superiority towards them, for the ritual was being held primarily because of me; and I, over and above everything else, am a colonizer, I am the intruder whose fate must be decided."

I should receive the book today (along with An African In Greenland)

I read it a while ago. I need to reopen it.

Just got one rather irritating book to finish first (hopefully tonight) and then will be on the case. Am lopkong firward to it and hope that the rather battered second hand copy I found will last the distance (and doesn't have any pages missing!)

The story of Mustafa Sa'eed and the narrator explores so many themes - from love, duty, post colonial Sudan and what those who go away and return observe about where they have been and where they return to

I am finding this book slow reading for me.

I am not sure if it is the stream-of-consciousness parts that just slow me down (not my favorite literary technique) or that I have read too many similar stories in the past.

I do "perk up" when the discussion is about northern Sudan and/or there is interaction between two people.

I this is a classic and it was written in the late 1960s so keeping that in mind helps me to keep going.

I have finished this book.
Sorry but it just did not appeal to me.
I probably would have liked it better if I had read when it was first published then a lot of the storyline/then would have been novel to me.

I really did enjoy this book although it was quite slow going as there is just so much in there. I found the imagery very striking - the village being at the place where the Nile turns seems to reflect a lot of the other changes that are going on in the world which the narrator is describing (especially colonialism/ changing role of women).

I actually really do like the stream of consciousness and I thought it worked well as a way of integrating the life of the narrator with that of Mustafa Sae'ed.

What did you all make of the character Bint Majzoub?

I gave it four stars yesterday when I finished it but I am going to change that to five when I actually write my review (pending!).

Hi guys,

I have just written a review on Season of Migration to the North. The book is massively complicated and I loved it. My initial 4 stars was more to do with the fact that I found it slow going and also I have given rather a lot of 5 stars recently - but that is my fault not the author's!

Anyway, I hope you like the review (I'm not sure how to post a link sorry but it's on my read shelf!).

Cheers

Nabse B

yes I've read it. Loved it. Complexity and beauty makes a great marriage in this book. Great and awesome writer