Around the World in 80 Books discussion

Start discussion here for Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih.

Highly recommend this book! It's a classic!

I plan on reading this next. I really look forward to it.

I bought a copy from Betterworld books for about $5. I've now read a little over a third. I'm not sure if I think it's good or more than that, will have to see how the rest goes. There is certainly some excellent narrative. The style reminds me a lot of the writing of Naguib Mahfouz of Egypt in Midaq Alley.

I finished this today, and it is hard to describe my thoughts. It's hard to know what is going on frequently in the story as sufficient background is not given and the stories of the narrator and Mustafa Sa'eed, the main focus of the story interweave. It doesn't help that the narrator tells the story of meeting Mustafa and Mustafa telling the narrator about his life, so it is a story within a story at time.

When I was done, I felt like it was about obsession. Mustafa was obsessed with women and one woman in particular. The narrator is obsessed with Mustafa. But I read a bit about Sudan's history in the 20th century prior to the 1966 when the novel was published. I can see how Mustafa's way of life in England could be a reaction to the colonization of his country. I abhorred Mustafa as a character since he was a womanizer who cares nothing about women except as sexual objects. Overall I didn't like this story much, but I can see where it could generate lots of discussion in a college literature course or similar group setting.

I thought I would share this: I looked at the ratings of this book by members of this group and tallied how many rated 1 or 2 stars vs how many rated 4 or 5 (I didn't count the 3s).
There were two ratings of 2 (no 1s) and 6 ratings of 4 or 5. While there are dissenters, most ratings were fairly high.

I'm nearing the end so will be back in a few days to post comments.

Wow, I am not sure how I feel about this book. If one can get past the obvious misogyny, it is a well written gritty book. I gave it three stars, but I may change my rating after a few days of reflection.

I agree with many of the comments here. I can see how this book is considered a classic. There are themes here that I don't know much about, particularly from the point of view of a country that was previously colonized. I wondered if there was symbolism with the women who fell in love with Mustafa Sa'eed, their fate, and the colonization of a country. As if perhaps the exploitation of the country turned on them in the end. I'm not sure.

It was a difficult book, emotionally, for me to read. I had a difficult time with the misogyny, as Laurie wrote. I hope to find a book written by a woman of this region, and hope to connect with it more than I did with this book.

Melissa wrote: "I agree with many of the comments here...."

Melissa, if you haven't read it I strongly recommend Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga, a woman writer of Zimbabwe. It has a young female protagonist.

Now I'm reminded that I didn't return as I vowed after finishing Season of Migration. I did give it a four-star rating. Parts of the book I enjoyed a great deal, the rather grim ending not so much.

George P. wrote: "Melissa wrote: "I agree with many of the comments here...."

Melissa, if you haven't read it I strongly recommend Nervous Conditions by Tsitsi Dangarembga, a woman writer of Zimbabwe...."

George, thank you very much for the recommendation. I am really looking forward to reading it.