Ghost Season: A Novel Hardcover – January 10, 2023

This novel is a masterpiece. We really see Sudan and its many and varied peoples through a finely honed lens. The main characters are complex and lovable; the brutal reality of war is exposed. Please read it. The world needs this book.

Author makes even very ordinary, not especially likeable, people.interesting. her complete descriptions of the surrounding conditions make this novel unforgettable. She makes us see how social conditions can affect everything in life, showing us how life is during a civil war. It is so tragic to contemplate how trapped so many people are. Very good book.

I loved this debut novel by Fatin Abbas. I was immediately engaged as the stories of the five characters living in an NGO compound in South Sudan unfolded. War breaks out and Abbas vividly describes the twists and turns that ensue. Abbas provides a timely read to gain an understanding of the complicated dynamics in South Sudan.

Ghost Season is a bit of an expository tale of the Sudanese Civil War, the main setting is at an NGO in a remote border village in Southern Sudan, where five strangers meet and their fates are forever altered. William, a local villager who works as a translator to the two Americans – Dena, an independent filmmaker of Sudanese origins, grapples with her identity and purpose, and Alex, a corporate sponsored cartographer, whose Western mannerisms, arrogance, and brashness offends the local officials with disastrous consequences. Rounding out the cast is Layla, the compound’s cook (and William’s love interest), and a local 12 year-old houseboy, Mustafa.Although an act of violence occurs at the beginning of the novel, it takes a while for things to move. The first half explores character backgrounds and details the environmental impacts that climate change has on politics, regional trade, and tribal livelihood. Severe drought, dried wells/watering holes, evaporated lakes, and/or re-routed rivers force nomadic farmers to travel further north encroaching on designated government land to water and feed their cattle and themselves. These moves cause rebellions and armed reprisals leading to violence and death across the Northern and Southern regions, between the government and local tribesmen. Social, religious, and tribal customs are examined through Catholic William’s pursuit of Muslim Layla’s hand in marriage where disparities and tradition dictate the trajectory of their relationship.While I found the writing solid enough, I found myself interested in the cultural and political aspects more than the characters and plot itself. Recommended for those who would like to learn more about Sudan and its challenges.

Ghost Season feels very real. Fatin Abbas skillfully catches the dynamics of many layers of individuals, different cultures, global warming, competition of scarce resources, and war between Sudan and South Sudan.