“By the standards of the European industrial world we are poor peasants, but when I embrace my grandfather I experience a sense of richness as though I am a note in the heartbeats of the very universe. He is no towering oak tree with luxurious branches growing in a land on which Nature has bestowed water and fertility, rather he is like the sayal bushes in the deserts of the Sudan, thick of bark and sharp of thorn, defeating death because they ask so little of life.”
– Tayeb Salih, Season of Migration to the North, a classic novel by a Sudanese author
”Intimidation, harassment and violence have no place in a democracy.”
– Mo Ibrahim, Sudanese billionaire businessman
The Book
TITLE: Lyrics Alley
AUTHOR: Leila Aboulela
PUBLISHED: 2010 
Many stories coming out of Sudan are of war, starvation, and despair so I chose this novel as a more exciting story from a different view of life in Sudan. The book is set in the 1950’s with a family of characters who represent the Arabic ethnic group in Sudan. It’s theme of the pull of the traditional vs. modern values is a constant in our ever-progressing society.
The book was written by a highly-acclaimed female author who was born in Cairo, grew up in and graduated from University in Khartoum and now lives in Scotland. Her journey resonates in the book’s characters and their subtle discussions of “immigration” – what it’s like to live outside the country of your birth.
More Information
More about the Author:
Leila Aboulela Website
Reviews of the Book:
Goodreads Book Review
The Guardian book review
Travel to Sudan:
Corinthia Hotel Khartoum
Lonely Planet Sudan information
The Culture Trip Sudan information
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