Saqi Books snaps up two 'captivating' novels from Aboulela and Al-Nakib

Saqi Books has bagged River Spirit by Leila Aboulela and An Unlasting Home by Mai Al-Nakib, two novels that explore the untold histories of Arab women living in two different countries.

Publisher Lynn Gaspard acquired River Spirit direct from Grove Atlantic, while An Unlasting Home was obtained via Margaret Halton from the Pew Literary Agency. 

"We’re very excited to share these two urgent and captivating immersions into the female experience, spanning two contrasting Arab worlds," Gaspard said. "Both novels focus on untold histories."

A New York Times Notable Author and Caine Prize-winner, Aboulela has been longlisted three times for the Orange Prize and has been praised by J M Coetzee, Ali Smith and Ben Okri, among others, for her novels that depict Islamic spiritual and political life. 

"River Spirit provides a fresh look at 19th-century British colonialism in Sudan, from a Sudanese perspective and specifically that of women," the synopsis reads. "Based on actual historical events and extensive research, it is a coming-of-age love story between a Black woman and an Arab man as well as a powerful tale of a people who, against the odds and for only a brief time, gained independence from foreign rule."

Aboulela said: "I grew up in Khartoum and was always enthralled by the story of the siege of the city. At a time when we are rethinking our notions of empire, this episode in history with its ingredients of religious strife, corruption and personal vanities is particularly pertinent. "Saqi‘s books are always distinctive and bold. They are the ones with the ambition and flair to bring this novel into the hands of the ideal reader."

An Unlasting Home by short-story writer Al-Nakib follows Sara, a Kuwaiti philosophy professor accused of blasphemy, which has been imagined as a capital crime.

"A richly imagined family saga, An Unlasting Home traces Sara’s complicated relationship with Kuwait, a country she recognises less and less since her return from the US 11 years earlier," the synopsis reads. 

Al-Nakib said: "I am thrilled that my debut novel, An Unlasting Home, will be published by Saqi in London next spring. It is my sincerest wish that this multigenerational saga of five formidable women, ranging from the Middle East to India and the United States, will resonate with readers across cultures.

"As a story of migratory passage, inherited trauma, mothers and daughters, resilience, and looking for home, it speaks to the shared human experiences many of us face over time. I also hope it reinforces our sense of how precious and fragile the right to free speech remains."

River Spirit will publish in hardback on 7th March 2023, followed by An Unlasting Home in trade paperback on 4th April.