A New York Times Editors' Choice and Best Historical Fiction Book of the Year

Longlisted for the Jhalak Prize

A Booklist Top 10 Historical Fiction of 2023 Selection

“Dazzling… One of the great pleasures of River Spirit is listening as the novel tells us how to read it. The pace is swift, galloping over momentous events, stating profound changes with unsettling directness… Aboulela has written a novel of war, love, faith, womanhood and—crucially—the tussle over truthful public narratives.” — New York Times

“[A] kaleidoscopic portrait of late-19th-century Sudan.” — New York Times, A Best Historical Fiction Book of the Year

“A blazing historical epic of war, love, and revolution… A magnificent novel about the price of unwavering devotion and the inexhaustible pursuit for freedom.” — Los Angeles Review of Books

“[Aboulela] explores themes of faith and conquest without compromising on rich characterization or compelling plot development. She also centralizes women and their experiences in a larger sociopolitical context that is most often viewed in terms of men's lives…Aboulela reveals the thin lines that can demarcate religious zeal and patriotic fervor, social crusade and personal recklessness, as she creates a finely wrought and compellingly in-depth drama about a land and its people.” — Booklist, starred review

“Action-packed…. Aboulela casts a scrutinous and perceptive eye on the motives of religious leaders and colonial forces, and she layers the narrative with a rich blend of languages and cultures. This brims with drama and nuance.” — Publishers Weekly

“Rich and moving… captivating.”—Kirkus

“Historical novels are often most successful when they focus on ordinary people experiencing extraordinary times, and that is the case with Aboulela’s latest. Zamzam and Yaseen’s love story is moving and gripping, sweeping the reader along hoping that they will end up together against the odds... Highly recommended.” — Library Journal, starred review

“River Spirit is – like the rest of Aboulela’s oeuvre – flush with stunning, complex portraits of people.” — The Skinny (UK)

“Captivating…Aboulela unspools the fraught story of Sudan, as freedom and faith do battle.” — Daily Mail (UK)

“A novel of extraordinary sympathy and insight...a wonderful achievement.” – Abdulrazak Gurnah, Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature

“River Spirit had me gripped from the first page. This is real history, imagined in splendid detail, a story of ordinary people caught in extraordinary times. The characters' interwoven narratives create a book shaped into twists and turns all the way to its thrilling end. A triumph of storytelling.” — Aminatta Forna, author of Happiness and The Window Seat

"In rich, evocative detail, Aboulela captures one of the most important moments in Sudanese history. But ultimately, this is a story about people. Everyone--from Akuany to Yaseen to Musa to Fatima to Robert--reminded me of the hearts and minds affected by the winds of imperialism. You must read this." — Dolen Perkins-Valdez, author of Wench and Take My Hand

“In River Spirit, Aboulela's writing soars. It is urgent and it is critical. She joins writers like Maaza Mengiste, Namwali Serpell and Ayesha Haruna Atta in excavating history, breathing life into it, and presenting it in a new light. It is so far my best read this year.” — Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, author of A Girl is a Body of Water

“Leila Aboulela weaves together strands of Sudan’s history in this fascinating and unforgettable tale. By far my favourite of all her works, Aboulela employs elegant, poetic prose to create yet another masterpiece. This is a story that demands to be read. It is an excellent novel.” — Goretti Kyomuhendo,author of Waiting

“Painted with the words of an artist who loves and understands their subject, this novel is a historical portrait of freedom. Aboulela skillfully draws the uncertain colours of what freedom means to different individuals in a Mahdist Sudan to the last full stop.” — Zukiswa Wanner, author of The Madams

Leila Aboulela is the first-ever winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing. Nominated three times for the Orange Prize (now the Women’s Prize for Fiction), she is the author of numerous novels, including The Kindness of Enemies, The Translator, Minaret and Lyrics Alley, which was Fiction Winner of the Scottish Book Awards. Her work has been translated into fifteen languages. She grew up in Khartoum, Sudan, and now lives in Aberdeen, Scotland.