Season of Crimson Blossoms

by Abubakar Adam Ibrahim Narrated by Hassana Maina

Overview

From one of Nigeria's most exciting and distinctive new storytellers comes a debut novel that is already making waves across the African continent.
An illicit affair between 55-year-old widow Binta Zubairu and 25-year-old weed dealer and political thug Hassan "Reza" was bound to provoke condemnation in conservative Northern Nigeria. Brought together in startling circumstances, Binta and Reza discover a need that only each can satisfy in the other. Binta, a grandmother of five, yearns for intimacy after the sexual repression of her marriage, the pain of losing her first son and the privations of widowhood. Meanwhile, Reza seeks to lessen the pain of estrangement from his mother, and the increasingly remote link to his father, by seeking solace in an unconventional emotional and physical relationship.
Through Binta, we follow the intimate daily life of a Muslim Hausa family-where life revolves around domestic disputes and divorces, friendship and whispers, and religious instruction at the madrasa. By contrast, Reza is the selfpronounced Lord of San Siro, an urban cesspit that is home to a gang of misfits, outcasts and thugs.
The situation comes to a head when these two worlds collide, with disastrous consequences. This story of love and longing-set against undercurrents of political violence-unfurls gently, revealing layers of emotion that defy age, class and religion.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

★ 04/03/2017
Ibrahim’s excellent first novel tells of the unlikely romance between a Muslim widow and a dope-dealing street tough amidst the troubles that each faces. When 55-year-old Binta Zubairu wakes to the smell of cockroaches, she knows that something terrible will happen to her; as the odor has always heralded disaster in the past. Her niece Fa’iza and granddaughter Ummi, who both live with her, are away at school when her home is robbed by a knife-wielding young man. Mysteriously, most of the stolen goods are returned a few days later and Binta’s assailant appears to apologize. When Hassan Babale, known as Reza, returns a third time, the two are overcome by their inexplicable desire and thus begins an illicit romance. Binta must also contend with the arrival of her daughter, Hureira, who has left her husband, and the increasingly erratic behavior of Fa’iza. Reza’s jobs for his senator boss escalate in danger. Throughout this tale set in the author’s native Nigeria, current and past violence taints the lives of these characters seeking solace where they can find it. Each feels longing and loss and must contend with the forces of propriety and duty to family. (May)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173284921
Publisher:	Recorded Books, LLC
Publication date:	08/24/2021
Edition description:	Unabridged

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