Season of Crimson Blossoms, Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
Season of Crimson Blossoms, Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
List: $25.99 | Sale: $18.20
Club: $12.99

Season of Crimson Blossoms

Author: Abubakar Adam Ibrahim

Narrator: Hassana Maina

Unabridged: 11 hr 20 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Recorded Books

Published: 08/24/2021


Synopsis

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.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Naz

Originally published in my blog, Read Diverse Books Ibrahim’s Season of Crimson Blossoms is unapologetically non-western and shines as an authentic work of postcolonial Nigerian fiction. As I was reading it, I often thought to myself how different in tone and language it was from almost anything els......more

Goodreads review by Shawn

I was drawn to this novel when I heard it was about a 55-year-old Muslim woman in conservative northern Nigeria who embarks upon a steamy affair with a 25-year-old weed dealer. I'm incredibly fussy about prose. If I don't like the writing, I don't like the book; often, I don't finish the book. That s......more

I first saw the cover on my social media timeline and was intrigued and went on to find out more about the author and his debut book. I loved what I read and was captivated by the opening line: "Hajiya Binta Zubairu was finally born at fifty-five when a dark-lipped rogue with short, spiky hair, like......more

I have always admired this author from afar but after reading his first novel which I totally savoured and enjoyed except for the last two chapters which I really hated, my admiration for him brewed. Adams use of language, style irony, symbol and other well thought out literary devices in his book w......more

Jesus! This guy is majestic! I admire writers who deliver such splendind debut novels. I want to see him write crime fiction. He's got the skill! He can do it. He will do it.........more