A Mouth Full of Salt

A small farming village in North Sudan wakes up one morning to the news that a little boy has drowned. Soon after, the animals die of a mysterious illness and the date gardens catch fire and burn to the ground. The villagers whisper of a sorceress who dwells at the foot of the mountains. It is the dry season. The men have places to go, the women have work to do, the children play at the place where the river runs over its own banks. Sixteen-year-old Fatima yearns to leave the village for Khartoum.

In Khartoum, a single mother makes her way in a world that wants to keep girls and women back. As civil war swells, the political intrudes into the personal and her position in the capital becomes untenable. She must return to the village.

A Mouth Full of Salt uncovers a country on the brink of seismic change as its women decide for themselves which traditions are fit for purpose and which prophecies it's time to rewrite.

Lively and engaging ... Gaafar's village characters are vivid and skilfully drawn ... A Mouth Full of Salt gives up its secrets slowly, a trait that only enhances the reading pleasure of this intricate jewel of a novel. New Internationalist

A Mouth Full of Salt skilfully recounts the nuanced history of two countries that were divided long before they had any say in the matter. Gaafar approaches this narrative with compassion, confronting uncomfortable truths head-on. The New Arab

Insightful, elegant and compelling, with a profound sense of place. Gaafar shows brilliance in the ways she weaves destinies together. Karen Jennings, author of Crooked Seeds

An impressive debut. I was gripped until the very last sentence. Leila Aboulela, author of River Spirit