In the late 1800s, Sudan is moving toward independence, with Ottoman control weakening, British conquest not yet arrived, and a revolutionary leader—the self-proclaimed Mahdi of Islamic eschatology, prophesized to bring justice at the world's end—on the rise. Orphaned Akuany and her brother have been taken in by pious young merchant Yaseen, who considers the Mahdi false, and the narrative follows her coming-of-age in a tumultuous climate. From Caine Prize winner Aboulela (Elsewhere, Home), a three-time Orange Prize nominee.

Set during Sudan's Mahdist period of the 1880s, this sweeping historical novel centers on a young village girl called Akuany (later Zamzam) and Yaseen, a traveling merchant who takes Akuany and her brother under his protection after their village is raided. Leaving the children with his sister's family, Yaseen attends university and begins a career. While awaiting his return, Akuany becomes enslaved, while Yaseen takes a stand against the Mahdi, a self-proclaimed "redeemer of Islam" who is leading a rebellion against the waning Ottoman Empire and eventually the British Empire. Along with Zamzam and Yaseen, we get points of view from diverse characters, including Musa, a true believer in the Mahdi; Yaseen's mother, Fatimah; and Robert, a Scottish artist working for the British shipping interests. VERDICT Historical novels are often most successful when they focus on ordinary people experiencing extraordinary times, and that is the case with Aboulela's (The Kindness of Enemies) 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. The multiple perspectives also serve a useful purpose for readers who may know next to nothing about the complex historical events described. Highly recommended.—Christine DeZelar-Tiedman

The action-packed latest from Aboulela (Bird Summons) turns on Sudan's religious civil war in the late 19th century. Akuany is 11 when raiders from the north of Sudan burn her village of Malakal to the ground. During the attack, Akuany and her younger brother, Bol, are kept safe by a merchant named Yaseen and the river, "the spirit of who she was." Akuany, Bol, and Yaseen then travel north to Al-Ubayyid, where Akuany is sold into slavery and renamed Zamzam, meaning "holy water" in Arabic. On the periphery, a fringe group believes their leader Muhammad Ahmed to be the Mahdi, an Islamic prophet who appears at the end of times to rid the world of evil and injustice. As the Mahdists overtake the country, claiming city after city, Yaseen—now a jurist for an Ottoman chief—must decide whether to falsely claim a zealot as a messiah or to deny him and face certain death, all while trying to figure out how to free Zamzam, whom he'd sworn to protect. 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. (Mar.)