The Nile brings them life, but the Nile also takes away.

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

Reem Gaafar's profile page

• Winner, Island Prize

Reem Gaafar is a writer, physician and filmmaker. Her writing has appeared in African Arguments, African Feminism, Teakisi Magazine, Andariya and 500 Words Magazine, among others. Her short story ‘Light of the Desert’ was published in I Know Two Sudans (2014) where it was awarded an Honourable Mention. Her short story ‘Finding Descartes’ was published in Relations: An Anthology of African and Diaspora Voices (HarperVia, 2023). A Mouth Full of Salt is her debut novel and Winner of the Island Prize 2023. Gaafar lives in Ontario, Canada with her husband and three sons.

‘Insightful, elegant and compelling, with a profound sense of place. Gaafar shows brilliance in the ways she weaves destinies together and shares truths like all the best fiction writers.’ Karen Jennings, author An Island, longlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize

‘An impressive debut from a writer with plenty to say. A lean, lithe exposure of hatred and hardship, cruelty and retribution, community secrets and the stark otherworldly power of motherhood. I was gripped until the very last sentence.’ Leila Aboulela, author River Spirit