Ep. 225 Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih — The Stacks Book Club (Elamin Abdelmahmoud)

It’s The Stacks Book Club day, and we’re discussing the classic Sudanese novel, Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih. We’re joined again by Elamin Abdelmahmoud, author of Son of Elsewhere, to break down this novel that explores the tensions at the heart of colonialism. We also discuss the ways we project current events onto classic literature, how important an author’s own biography is to understanding the text, and that ending!
There are spoilers in today’s episode.

Be sure to listen all the way to end of the episode to find out what our August book club pick will be!

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Everything we talk about on today’s episode can be found below in the show notes. You can also find everything we talked about on Amazon.

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The Stacks Book Club – July 2022

July’s Book Club pick is Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih. Written in 1966, this classic book features an unnamed narrator returning to his village in the Sudan following years of study in Europe. Upon his return, the young man is eager to contribute somehow to his country’s emerging postcolonial life. He finds familiar faces from his childhood and soon meets the mysterious Mustafa Sa’eed, who gives a detailed and shocking confession about his own life and career in London before a return to his native land. Our narrator finds himself caught in the tumult between Europe and Africa, tradition and innovation, faith and unholiness. In 2001, a panel of Arab writers and critics selected Season of Migration to the North as the most important Arab novel of the 20th century.

We will be discussing Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih on Wednesday, July 27th. You can find out who our guest will be for that discussion by listening to the podcast on July 6th. If you’d like even more discussion around the book, consider joining The Stacks Pack on Patreon and participating in The Stacks’ monthly virtual book club.

Order your copy of our July book on Bookshop.org or Amazon.


To contribute to The Stacks, join The Stacks Pack, and get exclusive perks, check out our Patreon page (https://www.patreon.com/thestacks). We are beyond grateful for anything you’re able to give to support the production of The Stacks.

The Stacks participates in affiliate programs. We receive a small commission when products are purchased through links on this website, and this comes at no cost to you. This in no way effects opinions on books and products reviewed. For more information click here.