Why Join?

  • Add New Books

  • Write a Review

  • Backpack Reading Lists

  • Newsletter Updates

Join Now

Book set in Niger (Harmattan)

16th September 2012

Harmattan by Gavin Weston, book set in Niger.

Harmattan n. A dry, dusty wind that blows from the Sahara across West Africa. (Probably from the Arabic haram, a forbidden or accursed thing.)

1905802579.01.ZTZZZZZZAt TripFiction we come across some very exciting novels during our researches. Harmattan is one of these exceptional novels, well written, with a haunting story. It is set in The Republic of Niger, and let’s be honest, not many of the visitors to our site will be going to visit this country – yet it is a universal story, the story of parts of Africa, and a tale that is not confined to this continent alone.

Haoua, a young girl of 12 years suffers a huge amount of loss, yet is also very brave and resilient and can still maintain a sense of humour at times. It is almost as though she is borne back and forth by the wind, from her home in a small village, Wadata, to the capital Niamey. From the parched earth, the camion trails across the desert, the heat, the colours and the smells of West Africa – you can almost shake the sand and brittle earth out of this book as you turn the pages. The dry, arid heat lifts from the writing and water is available to us, the reader, but often not to the people who populate this book. It is sometimes shocking in its rawness, beautiful in its descriptions and remains in the consciousness long after the novel is back on the bookshelf.

Do you need any more persuading to buy this book? Then hear what the publishers have to say: “We haven’t released anything as hauntingly beautiful since Tan Twan Eng’s “The Gift of Rain”.

Tina for TripFiction

Do come and say hello on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest – we chat books and lush locales and lots more…

Subscribe to future blog posts

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *