Season of Crimson Blossoms

"A rich and vibrant novel with shades of brutality, romance and the pressures of a close knit community. " --Leila Aboulela, author of The Kindness of Enemies "A powerful and compelling debut. The taboo subject of an older woman's sexuality, portrayed with courage, skill and delicacy, is explored in the context of the criminal underworld and the corrupt politics that exploits it. This is a novel to be savoured. " --Zoe Wicomb, author of October Season of Crimson Blossoms tells the captivating story of an illicit affair between a twenty-five-year-old street gang leader, Hassan Reza, and a devout fifty-five-year-old widow and grandmother, Binta Zubairu, who yearns for intimacy after the sexual repression of her marriage and the pain of losing her first son. This story of love and longing--set in a conservative Muslim community in Nigeria--reveals deep emotions that defy age, class, and religion. This novel gives a unique perspective on life and relationships in Northern Nigeria, a region vastly under-represented in the body of world literature. Abubakar Adam Ibrahim's short story collection The Whispering Trees was long-listed for the Etisalat Prize for Literature in 2014, with the title story shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing. Abubakar is a Gabriel Garcia Marquez Fellow (2013) and a Civitella Ranieri Fellow (2015). In 2014, Abubakar was named in the Hay Festival Africa39 list of the most promising writers under the age of forty. Season of Crimson Blossoms has been shortlisted for the $100,000 2016 NLNG Prize for Literature.