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Season of Crimson Blossoms
Season of Crimson Blossoms | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
24 posts | 9 read | 27 to read
"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 OctoberSeason 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 longingset in a conservative Muslim community in Nigeriareveals 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."
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jennbee
Season of Crimson Blossoms | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim

We are like clothes, you understand. We get rumpled, and creased and torn, sometimes irreparably. Some of us are stitched up, patched up, others are discarded. Some clothes are fortunate. Others are not. They are born into misfortune and ink spills and what-nots, you understand?

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DannyOlda
Season of Crimson Blossoms | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
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I had jury duty today. I'm so glad I remembered to bring this book. It felt so far from the courthouse and the long waits.

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ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled
Season of Crimson Blossoms | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
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Pickpick

Giving this a pick, even though it‘s more of a 3-star for me. Set in Nigeria, the overall premise is an older woman, Binta, having an affair with Reza, a 20-something drug dealer; however, the affair is really a catalyst to expose the raw grief and unfulfilled dreams of both Binta, Reza, and their families. Interesting book.

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ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled
Season of Crimson Blossoms | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
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Apparently I was approved for a review copy 150 days ago and was never notified. 😟 Been looking forward to this as it‘s by a Nigerian writer - about a 55-year-old woman who has an affair with a 20-something weed dealer. Should be interesting from a different cultural perspective.

LeahBergen It DOES sound good! 6y
Soubhiville Wow sounds completely unique. Enjoy! 6y
batsy I had this on my radar and forgot; it sounds really interesting. 6y
56 likes3 stack adds3 comments
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Tamra
Season of Crimson Blossoms | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
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Bailedbailed

Part of my afternoon activities. I really wanted to like this novel, but 100 pages in I felt bogged down in everything except the love affair storyline, which in itself was interesting. (Rarity for me). Even that though felt very weird in a Freudian way, for reasons that are made clear to the reader. The combo of violence and sexual arousal in the very beginning was off putting and I nearly abandoned it in the first chapter.

[DELETED] 3803335244 Oh but your loaf looks lovely!!! Yum 7y
Tamra @ForeverNerdy it is a chocolate loaf. 😋 Super fast & easy. 7y
Lupa08 At least there's something chocolaty to compensate ❤️😋 7y
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Tamra @Lupa08 👍🏾 7y
ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled Hmm. Just started reading this today and I felt the same way about the beginning of the book. I found it off-putting and confusing. Im still reading - we‘ll see. 6y
Tamra @ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled let me know how you get on with it! 6y
35 likes6 comments
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shawnmooney
Season of Crimson Blossoms | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
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Pickpick

An impressive novel about a mid-50s Muslim woman's steamy affair with a 25-year-old drug dealer in conservative northern Nigeria, in a culture marred by political violence and religious fundamentalism, with ominous hints of the Boko Haram encroaching. Deeply relatable characters; a story well told. Despite the adjectival diarrhea and other writing flaws, I really, really liked this novel.

Sue Nothing rings my bells quite like adjectival diarrhoea 😊 7y
BookishFeminist @Sue 😂😂😂 7y
39 likes5 stack adds3 comments
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shawnmooney
Season of Crimson Blossoms | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
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sprainedbrain Excellent advice! 7y
britt_brooke 👏🏻👏🏻 7y
46 likes3 comments
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shawnmooney
Season of Crimson Blossoms | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
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shawnmooney
Season of Crimson Blossoms | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
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charl08 I don't think the sheep he meant look like this! 7y
shawnmooney @charl08 More grey hair? 😁 7y
charl08 Perhaps? 7y
Gleefulreader I love sheep, so this pic is really tickling me! 7y
43 likes4 comments
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shawnmooney
Season of Crimson Blossoms | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
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shawnmooney
Season of Crimson Blossoms | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
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shawnmooney
Season of Crimson Blossoms | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
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shawnmooney
Season of Crimson Blossoms | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
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shawnmooney
Season of Crimson Blossoms | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
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shawnmooney
Season of Crimson Blossoms | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
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shawnmooney
Season of Crimson Blossoms | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
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These soyayya romance novellas of northern Nigeria, written exclusively by women for women, and exclusively in Hausa not English, have been getting some attention in the west of late. I believe I remember Rebecca talking about them on the Book Riot podcast earlier this year, and there's a wonderful article chock full of photos here: http://brittlepaper.com/2016/02/stunning-photographs-hausa-women-reading-writing...

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shawnmooney
Season of Crimson Blossoms | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
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shawnmooney
Season of Crimson Blossoms | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
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JanuarieTimewalker13 This was a little rough before coffee. 7y
LeahBergen Pithy. 😂😂 7y
27 likes2 comments
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shawnmooney
Season of Crimson Blossoms | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
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shawnmooney
Season of Crimson Blossoms | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
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I had never heard of this Nigerian actor, Ali Nuhu, but now that I've googled him, I'm as obsessed as this teenage girl character is! :-)

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shawnmooney
Season of Crimson Blossoms | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
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shawnmooney
Season of Crimson Blossoms | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
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BOOKMAIL

I blurbed about this recently, and then immediately went ahead and ordered a copy online. I can't wait to read this one! There's no Litsy synopsis, but it's about a middle-aged conservative Muslim Nigerian woman having a steamy love affair with a much younger man.

DivineDiana Wow! 7y
Cinfhen Intriguing 🙀 7y
42 likes3 stack adds2 comments
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shawnmooney
Season of Crimson Blossoms | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
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This novel about an older Muslim woman's steamy love affair with a younger man in the ultraconservative north of Nigeria sounds pretty darned intriguing!

shawnmooney @Bookzombie I just bought it online. If you're game, why don't we read and discuss it together sometime? (Anytime, that is...) 7y
charl08 Have you read Born on a Tuesday? Similar setting, and I rated it. 7y
ErickaS_Flyleafunfurled This DOES sound intriguing!! And that cover! 7y
LeahBergen Oooo! 7y
34 likes4 stack adds4 comments
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ThatPortharcourtBoy
Season of Crimson Blossoms | Abubakar Adam Ibrahim
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Mehso-so

A love story set in deeply conservative northern Nigeria between two unlikely lovers. I absolutely loved this book!!!