A vivid exploration of what it is to be human
Intertwining fantasy and reality, where madness is not a disease but a cure, is “Thirteen Months of Sunrise” by Sudanese author, journalist and activist Rania Mamoun. In her powerful collection of contemporary short stories, Mamoun explores every inch of what it is to be human, from the emotional traumas to the physical limitations. She takes her readers on a journey through Sudan and its cities, where the White Nile and the Blue Nile become one, and where cultures meld and take form. Mamoun’s collection stretches across human experiences within Sudan, beginning with one woman’s love for the Abyssinian people, a term used to refer to Ethiopian and Eritrean immigrants in the country. While their language and culture may differ from Sudanese culture, Rania, a Sudanese woman, and Kidane, an Ethiopian man, realize they are not so different. The Blue Nile that flows through Khartoum and moves north into Egypt, originates at Lake Tana in Ethiopia, they drink from the same water, they are “nursed from the same source.” Mamoun’s careful descriptions are profound and her imagery is captivatingly vivid. She invokes a reader’s five senses to feel her stories as they move between the daughter who could not give her father his wish for her to become a doctor, to a woman who is coupled with her delusions. When she cannot distinguish between reality and fantasy, she accepts her madness and quotes Darwish, “We have on this earth what makes life worth living.” And then moves on to the heartbreaking tale of a woman whose starvation has taken all her strength but has found an unlikely savior.
She writes of moments as she would of lifetimes, giving everything value and beauty, even harsh realities. There is pain in her stories, struggles that reality brings with it, that make a reader feel broken. The hopes that live behind closed doors and the stories people make up to believe certain narratives are at the forefront in Mamoun’s writing. She explores the toll that youth, old age, poverty, insanity, love, dreams and sorrows can take on her characters, ones that are resilient and conscientious. There is a fighting spirit in her words, yet they are soft and thoughtful. There is a soul to every story, each of which is unique, but relatable.
Originally published in Arabic in 2009, “Thirteen Months of Sunrise” was translated by award-winning translator Elisabeth Jaquette and published in English in 2019 by Comma Press.