Sudanese-Scottish writer Leila Aboulela has won the 2025 PEN Pinter Prize. Her works delve into migration, faith, and identity. Her novels and short stories, often centered on Muslim women navigating cultural and spiritual landscapes, have earned global acclaim. Aboulela was the first winner of the Caine Prize for African Writing and has won both the Saltire Fiction Book of the Year Award and the Scottish Book Awards. Whether through historical epics or contemporary stories, her writing is a testament to the power of faith, memory, and belonging. If you are new to her writing or looking to revisit her works, here is a guide to her most compelling books. The Translator Publisher Grove Press, Black Cat Page 208 pages Paperback Rs 911 Leila Aboulela was instantly catapulted to literary spotlight after the release of her first novel, The Translator (1999). Nobel laureate J M Coetzee called it "a story of love and faith all the more moving for the restraint with which it is written.” The semi-autobiographical novel was written in 1990 after the author moved to Aberdeen in Scotland. The book follows Sammar, a Sudanese widow working as an Arabic translator in Aberdeen, grieves the loss of her husband and separation from her son. When she begins translating for Rae, a Scottish Islamic scholar, their intellectual connection blossoms into love. Yet their relationship is tested by Rae’s secular worldview and Sammar’s deep religious convictions. Aboulela has described The Translator as "a Muslim Jane Eyre." Minaret Publisher Grove Press / Atlantic Monthly Press Page 188 pages Paperback Rs 1,471 This is the story of Najwa, once a privileged young woman in Khartoum, who flees Sudan after a political coup and finds herself working as a maid in London. Stripped of her former status, she turns to Islam for meaning, finding community in a mosque while reflecting on her past mistakes. Minaret (2005)is a deeply introspective novel about redemption, class, and the search for belonging. Aboulela has said that she wrote Minaret to show "a woman’s need for spiritual fulfilment is as urgent and as valid as her need for love, family and a career." Lyrics Alley Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson Pages:336 Kindle: Rs 355 Set in 1950s Sudan during the waning days of British colonialism, Lyrics Alley follows the Abuzeid family, a wealthy trading dynasty. When Nur, the heir to the family empire, is paralysed in an accident, his dreams of education and marriage collapse, exposing fractures within the household. Aboulela weaves a tapestry of Sudanese society, contrasting tradition with modernity through the perspectives of Nur’s two wives: one yearning for Egypt’s cosmopolitanism, the other rooted in Sudanese customs. The novel is both a family saga and a historical portrait, capturing a nation on the brink of independence. The novel won of the Scottish Book Awards. River Spirit Publisher: Saqi Books Pages:336 Kindle: Rs 1,337 Aboulela’s latest novel, released in 2023, transports readers to 19th-century Sudan during the Mahdist uprising against Ottoman-Egyptian rule. Akuany, an orphaned girl, is taken in by Yaseen, a Quranic scholar torn between loyalty to his people and resistance against the self-proclaimed Mahdi. Through multiple perspectives, River Spirit explores faith, colonialism, and resilience. Aboulela’s prose brings to life a turbulent period in Sudanese history, blending political intrigue with human stories.
