Saara

Mbarek Ould Beyrouk’s greatly acclaimed novel Saara was the winner of the prestigious Prix Littéraire Les Afriques 2023.

The story is told through three different narrators, Saara, an attractive young woman who is both unconventional, liberated and determined; the Sheikh, a young man who succeeds his father as the leader of a Sufi order striving to live exemplary lives in their oasis community and follow the path to salvation and the Beggar, befriended by Saara and who cares devotedly for his disabled mother and is the voice of the marginalised. It is their story and their lives are intertwined as the narrative embraces the whole gamut of life in Mauritania, with the conflict between city and desert life, tradition and modernity.

Saara travels to the oasis to visit the dying mother she hasn’t seen since childhood. She arrives too late, but is made to feel at home by the inhabitants. She feels drawn towards the young Sheikh who is also attracted to Saara. Against a backdrop of insecurity caused by the effects of climate change, both become involved in a fight with the town’s mayor about plans to build a dam in the oasis. It is a fight they cannot win and changes the lives of everybody. The Beggar’s revenge on the people who have abused him brings the novel to a dramatic conclusion.