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Dry Season by Gabriela Babnik

by Yen-Yen Lu

Available this month from Istros Books is Dry Season by Gabriela Babnik. In West Africa, the effects of harmata during dry season, a strong wind that blows across the subcontinent while temperatures fall and rise spectacularly during the day and humidity drops to dangerously low levels, cause serious damage to nature and health. This makes up the backdrop of Babnik’s novel, where the conditions play a central part in this story about an unusual love affair.  

Babnik alternates the narrative between the two main characters - Anna, a 62-year-old Slovenian designer, and Ismael, a 27-year-old from Burkino Faso, a victim of abuse brought up on the streets brought up on the streets – allowing the reader to see both sides of the relationship and gain a deeper insight into each character. Issues of race, culture, age, human loneliness, and societal expectations are explored throughout this novel as the characters come to realise some truths about their relationship and themselves. 

Dry Season will be released on the 16 November but is available to order now on our website. Istros will be celebrating the launch of the book at the Free Word Centre in London on Monday 9th November. You can find more information on the event here.

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