Beneath the Darkening Sky

June 27, 2012
South Sudanese refugee Majok Tulba’s brutal, poetic debut views the monstrousness of war through the innocent eyes of a young boy. Beneath the Darkening Sky tells the harrowing tale of young Obinna and his older brother Akot, who find themselves conscripted to the rebel army when their small village is attacked. Brutal scenes of killing and degradation are interwoven with Obinna’s recollections of his former life. This is an intensely moving story as well as a horrifying one, all the more so as it tackles an issue of our time. While a heavy-handed approach might have turned Beneath the Darkening Sky into pure horror, Tulba avoids this trap with an impressionistic style and a truly original voice. However, at times the novel relies a little too much on shock value where a more subtle approach might have worked better. With lyrical language and emotional urgency, Tulba has succeeded in creating a haunting marvel of a story that says as much about familial dreams and burdens as it does about the protracted history of Sudanese conflict. It is reminiscent of Nam Le’s The Boat and Markus Zusak’s The Book Thief—an important piece of work but also a wonderful page-turner.

Jennifer Peterson-Ward is an editorial assistant and freelance literary critic