Bandershah novellas (1971 and 1976). Then, after the second
Bandershah novella appeared, Salih never published another, though he was to live for around 30 more years.
A shift to non-fiction
In the late 1980s, Salih began to publish literary essays in the London-based journal
al-Majallah. His series of “Mansi” essays was launched in 1988, a year after his friend’s death, Babikir writes in his introduction. They were finally collected together in book form sixteen years later. Adil Babikir s translation captures the cadence and humour in Salih s voice, writes award-winning author Leila Aboulela. At times I did wish for less of the impish Mansi and more of Salih. But nevertheless, it was a joy to keep company with the genius behind Season of Migration and I hope more of his non-fiction writing will be made available to English language readers