Narrator

The Narrator is the character in the novel that is chosen to tell the story of Mustafa Sa'eed. He is never given a name and is always referred to as 'he' or 'him'. He is from a small village in Sudan located on the Nile River. He left his family and the closeness of his tribe to attend school in Europe, where he received a doctorate in literature. He returns to his village and family after completing his studies and his acquaintance with Mustafa Sa'eed begins. When Mustafa disappears, the narrator is left as guardian of his two sons. He obtains a job in Khartoum in the Department of Education and returns to the village every year for two months. He becomes obsessed with the story of Mustafa Sa'eed, the mystery man who he meets when he returns to village from his seven years of studying abroad. He...