Greetings, once again! 👋🏽
I hope you are doing well and taking good care of yourself.
Welcome to another edition of The Reader’s Perspective newsletter.
When The Sky Is Ready The Stars Will Appear tells the story of a young orphan, who embarks on a journey to Rome. It is the author’s third book, published in 2021.
The novel explores the subject of migration and the lengths people are willing to go in search of a life that promises to be better than the one they know.
When Bros returns to Gulu station with money, gifts, and tales of grandeur, the orphan, who is simply known as Nene’s son is inspired and determined to travel to this great place and become someone who makes Nene and Gulu station proud.
“You will meet good fortune on your journey. But ah, your eyes will see many things and you will even ask yourself if you should have gone on this journey in the first place.”- Nene
Soldiers of the Seven Men Army come to Gulu Station scouting for recruits that would join them on their mission to “clean the earth of injustice,” and the young men of the village must join them or flee, to avoid being attacked later.
Armed with the map Bros gave him and his stories, Nene’s son sets out at night with his belongings in a pillowcase. He has no idea what lies ahead or how he will cross the sea (literally, but he does not know at the time) between him and Rome but he is certain that he must go, come what may.
“I could not look back because I knew that to look back was to be transformed into a pillar of salt.”
The first job he finds is as a miner but he only lasts one day at it. He soon meets Abu, who sold breakfast to the miners and offers to work with him at his food stall.
While waiting to cross the desert, the young traveler meets other people he met on a similar quest—in search of a better life. There’s Abdu, who is traveling for love, to prove to the girl who did not love him back, that he deserved her. He was going away to make money and come back for the only girl he had ever loved.
Anyi, another traveler, hoped to play football in Europe. He had waited for talent scouts to find him but that hadn’t happened so he was taking the matter into his own hands. There’s also Tafiq, who knows all about where he’s going.
Ayira is traveling so she could help her family by working as a cleaner or nanny and sending them the money she earns. Other travelers mocked her and said she would end up “selling her body” but she was determined.
There’s also Zaaid, who is running away from the war in his country. The prospect seemed enticing at first with promises of salaries and regular meals (as there was widespread hunger in the country) but he soon realized that the boys who returned to the village did so as other versions of themselves so he ran.
Nene’s son also meets Quadir, the “crosser, ” another man who everyone avoided for fear that he had lost his mind, and other people “without a country”—no destination; they were just traveling abroad. This somewhat represents some people we meet in the journey of life who are not necessarily part of our story.
Many turmoils later, Nene’s son makes it to Rome, but at what cost? He also realizes that his journey just began, because in life, you keep moving and working.
I like how Abu moved on from one thing or place to another "when it was time. Too many times, we tend to stay in places and situations we have outgrown for the fear of losing our comfort and not knowing what tomorrow holds.
“Why do you want to leave certainty for uncertainty?” people would ask, as Abu asked Nene’s son but it is important to know when the sky is ready and move on.
Something that stood out to me in this book is how the many reasons people migrate are potrayed with the characters. The author did not just tell us a story about a nameless, faceless group of immigrants.
It’s a timeless story of hope and friendship. It also makes me think about the closing lines of Ousman Umar’s memoir, North to Paradise, where he shares his migration story.
“When I think of the place I was born, the places I traveled through, and the place I now call home, I am struck by how completely different they all are…In order to get from there to here, I had to learn how to navigate each one, and now I am in a position to see all of them at once, compare them to each other, and understand the advantages and disadvantages of each. This has given me a unique and slightly strange worldview—sometimes it helps me, and sometimes it gets in my way.”
Have you read this book? What did you think about it? Leave a comment, maybe? 😉
If you read this book after reading this review, do come back and share 😊