When the Stars Fall to Earth

by Rebecca Tinsley

Centered around the plight of five Darfuri refugees, the novel follows the stories of Zara, Ahmed, Hawa, Abdelatif, and Rashid as each of them copes with life- and soul-threatening circumstances. Author Rebecca Tinsley makes their journey the reader s journey, and long after you put the book down the characters will stay with you. Zara, barely escapes from the marauding Arabs and, numb with terror, crouches in a dried up riverbed beneath a rocky pass in the mountains. As the killing helicopter gunship flies overhead, her heart stops as she spies her pink flip flops clearly visible on the open ground near her. Zara, who is unusually gifted with both intelligence and education, hears the steady and calm voice of her grandfather the Sheikh of her village now dead telling her to use both of her gifts. I m going to survive this, she assures herself as she rescues her shoes and resumes her flight toward the uncertain sanctuary of the refugee camp. Ahmed, as fleet of foot as Zara is of mind and a born soccer player, organizes soccer teams in the refugee camp to help the dispirited refugees cope. Now, however, sitting in the stifling interrogation room, Ahmed tries to take his mind off the heat and the pain of the bullet lodged in his hip. Maybe this wound of mine will stop me playing professional soccer, but I can live with that, if it means getting out of here, he thinks. He recalls how the cool dawn air used to feel as he emerged from his hut, back in the village, when he used to run. After the first few paces he would get into his stride, leaving the village behind, like a streak of lightning, like the wind. Free of the cares and woes that plagued him and the rest of his village. His mind and his eyes looking forward, for the future, for hope. Hawa, measured and accustomed to being obedient, accepted the traditional role of a woman in her Darfuri village. Now wounded and damaged, she fights to find the will to live. She finds that will with help from Mary, the Christian nurse, from Ahmed, the optimist and organizer, and even in a backhanded way from Rashid, to whom she had been betrothed. The pain returned when she pulled herself upright, but Hawa felt strangely triumphant. I survived, she thought. I made it and I m here and I survived. They re not going to destroy me that easily. Ultimately, she goes far beyond finding the will to she develops into a strong leader who takes on the task of helping her people to learn and develop a new way of thinking and living. As Rebecca Tinsley guides us through each character s journey, we learn about the politics of violence and genocide, about the pain and terror of the African Wild West and about the hope, burning like a beacon in the night, that drives these young Darfuris to fight for their country, fight for their freedom, and fight for their lives.

Genres: Sudan, Africa, Fiction, Historical Fiction

312 pages, Paperback

First published January 21, 2011

Reviews

[Chrissie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am sure you have heard of the Darfur genocide. In 2004 it hit the news. Are you aware that it is still going on?
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/24/wor...

Please read this book! It is important. It has a message to impart. It explains what has happened and is still happening in Darfur, western Sudan. The characters are fictional, but each one represents the experiences of these people in a simplified manner. Somehow this works. There is history and it is clearly presented through the fictional characters, so you empathize, so you understand, so you care. The bottom line is that what is presented here is the unbiased truth, and it has to be known. Something has to be done to stop this ethnic cleansing. Why have we let it go on so long? The last chapter discusses why so little has been done and provides contact addresses.

I listened to the audiobook. It was well narrated by Holly Villaire, with passion and clarity and different intonations for each character.

It is all very nice that food and blankets are being sent to refugee camps. But you know what really has to be done? The weapons that are killing these people must be stopped. The UN resolutions must be enforced. And the Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir must be tried at The Hague.

Start by reading the book.

[Majd · Rating 5 out of 5]

من المؤسف ان تكون قضايا اخوتنا في السودان يتم تجاهلها بشكل شبه كامل ولا يتم التطرق لمعاناتهم والحروب الاهلية التي عانت منها واهم هذه الحروب حروب الشمال العربي المسلم مع الجنوب الافريقي الوثني والمسيحي ونتج عنها انفسام السودان لشمال وجنوب.
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من النزاعات التي عانى منها شعب السودان نزاع اقليم دارفور الذي يقع غرب السودان ويتكون هذا الاقليم من العرب وعادة هم يعملون في الرعي والفور الافارقة العاملين في الزراعة وكانت علاقتهم مستقرة مع نزاعات تحدث بين الفينة والاخرى و لكن سياسة نظام عمر البشير الحمقاء عمقت جذور الخلاف بين العرب والفور وهو ما ادى لظهور مليشيات فوريةمسلحة مثل جيش تحرير السودان وهو ما ردت عليه حكومة البشير بتكوين مليشيا الجنجويد العربية من اهالي دارفور لمواجهة المسلحين الفور وارتكبت هذه المليشيات ابشع الجرائم في حق الفور.
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في هذه الرواية التي كتبت بيد ناشطة حقوقية مهتمة بالشأن الافريقي بشكل عام ودارفور بشكل خاص صورت لنا معاناة شعب الفور على لسان عدة شخصيات، حواء التي تم اغتصابها من قبل الجنجويد والكثير البنات مرت بتجربتها، حبيب حواء الذي اخفوه الجنجويد، عائلة الشيخ عصمان الفورية وبتزعموا المليشيات الفورية ويتسلطوا على المدنيين العزل بحجة حمايتهم من الجنجويد، حواء التي هربت مع اخيها لاوروبا بامل عظيم ان ينصفوا قضيتهم.
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رواية مؤلمة تصور ضياع المدنيين بين مليشيات مجرمة تتحدث باسمهم وتدعي حمايتهم وغالب قياداتها عميلة للغرب، وبين نظام عسكري عنصري مجرم كون ميليشيا غير رسمية في الدولة حتى يبعد الجيش عن ممارسة الابادات املا في تبرئة ساحته، رواية رائعة تستحق القراءة.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was in Sudan in 1972 with the United Nation World Health team as a volunteer for the drought and famine, starvation in the area when the Sudanese-Libyan conflict arose. The area is so poor and drought and famine in a recurrent theme. My time spent in the Sudan gave me a good understanding as the stories told in the book, I heard the same stories in 1972. The last thing the area needs in ethnic cleansing. The Arabic war lords of the area are attempting to remove all black Africans Muslims from the Sudan. So far approximately 3 million people have died in the conflict in Sudan this total also includes the area of Sudan called Darfur. The book is fiction but the author had been in Darfur in 2004 and listened to the stories of women in the camps. I think she was correct in choosing fiction as a way to tell their stories verses non-fiction. In the Muslim world women are second class citizen and in time of war rape of women is a tool of war to destroy a people’s basic social fabric. The Arabic war lords are selling captured blacks into slavery those not acceptable for slavery are killed. The book is well written and the strong women characters will grip your attention. The book tells a story that needs to be told and unfortunately the conflict is still ongoing today along with drought and famine. The U.N. camps are overcrowded. The story in this book continues. I enjoyed the author’s comments at the end of the book. Holly Villaire does a fantastic job narrating the story. This is a must read book for people to help understand the human rights problems of the world today.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

• عن الواقع المكتوب في الرواية ذاتها :
أذهلني جهلي عما حدث في دارفور ، عما يحدث في السودان الأفريقي ، عن تصديقي للدعايات الحكومية اللعينة ، و مدائح دكاترتي السودانين عن بلدهم وحقوق المرأة هناك ..فاللعنة على الجهل أينما كان .
الرواية صيغت من قصص حقيقة رواها ناجين .

والآن فسأتحدث عن أسلوب الكتاب ذاته :
سيء ، سيء ، سيء ... من أسوء ما قرأت في حياتي .
لا أعلم هل المشكلة في الترجمة بحد ذاتها أم الكاتب نفسه ، أسلوب بدائي مُخجل للأمانة ، وكأني أقرأ تعبيراً إنشائياً لطفل في العاشرة ، القصص حيكت بشكل بسيط جداً ، الحوارات بدت كنصوص منقولة بلا روح أو دم ، إنما غايتها الوصول لنقطة محددة بمنتهى الوضوح والسذاجة ، المشاعر بدت صياغتها غريبة غير حقيقية بالمرة .
وما دفعني لإتمام القراءة هو موضوع الكتاب بحد ذاته ، ( دارفور ) .

سأمنح الكتاب 4 نجوم لأجل الضحايا .
سأنقص نجمة للفشل الذريع في الكتابة ، أرغب في إنقاص أكثر من ذلك ، ولكن لأجل القضية .. لا أستطيع

[Carolyn Stenner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, before reading this book I never took the time to learn about what was happening in Darfur. Shame on me. Thanks to this well-written book I am better educated on the topic. The strength and resilience of these fictional characters certainly represents thousands of real life refugees. At the very least we need to acknowledge the horrors they have survived and do what we can to bring them to an end.

[Tracie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life changing book. Burst your American bubble and read the tragedy of Darfur.

[Sidna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that I did not want to read, but I am glad that I did. This book was this month's selection for one of my book discussion groups, but I kept putting off reading it. The subtitle is "A novel of Africa."

This story takes place in Darfur, Sudan. As the author states in the Preface, this is not a weighty academic book about what is happening in Darfur. It is not an account of politicians making historic decisions, or the exploits of daring war reporters in battle zones. It is a well-written novel about people who find themselves in the middle of a conflict, and how they survive. The author visited Darfur in 2004. Some of the story involves history that takes place before that and some of the action takes place after.

Although this is a grim story, the author creates characters about whom the readers care. They make the book readable. The book shines a light on what is happening and some of the reasons behind the current situation in Darfur. Even though women are second-class citizens in this part of the world, the women are the strong characters in this book.

Interestingly, people in Darfur are hoping for help from America. America often rushes in to help downtrodden people in other countries and it is not always appreciated. I'm not sure why our government won't help the people in Darfur. The author lists "What you can do to help" at the end of the book, although the situation looks pretty hopeless.

[Jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good novel because it is an important novel. The author is not the kind of writer with the skill to craft a masterful story. The power of the writing comes from the content. I admire the author for making the jump from journalist to novelist in an effort to make a story accessible to a larger audience, but I also had mixed feelings about it.

I'm on the fence about the ethics of fictionalizing an account of genocide, especially in this case where the author makes an impassioned plea for support after closing the novel. We use fiction as a tool to teach, convey big ideas, expand imagination. In some cases, I'm sure fiction as a tool for advocacy works too, but I don't know if there isn't a trade-off. As readers, fiction invites us to think deeper, but not often to take action.

[H3dakota · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart wrenching. I'm not a big crier, but this book had me in tears. To look at the genocide in Darfur as a whole is just too big for most people to truly comprehend the horror - this book tells the stories of 5 people. Hearing their stories in this way really helps one to understand how incredibly awful the war in Darfur has been & CONTINUES to be. It is uplifting & heartbreaking all at once. Everyone should read this book - though the thought of multiplying these 5 stories by 60,000 does leave the reader gutted.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book that explores the reality of the genocide in Darfur. By bringing the story into focus with a few characters, the author transmits a lot of information and detail about the daily sacrifices and tragedies of the conflict in Sudan. The beginning is full of background, history and cultural info, which is important but sometimes takes you out of the story. However, it picks up quickly and you find yourself worrying about these characters, hoping for their futures.

[Dolly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like I lived my life with my eyes closed before this book. Reading the book is probably no more than just a quick one-second peak with one eye, but it's a start to really opening my eyes to the realities of genocide. It happened and it is happening on our watch. Thank you to Rebecca Tinsley for this engrossing and important book.

[علم الدين · Rating 3 out of 5]

رواية دارفور...دارفور هي سيرة ذاتية للالم والقهر والمعاناة والاستبداد متمثلآ في الصراع و التطهير العرقي والابادات والتحويل القسري تسلط الضوء علي استخدام سلاح الاغتصاب الممنهج كاداة للابادة الجماعية . رواية توثق لفظائع نظام الاخوان المسلمين في السودان والجنجويد والحركات المسلحه وقطاع الطرق وتواطؤ وصمت المجتمع الاقليمي و الدولي عن اكبر مأساة في القرن الواحد وعشرين

[Karen Lapuk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Intensely sad but beautifully written. I highly recommend this book for those who are interested in knowing more about human rights, Africa, Darfur, or genocide. At times hard to read but the prose is eloquent.

[IG · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book about the genocide in Sudan really just made my blood boil. The injustices that women and children face are just horrifying. The subject is a bit difficult to read, but it's well written and really got me thinking about things. I liked it very much.

[DIANA SILVA · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just re-read this book & found it just as moving as when I read it years ago.

[Dhuha · Rating 3 out of 5]

من المهم أن نعرف، لم تعجبني الرواية كعمل أدبي لكن اظن انها من القليل من الاعمال التي تعني بالقضية السودانية، تؤرخ الرواية احداث مابين ٢٠٠٤ إلى٢٠٠٧.. ونحن في ٢٠٢٤ نرى الظلم مازال يستشري والدم والاغتصاب والتهجير والظلم مازال يزداد مع تواطؤ الجميع بالصمت والتجاهل..
كتبت الرواية كاتبة افرنجية بلغة استشراقية مفضوحة، تكرر على لسان الابطال السودانيين ظلم المسلم للمسلم وتهاون القيادات العربية والشعوب العربية، لم يعجبني ذلك ولكن لا يمكنني أن ألوم أحدًا على هذا الموقف.. مازال الانسان العربي عاجزًا كأرنب أمام الموت في فلسطين والسودان وسوريا والظلم في اقطار أخرى..
من المهم أن نعرف، من المهم ألا تعيش في فقاعتك يا عربي يا موكوس

[Imaduddin Ahmed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brings the atrocities of Darfur to life by humanising the victims.

[Eileen Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

Devastating 😔

[Mujtaba · Rating 1 out of 5]

It’s a moving story about the suffering of Darfuries and the ethnic cleansing that took place in Sudan for the indigenous black peoples of Darfur.
What I didn’t like about the book is the characters reacting in an unrealistic way to the trauma they’ve been through.
As a survivor of the current war is Sudan, I’d say people react and think very differently when they face death.
In the book 13 years old talk about how they must survive so that their blood line don’t cease to exist, just after they witness the death of their whole family. And believe me when I say it’s not how it works.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good historical fiction novel bringing to life some of the human effects and realities of the tragedies going on in Darfur. The character development isn't great and it has a distracting white savior complex, but I appreciate the advocacy intention behind it.

[Masah · Rating 5 out of 5]

So rich and powerful, this has to be one of my favorite books I've ever read.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Difficult to read at times but shows the transcendence of the human spirit.

[KayG · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sudan.

[Zaphoddent · Rating 5 out of 5]

A reminder of the incredible luck of birthplace, of the horrors that can easily be carried out by people, of true deep suffering. Words truly fail.

[Kimberly Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

She tells what we need to know about the genocide in Darfur.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shocking and horrifying, sad and enraging.