The Lit Room
Tuesday November 11th, 2025 with Susan Johnston
Reem Gaafar. A Mouth Full of Salt. (Saqi Books, Invisible Publishing, 2025)

Reem Gaafar captivates Susan with her discussion of A Mouthful of Salt and her thinking about writing. The Nile brought them life, but the Nile was not their friend. When a little boy drowns in the treacherous currents of the Nile, the search for his body unearths further disaster for his northern Sudanese village, exposing secrets that had been buried for generations. Three women try to make their way through a world that wants to keep them back, separated from each other by time but bound together by the same river that weaves its way through their lives, giving little and taking much more. A Mouth Full of Salt uncovers a country on the brink of seismic change as its women decide for themselves which traditions are fit for purpose—and which prophecies it’s time to rewrite. Reem Gaafar is a writer, physician, and filmmaker. Her writing has appeared in African Arguments, African Feminism, Teakisi, Andariya and 500 Words Magazine, among other outlets. Her short story “Light of the Desert” was published in I Know Two Sudans. Her short story “Finding Descartes” was published in Relations: An Anthology of African and Diaspora Voices. A Mouth Full of Salt is her debut novel and Winner of the 2023 Island Prize. Gaafar lives in Canada with her husband and three sons.