Over the winter holidays, Rae traveled to Edinburgh to visit family, while Sammar remained in Aberdeen. The more time they spent together, however, the more attached she became to him. At first, Sammar regarded their friendship as a work relationship. She began working as a translator at the local university, a job through which she met her Middle-Eastern historian, scholar, and lecturer, Rae. Overwhelmed, Sammar left Amir in Khartoum, and moved back to Aberdeen. When Sammar tried remarrying, her aunt grew angry, insisting Sammar devote her life to Amir instead. However, she had not anticipated her aunt's hostility.

Distraught and alone, Sammar stripped her apartment of all evidence of the past, and left for Khartoum. Not long after Sammar gave birth to their son, Amir, Tarig was killed in a car accident. After marrying, they moved to Aberdeen, Scotland, so Tarig could study medicine. Over the years, she and Tarig realized their romantic feelings for one another. She soon grew attached to her cousins, and began seeing Khartoum as home. There she met her cousins, Tarig and Hanan, and aunt, Mahasen, for the first time. When she was seven, her family traveled to her parents' city and country of origin, Khartoum, Sudan. Though the novel contains many flashbacks, dreams, and memories that shift the narrative back and forth in time, the following summary employs a linear structure.Īs a young girl, Sammar grew up in Scotland with her parents and brother, Waleed. Part One of the novel takes place in Aberdeen, Scotland. Leila Aboulela's novel The Translator is a third person narrative, written in the past tense. The following version of this book was used to create the guide: Aboulela, Leila.

Minaret by leila aboulela