The novel can be related in many ways to the seminal works of Frantz Fanon, specifically Black Skin, White Masks. Fanon discusses the politics of desire between black men and white women, as Salih also explores extensively in the relationships of Mustafa Sa'eed. Also, it has been compared in many ways to Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.[1] Both novels explore cultural hybridity, cross-colonial experiences, and Orientalism.
The novel is also set in the same village, Wad Hamid, as some of Salih's other works, including The Wedding of Zein, Bandarshah, and others. Many of the novel's characters, such as Mahjoub and the narrator, recur in these other works as well.[1] Thus, Ami Elad-Boulaski writes that Salih's depiction of Wad Hamid is more fully realized because a reader can track the development of characters throughout multiple novels and short stories.[9]
