The Mark: A Novel of Dinka in the Time of War

"The Mark is a harrowing and beautiful story of a young man in the Sudan, a Dinka tribesman set in the midst of unimaginable turmoil; it is genuinely frightening and genuinely revelatory. Jeffery Deal has caught a true voice here, and the book's tone and texture make his hero, and the whole of his culture, matter to us immensely. I recommend everyone read this book." Bret Lott. bestselling author of fourteen books, most recently the nonfiction collection Letters and Life: On Being a Writer, On Being a Christian (Crossway 2013) and the novel Dead Low Tide (Random House 2012. The Wars of Independence for South Sudan have lasted longer than the average life expectancy of its inhabitants. Experience what it would be like to live in such a place.The Mark follows Thon Bol as he undertakes the Dinka rites of passage into manhood amid war torn Sudan. Thon takes us from the villages to the cattle camps where he encounters a villainous man who learned how to gain power by making artifacts of body parts harvested during child sacrifices. Thon and his age mate, Matak, pursue the man into the midst of Anyana Two, the name given to Sudan's last civil war. In January, 2011, a referendum on South Sudan's independence took place. This event is unquestionably the most important event in Sudan's history, putting this troubled country in news stories across the world. The time is ripe for the Western world to learn of this amazing place and fiction is perhaps the most effective tool to that end. Not only does this novel have general as well as academic value and interests, there are signs that Sudan's civil war will imminently erupt. A work such as this will provide significant insight into the country's troubled and neglected history. Not only will readers who like great narrative and action appreciate this work, but anthropology students, historians, and relief workers will find the insights regarding Dinka culture of great value. By the author of Toccoa, Time Drive, A Land at the Centre of the World, and The Second Coming.