Different Seasons is a collection of four novellas exploring the themes of youth, life, and death. Although each story deals with a different subject-a young boy entranced by the tales of an old Nazi, an innocent man falsely imprisoned, a group of friends who set off on a journey to recover a dead body, and a woman who is determined to deliver her baby no matter what-they are all linked by their dark examination of mortality.
Haroun and the Sea of Stories is an allegorical children's story about the young boy Haroun Khalifa and his adventures in a fantasy world. The book uses its fantastic setting to explore themes common to the inhabitants of the Indian Subcontinent, such as caste identity, war, and the burgeoning of the technology industry in India. The story also places a strong emphasis on names and nomenclature, incorporating an encyclopedia of character names and their meanings.
Season of Migration to the North is a post-colonial novel by Tayeb Salih. The narrator returns to Sudan after his studies in England and meets a man named Mustafa Sa'eed who, it seems, is well-read in English. After questioning him, Mustafa tells Tayeb his story, his own education in England, his love affairs with English women and his anger and confusion towards the West. Tayeb sees Mustafa as very similar to himself, a realization that brings him to the brink of sanity until he finally finds independence from Mustafa.
Season of the Machete is the story of attractive married couple Damien and Carrie Rose, a magnetic pair seemingly on vacation at a luxurious island resort. In reality, though, the two are vicious contract killers pursuing Peter MacDonald, a handsome American who abandoned his Old Money roots in order to fight crime and injustice. The couple and their victim aren't the only players on the island, though, and soon new mysteries come to light.