The French-Djiboutian novelist, poet, and essayist Abdourahman A. Waberi is one of the leading francophone writers of his generation. His other books include The Land Without Shadow, Harvest of Skulls, and Rifts, Roads and Rails. Together or separately, David and Nicole Ball have published nine book-length translations, most recently Waberi's In the United States of Africa.

"With Waberi, the juxtapositions--surprising, provocative, and original--form a good part of the thrill themselves."--Anderson Tepper "Words Without Borders " "If Waberi's books are any indication, the novel of ideas, long regarded with indifference if not suspicion, may be set for a renaissance. Waberi is unabashed and unusually adept in creating heart-wrenching stories that test general assumptions, politically correct and incorrect, about exile, tolerance, metissage, the hypocritical cynicism of postcolonial Western foreign policies and development, the pragmatic cynicism of aspiring political and religious factions in the developing world, and the ruthless machinery of a global economy."--Tess Lewis "Hudson Review " "Passage of Tears is a cerebral modern thriller (of sorts) that defies easy categorization.... Equally at ease in both First and Third Worlds (and all their trappings), Waberi manages the rare feat of handling and integrating Western intellectual and political thought as comfortably and convincingly as he does the ideologies and culture of the Horn of Africa (and that without overwhelming the actual fiction)." --M.A. Orthofer "Complete Review " "Waberi has concocted with his magical alchemy a tale that blends political thriller, legends, spy novel, and the diary of a man tailor-made for the know-it-all." --Monica Carter "Salonica World Lit "