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by Nancy Dafoe (Author)
Violently separated from her infant son during a military raid somewhere in the Middle East, Naimah navigates landscapes of war, poverty, and sorrow in her years-long search for her lost child. In parallel tales between realms, infant Ajmal is raised by mythical creatures who educate him in the best in mankind. The story leads mother and son further and further from one another until a thinning occurs between their separate worlds.
An anti-war novella/contemporary fable written for YA and adults, Naimah and Ajmal on Newton's Mountain exposes the very personal costs and brutality of man's ceaseless wars, the damage done to children and families.
Beginning in a war-torn country, young mother Naimah is knocked unconscious then taken to a hospital where she slowly recovers from her wounds. In parallel tales, moving between realms, Naimah searches for her son and her way across the world. Over time, she recognizes that finding her boy will be more difficult, but she looks for a tiny blue birthmark near her son's eye.
In a thinning between realms, Ajmal crosses over into another domain of magic realism where he is raised by anthropomorphized animals. As the boy moves across Perterra, Naimah suffers for her lost child but takes the advice of an old woman to, "take your shattered heart and build something." Naimah awakens to self-esteem and confidence as she begins writing about her difficult journey, recognizing that she has something to offer others. She makes discoveries through her expanded education and reads about Newton's thought experiment that leads to his hypothesis about the force of gravity. She creates her own thought experiment around the concept of universal peace. The young woman becomes a peace activist through her words and public readings; she writes stories and then a book about her search for her lost son.
Ajmal's care and passage through childhood is educational, magical, and spiritual. Anthropomorphic animals teaching the boy include the wise lizard Akeem; Ahura Mazda, the frog as a force for good; Makram, the generous and noble wolf; Baltasar, the protective, enormous brown bear; Faraj, the truthful snake; Shadi, the singing, wild goat; Saleh, the pious horse; and Yahya, the gracious chetah. Ajmal comes to love them all as they, in turn, grow fond of their charge.
In an unforeseen complication, Naimah is going blind and fears not being able to complete her important work. As the narrative moves between the stories of mother and son, Ajmal enters manhood and leaves his spirit guides in Perterra, rejoining the environs of men. Ajmal comes to understand not only his own but his mother's importance.
