Nuruddin Farah was born in 1945 in Baidoa, Somalia. He is the author of numerous novels, novellas, short stories, and plays. His novels include Hiding in Plain Sight, Crossbones, and his trilogies Variations on the Theme of an African Dictatorship and Blood in the Sun, which comprises Maps and Gifts as well as Secrets. After the publication of Sweet and Sour Milk in 1979, Farah became persona non grata in Somalia and served a self-imposed exile of more than twenty years, before he was permitted to visit in 1996. His novels have been translated into many languages and have won numerous international awards. Farah was named the 1998 laureate of the Neustadt International Prize for Literature. He now divides his time between Cape Town, South Africa and Annandale, New York.

Gifts is a beguiling tale of a Somali family, its strong matriarch, Duniya, and its past wounds that refuse to heal. As the story unfolds, Somalia is ravaged by war, drought, disease, and famine, prompting industrialized nations to offer monetary aid -- "gifts" to the so-called Third World. Farah weaves these threads together into a tapestry of dreams, memories, family lore, folktales, and journalistic accounts.