Sketches From The Periphery by M.P. Summers is a historical fiction novel that deals with the realities of the Darfur conflict in 2006. Alexander is a college student who is struggling with his identity when he gets a job that brings him to the front lines. He also ends up relating this to other political conflicts in the world. Rather than being plot-driven, this book seems to be in conversation with the reader. The perspective of the book is very important as it is the first I have read that deals with the Darfur conflict and the global political implications of it. I also found myself agreeing with many of the observations and themes present throughout. Beyond the human, cultural, and economic costs of war, there are moral ones as well. Those point were very effectively made.

However, the subject of this book would have been better served if this was written as a memoir, narrative nonfiction, or even personal essays. I was not surprised to find out that Alexander was based on the author's own experiences. As historical fiction it suffered a bit from being only in one perspective and and much of that was written as internal monologue that seemed to be in conversation with the reader instead the other characters.

Again, this is an important topic with an important perspective, just one that would have been better served in a different format.

Thank you to Net Galley for an early digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review