Review: Before the Winter Ends, by Khadro Mohamed

Khadro Mohamed’s debut novel, Before The Winter Ends, explores the harrowing journey of a family torn apart by a ruthless war in their homeland. Set across New Zealand, Somalia, Egypt, and Kenya, the novel follows the evolving relationship between a mother and her son as they navigate the lasting impact of loss and displacement.

Asha and her son Omar live modestly in Wellington. Two decades ago, against her parents’ wishes, Asha fell in love with idealistic, mixed-race Yasser—the son of a man who had committed an unforgivable sin. Begrudgingly, they were allowed to marry. In Mohamed’s novel, identity is often shaped by ancestry—traced through skin color and hair rather than birthplace.

From an early age, Asha learned that “her people were nomadic; they had a tradition of moving from place to place as the seasons changed. There was a beauty to it.” Her father’s frequent travels between Africa and Europe reinforced this belief. But still, upon relocating to Cairo with Yasser, she wrestles with the idea that migration is in her blood. Her pregnancy prompts their return home in Somalia, where war soon engulfs the country. Forced to safeguard her unborn child, Asha leaves everything behind and flees to New Zealand without Yasser.

In the present, Omar struggles under the weight of university, caring for his unwell mother, and preserving his closest friendship with Nick. Yet Asha remains homesick, grieving the life she left behind—the one she might have had with Yasser. Deep regret is woven into the novel’s fabric, buried in the silences between words. Unspoken memories demand healing.

Mohamed immerses the reader in the sensory richness of her world. Culture unfolds through the aromas of unfamiliar and familiar foods, through drinks—coffee and shaah. It is reflected in clothing, whether casual or deeply rooted in religious tradition. No matter where the characters go, their faith follows like a shadow. Religion ties together displaced people, offering a form of solace, and for Asha and Omar, it is a central pillar of their relationship. Faith is so deeply ingrained in them that before anything else, it is what heals them.

Seasons contrast sharply across the locations Mohamed explores, yet they act as bridges between fractured relationships. The novel vividly captures the essence of each place—whether it’s the steep paths of Wellington, the iconic Beehive landmark, or the relentless wind that strips coats from bodies and sends tree branches flying, perfectly earning Wellington its title as The Windy City.

In Cairo’s winter, despite the unrelenting heat of the sun, Mohamed transports readers through time, evoking the untamed beauty of the Pyramids of Giza—a place where Asha’s ghosts linger and where Omar, longing for the father he never knew, dreams of tracing his footsteps. His visit sparks a deep curiosity: What does it mean to belong to a place he has never truly known? For the first time, Omar blends in effortlessly. “No one spares him a glance. He’s invisible, and for that, he’s grateful.”

Khadro Mohamed is a multi-talented storyteller, crafting authentic characters that vividly portray the experiences of an immigrant, a person traumatized by war, and one living in endless grief. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Te Herenga Waka–Victoria University of Wellington, but her passion extends far beyond the study of living organisms. This novel is her second book: her poetry collection, We’re All Made of Lightning (Tender Press, 2022), won the Jessie Mackay Prize for the best first book of poetry at the 2023 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.

Before The Winter Ends is a deeply affecting novel—an urgent plea for acceptance and healing, not just for its characters, but for humanity itself. It confronts painful questions: How do you grieve someone whose death you have never seen, whose body you have never buried? If war leaves only emptiness, would people still wage it? What does displacement truly take from those who endure it? Reviewed by Tsitsi Mapepa