"Mawsim al-Hijrah ilâ al-Shamâl" is considered to be an important turning point in the development of postcolonial narratives that focus on the encounter between East and West. The Damascus-based Arab Literary Academy named it one of the best novels in Arabic of the twentieth century. The novel was banned in Salih's native Sudan for several years, because of its partly sexual content, and despite the fact that it won him prominence and worldwide fame. The novel was also adapted into a theatre production in Israel.