Farah describes his purpose for writing as an attempt "to keep my country alive by writing about it", and for Nadine Gordimer he was one of the continent's "true interpreters". His trilogies of novels – "Variations on the Theme of an African Dictatorship" (1980–83) and "Blood in the Sun" (1986–99) – form the core of his work. First published by Allison and Busby, "Variations" included "Sweet and Sour Milk" (1979), "Sardines" (1981) and "Close Sesame" (1983), and was well received in a number of countries. Farah's reputation was cemented by his most famous novel, "Maps" (1986), the first part of his "Blood in the Sun" trilogy. "Maps", which is set during the Ogaden conflict of 1977, employs the innovative technique of second-person narration for exploring questions of cultural identity in a post-independence world. Farah followed this with "Gifts" (1993) and "Secrets" (1998), both of which earned awards. His subsequent "Past Imperfect" trilogy comprises "Links" (2004), "Knots" (2007) and "Crossbones" (2011). His most recent novels are "Hiding in Plain Sight", published in 2014, and "North of Dawn" (2018).<refCharles, Ron, >"North of Dawn by Nuruddin Farah, review: The Somali novelist channels the pain of his sister's death in a terror attack", "The Independent", 21 December 2018.