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BOOK REVIEW / Of earthly delights: 'Paradise' - Abdulrazak Gurnah: Hamish Hamilton, 14.99
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IN Muslim east Africa in the early years of this century, a boy who dreams strange dreams is taken to work for his 'uncle', a prosperous merchant on the coast. One of the first things he learns is that the merchant is not his uncle: Yusuf has been sold into bondage to pay his father's debt. It is the beginning of a harsh apprenticeship to life, tempered by haphazard kindness and glimpses of beauty. Unasked, just for the love of it, Yusuf tends his master's garden, hidden behind high walls and watered by four streams.
Both the garden and the great world outside it are equally mysterious. The world is a dazzling but dangerous place civilised only by religion; savagery lurks below the surface and in the interior of the country, where the pagan peoples live. Tales are told of what lies beyond the known world: seas that freeze, a wall built by the giants Gog and Magog, the earthly paradise with its
gate of fire. From time to time ferocious and demanding alien figures move across this brilliant, part-real and part-imagined backcloth. They are want everything and seem incomprehensible. They are known as 'the Europeans'.
When he is 17, Yusuf accompanies his master on an ambitious trading venture into the interior. The journey, an act of hubris, assumes epic proportions as sickness, wild animals and predatory local rulers take their toll. Yet as they reach what will be the scene of the expedition's disaster, Yusuf, the dreamer, glimpses the fiery walls and turbulent waters that are said to guard paradise. Or perhaps paradise is the garden he has tended? As he returns to that garden, and his master's house, he learns their unhappy secret. It contains a threat to him, but it frees him to make a desperate choice in a direction for which the book has subtly prepared us.
This, Abdulrazak Gurnah's fourth novel, is many-layered, violent, beautiful and strange. It incorporates its disparate elements - myth, folktale, Biblical and Koranic tradition, a strong whiff of Conrad - without a dilution of its essence. Not the least of its many achievements is the bleak economy and finely judged distance with which it evokes the evils of colonialism. There are a few clumsy passages in the writing, as if the author's ear had suddenly let him down, and these lapses are the more surprising because of the discipline which otherwise rules this poetic and vividly conjured book about Africa and the brooding power of the unknown.
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Write Kind Travels
Paradise by Adbulrazak Gurnah (Book Review)
Paradise, published in 1994, was written by Tanzanian author Abdulrazak Gurnah. Set in East Africa in the early 1900s, this wonderfully written tale follows Yusuf, a young boy who is taken from his parents to work for ‘Uncle Aziz’. We soon learn that Uncle Aziz is not his uncle at all, but a merchant to whom Yusuf’s father owes a debt.
Despite being the central character, Yusuf remains an enigmatic figure. His youth and position make him an observer in the scenes that play out in the book. He appears passive, experiencing events rather than actively participating in them.
“Events had ordered his days and he had held his head above the rubble and kept his eyes on the nearer horizon, choosing ignorance rather than futile knowledge of what lay ahead. There was nothing he could think of to do which would unshackle him from the bondage to the life he lived.”
Through his eyes we see a world in motion. With Uncle Aziz (aka the merchant or seyyid), Yusuf travels from the coast into the dangerous interior seeking to trade. It is also a world in flux. Yusuf and his fellow travellers hear stories of the Europeans, who, it was said, could “eat metal”.
In one legend, “it was said that the European possessed a ring with which he could summon spirits of the land to his service”. One trader “swore that he had seen a European fall down dead once and another one come and breathe life back into him”.
There are many colourful characters in the story. Gurnah provides limited physical descriptions of each character, but we learn about them through their actions and dialogue. The most significant physical trait of any character is Yusuf’s beauty, which attracts a lot of attention, usually unwanted.
Though Gurnah is light on description for the characters, he adopts evocative descriptive language to paint a picture of the physical world. Stories of what lies beyond the known world also abound in this book. One of my favourite quotes comes from Hussein, a man from Zanzibar:
“‘When you get as far as the lakes in your travels you’ll see that the world is ringed with mountains which give the green tint to the sky. Those mountains on the other side of the lake are the edge of the world we know. Beyond them, the air has the colour of plague and pestilence, and the creatures who live in it are known only to God. The east and the north are known to us, as far as the land of China in the farthest east and to the ramparts of Gog and Magog in the north. But the west is the land of darkness, the land of jinns and monsters. God sent the other Yusuf as a prophet to the land of jinns and savages. Perhaps he’ll send you to them too.'”
At the same time, the book explores the more earthly meaning of paradise. For Yusuf, this must be the merchant’s magnificent garden. Unprompted, he begins to tend the garden. In so doing, he meets the merchant’s wives, setting him on a dangerous path which in his youth and naivety he seems not to fully comprehend.
Religion is a central theme in the story. Some of the most lively debates occur between Hamid, a Muslim shopkeeper which Yusuf works for, and Kalasinga, a Sikh mechanic. Though friends, the pair argue and make fun of one another and their respective beliefs.
“‘Where is this garden?’ Kalasinga asked. ‘In India? I have seen many gardens with waterfalls in India. Is this your Paradise? Is this where the Aga Khan lives?’ ‘God has made seven heavens,’ Hamid said, ignoring Kalasinga and turning his head aside as if to address Yusuf alone. His voice was slowly softening. ‘Paradise is the seventh level, itself divided into seven levels. The highest is the Jennet al Adn, the Garden of Eden. They don’t allow hairy blasphemers in there, even if they can roar like a thousand wild lions.’ ‘We have gardens like that in India, with seven, eight levels and so on,’ Kalasinga said. ‘Built by Mogul barbarians. They used to have orgies on the terraces and keep animals in the garden so they could go hunting when they felt like it. So this must be Paradise, and your Paradise is in India. India is a very spiritual place.”
The book is light on plot. Nothing moves at breakneck speed. I’ve read a number of mixed reviews on Paradise , and many of the negative reviews seem to centre on the lack of exciting storyline. If you are looking for action and excitement, I’d recommend you look elsewhere.
If, however, you are looking for a book that explores – in a thoughtful albeit slow way – themes such as religion, tradition and a world in transition, this is a great read.
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3 thoughts on “ paradise by adbulrazak gurnah (book review) ”.
Sounds like quite a hypnotic read. Is it a particularly long book?
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Not at all. It’s a fairly quick read, just 256 pages =)
Not long then….. hmm..
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‘Paradise’: This novel of a young man’s journeys shows Nobel laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah at his best
In colonial africa, young yusuf becomes a slave after he is pawned by his father..
Many readers around the world are still just discovering Abdulrazak Gurnah. After his winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2021 – which almost no one saw coming – the 72-year-old Zanzibar-born author is finally in the limelight that was perhaps due to him for a few decades now.
Born in 1948, Gurnah spent his childhood in the islands of Zanzibar before escaping to England in the 1960s. This was shortly after the island gained independence from British colonial rule in December 1963 and went through a revolution. However, the post-revolution regime ushered in the oppression and persecution of citizens of Arab origin.
At the height of the civil unrest, massacres became a common occurrence on the island. Gurnah belonged to a persecuted minority ethnic group and, after finishing school, was forced to leave his family and flee the country. He would not return to Zanzibar, now Tanzania, before 1984. Apart from being a prolific writer, Gurnah has taught English and Postcolonial Literatures at the University of Kent in Canterbury. He has recently retired.
African adventure
I, too, joined the party some 30 years later, when Gurnah’s Nobel win compelled me to take a look at the author’s works simply because I feared being left out when the buzz would eventually be generated around his writings. His 1994 novel Paradise is often celebrated as his most remarkable work – after all, it was the book that put him on the shortlist of that year’s Man Booker Prize and Whitbread Prize.
So, Paradise seemed like the perfect starting point. Combining the genres of bildungsroman, travel fiction, and historical fiction to give us a story that is for the ages, Gurnah brings us, in less than 300 pages, a world that is deep in its complexities and seamless in its narratives.
The story opens in an unnamed village in East Africa – 12-year-old Yusuf lives an impoverished life in which both money and food are scarce, though his mother’s unbridled laughter and father’s guarded affection make it all bearable. Not much is said about Yusuf in terms of his education and upbringing, but close proximity to poverty has taught the boy the importance of money and all the cunning ways in which it can be acquired.
Yusuf’s days are spent waiting for a frugal meal of bone broth and looking forward to visits from Uncle Aziz, who brings a whiff of all things worldly and the promise of a parting gift in the form of money. But one such visit changes Yusuf’s life completely, when his father insists that it’s time to stop being a child and, instead, accompanying Uncle Aziz on his exploits.
The initial excitement of leaving home and setting off on a great adventure is replaced by helplessness when Yusuf is told that he’s been pawned to Uncle Aziz (who turns out to be not his uncle but a moneylender) by his father until he can settle his debts. The only way for Yusuf to return home is when his father pays off the loans – a possibility so unlikely that he resigns himself to a life of physical drudgery and braces for whatever is to come.
Slavery in paradise
Over the following months, Gurnah’s narrative takes us to the rural grasslands of East Africa, coastal cosmopolitan towns, and back again. Instead of the familiarity of his childhood home, Yusuf must now try to find a place in a city where Arabs, Indians, and even Germans and the English are fighting for a slice of the fabled African fortune.
Yusuf dons many menial hats in the city where he works at the store, becomes an attendant to the Seyyid, and joins his caravan to travel into the heart of Africa, taking a job as a gardener during one such journey. As the boy grows into a young man, Yusuf’s disarmingly good looks make him a favourite with both men and women. He quickly learns to overturn their unwelcome attention, till, in an unexpected turn of events, he gets involved with his master’s two wives. Difficult choices have to be made and Yusuf prepares himself for yet another extraordinary chapter of his life.
Yusuf’s travels over the years across a variety of terrains give us a glimpse of a continent that is on the brink of a massive social and political shift – one that heralds Western imperialism. As the European powers arrive at the African docks, readers know what is going to happen to the people, although this is unknown to Yusuf and his mates.
Even though it is only the early years of colonialism, the existing hierarchies and frictions between various classes shatter any illusion that one may have had of an egalitarian African society. Gurnah objectively illustrates that despite the unmitigable damages of European imperialism, some of the rot was already in motion.
The parable-like narrative enables the reader to make their own journey from the carefree days of Yusuf’s childhood to complicated trials of premature adulthood. Though Yusuf is fortunate enough to be treated well and undertake adventures of his own, we are forced to wonder what exactly constitutes “paradise” when one is taken a slave as a child.
The illusion of this “paradise” shatters soon enough and Yusuf, now armed with experience and understanding, must take control of his own fate. Gurnah ends the novel on an uncertain note. We do not know what happens to Yusuf – whether he chooses to bow to a different master or finally revolts against the injustice of it all. Much like the continent itself, Yusuf’s narrative is abandoned at the edge of what-has-been and what-could-be.
Paradise is wonderful in every way – Gurnah’s terrific writing and wisdom shine through in the prose, and you are aware of being in the presence of a rare talent. But, most importantly, it serves as an important reminder to read books that do not feature on any year-end lists, are declared commercial failures, or even fail to make their way to bookstore shelves.
(Until his 2021 Nobel win, Gurnah was not represented by any American publisher. This is set to change only now, with American publishers Riverhead Books acquiring the rights to Gurnah’s 2022 novel, Afterlives .)
Book Review: “Paradise,” by Abdulrazak Gurnah
Paradise , by Abdulrazak Gurnah is perhaps the best known of this Nobel prize-winning author, whose works focus on the early 20th century issues of slavery, displacement and the search for identity among the native peoples of Africa.
We follow the story of Yusuf who is sold into slavery to pay off his father’s debt. At 12, the boy is indentured to a money lender, a merchant known as Uncle Aziz, who takes a liking to Yusuf — a quiet, observant and handsome boy given to colorful dreams. The dreams themselves become a part of the story.
Yusuf is “given” first to one small shopkeeper, then another. The reader follows his adventures — and misadventures — as the youth self-educates in Swahili, Arabic and the Koran, eventually becoming part of Uncle Aziz’s entourage as a traveling merchant.
Yusuf’s beauty comes to serve as a stand-in for the untouched natural beauty or “paradise” that is the garden of Africa, despoiled by the European colonizers –the British and the Germans.
Abdulrazak, the story’s author, was born in Zanzibar, the group of islands off the east coast of Tanzania. He left home during a 1964 ethnic uprising against the sultan and the country’s wealthy Arab minority. In his acceptance of the Nobel Prize, the author says that his writing grew out of his refusal of “the self-assured summaries made by people who despise and belittle us.”
He took on the task of writing the story himself.
This is a disturbing and sometimes impenetrable book filled with story-telling, jokes and the mistreatment of humans by humans. Reading it was work.
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3 responses to book review: “paradise,” by abdulrazak gurnah.
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I don’t have any recollection of reading this book. I’m sure I didn’t. I don’t think I’ve read anything by this author. I’ve read a lot of books by Nigerian authors.
Interesting. I thought I read it on your recommendation. I want to read his “By the Sea” next. Some feel it’s his best.
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Imogen is Reading and Watching the World: On Books, Film, Art & More
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Review no 100: Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah (Tanzania)
by Imogen Gladman
Author Abdulrazak Gurnah was born in East Africa in what is now Tanzania, and emigrated to the UK in 1968. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1994, Paradise is a coming of age story set in East Africa prior to the First World War, and during the German occupation. The book is beautifully written in a lyrical, mythical style, and takes the story of Yusuf, from the Koran, as the loose basis for its plot.
“ The boy first. His name was Yusuf, and he left his home suddenly during his twelfth year. He remembered it was the season of drought … Unexpected flowers bloomed and died. Strange insects scuttled from under rocks and writhed to their deaths in the burning light .”
The Swahili boy Yusuf is plucked from his home in the first pages of the book in order to settle his father’s longstanding debt to a wealthy Arab merchant, ‘Uncle Aziz’. Yusuf becomes, in effect, a domestic slave – long after the practice had been officially prohibited. The title Paradise may, at least in part, allude ironically to the preconceptions of Western tourists to the eastern coast of Africa; the location is not much of a paradise for Yusuf, who – like historical East Africa – is a powerless pawn, subject to dominance by exploitative forces beyond his control, whether Arab or European.
The paradise of the title no doubt also refers to the beautiful walled garden that belongs to Aziz, and is largely barred to Yusuf, and which serves as a sort of gilded cage for Aziz’s wives Zulekha and Amina. As Yusuf matures, his good looks and nature lead the older, physically disfigured wife Zulekha to take an uncomfortable interest in him, while he is increasingly sexually attracted to young women that he meets, particularly the forbidden Amina. Zulekha, who is rumoured to be “crazy”, feels that Yusuf’s touch may heal her:
“ She says you are a beautiful boy. She watches you in her mirrors in the trees when you walk in the garden. Have you seen the mirrors? ”
Because the tragic Yusuf is largely a symbolic figure, I struggled a bit with the book. I (lazily?) prefer fiction that is strongly character-driven, and I never really believed in Yusuf as a fully fledged person – that’s not the point of the book. So I must admit that, although undoubtedly written in a truly beautiful prose style, and constructed with awe-inspiring intelligence, the novel failed to involve or move me. Highly successful on its own terms then, Paradise is not a book I would go back to.
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Written by Abdulrazak Gurnah
An African boy comes of age in an East Africa increasingly corrupted by colonialism and violence, in Abdulrazak Gurnah’s powerful historical fiction.
It soon transpires that the ‘uncle’ young Yusuf is travelling with is in reality a powerful merchant, and he has been pawned to him to pay his father’s debts. Having been sold into slavery by his father, Yusuf is thrown into a multi-ethnic world of war and violence - and the trials of adolescence - in Abdulrazak Gurnah’s rich 20th century odyssey.
Abdulrazak Gurnah
About the Author
This, Abdulrazak Gurnah's fourth novel, is many-layered, violent, beautiful and strange Anita Mason, The Independent, March 13 1994
Other nominated books by Abdulrazak Gurnah
Reading list
70 classic Booker Prize-nominated novels, recommended by our readers
Information
The Booker Prize's reaction to Gurnah's Nobel Prize in Literature
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- ISSN 3049-9801
Paradise, a novel by Abdulramzak Gurnah
Charlotte mbali reviews the novel, “paradise” by abdulrazak gurnah, winner of the 2021 nobel prize for literature..
By PalFest - originally posted to Flickr as Abdulrazak Gurnah on Hebron Panel, CC BY 2.0
Abdulrazak Gurnah, who taught literature at the University of Kent for many years, has just won the Nobel Prize. He is originally from Zanzibar, which he left at the age of 18 in 1966. In 1994, his novel Paradise , which is located in Tanganyika in the decade before the first world war, was long-listed for the Booker prize .
I happen to have a 1994 edition on my shelves. It is a copy our daughter annotated when it was a set-book in a course of post-colonial literature she took at University of Natal near that time.
Characters in the novel
The hero of the story is the Swahili-speaking teenager, Yusuf. He is taken from his family by “Uncle” Aziz and put to work at his shop in another town. Another young man, called Khalil, manages this shop, and instructs young Yusuf in some bitter truths. Truths such as that they are both on “rehani” to the Uncle.
This means their parents gave them over to Uncle because of a debt: they are thus slaves for life. Actually, although Yusuf misses his parents occasionally, especially the memory of his mother, he is not unhappy with his new life in the shop.
In the main house, the mistress of the house lives in seclusion. This is not only because of Muslim custom but because she is sick. Yusuf is never invited to meet her in these early days. But he does begin to venture into the Paradise, a walled courtyard adjoining the house. This has the traditional lay-out of a central pool, flowing water in four directions, and sweet-smelling herbs.
This lay-out is said to model the Garden of Eden. It was made some years ago by a family slave. An old man now, it is said he declined to be released when slavery was abolished in that country, preferring to stay and tend his Paradise garden.
Leaving paradise
Suddenly Yusuf is ordered to go with Uncle Aziz on one of his trading trips into the interior: “You’ll come and trade with us, and learn the difference between the ways of civilisation and the ways of the savage,” said the headman of the porters. For the first part of the journey, most of the porters travelled third-class by train whilst the goods were put on an old lorry.
This lorry seems to me to be a bit out of place at a time when there were almost no motorised vehicles in Africa (circa 1910). I looked up the transport facts. Some railways had been built in the region by then, but motorised vehicles were rare even in South Africa. I suspect the author, born in 1948, confused stories of travel in the 1920-30 period with the earlier pre-World War I period. Never mind; it enables him to put in the book the marvelously believable character of a Sikh mechanic, a daring and humorous contrast to the Swahili characters.
When they arrived inland, near “a snowcapped mountain” (Mount Kilimanjaro, presumably) the porters “marched off in procession, carrying whatever had been assigned to them. At the head of the caravan marched their haughty captain, swinging his cane.”
Racist commentary
Some of the locals pass (Masai, obviously)
“Imagine that God should create creatures like that. They look like something made of sin. … “How do they get themselves to look so red? … It must be the blood they drink.”
The caravan stops to leave some goods with another Arab-Swahili trader called Hamid who runs a shop there. There is more comment on the inter-tribal relations of the local people:
“The dusty warrior people who herded cattle and drank the blood of their animals… they thought war honourable and were proud of their history of violence. The greatness of their leaders was measured by the animals they acquired from their neighbours and the number of women they had abducted… their traditional victims were the cultivators who lived on the mountain slopes… they looked hardy and flat-footed, not the look of people who would travel far from their land.”
Examining ethnic diversity from a personal point of view
On these points begin the underlinings of my studious daughter. I know that as a student in Durban she was already navigating the complexities of multi-cultural life there. There were White (at least two varieties, English and Afrikaans), Indian (Muslim or Hindu), Coloured (several varieties, from the Cape or more local) and Black African (at least three languages even from among her own relatives).
So a book that revealed the tribal and social complexities of a country further north must have been fascinating. She loved that course, she says now.
Glimpses of colonialism
The book also gives glimpses of colonialism. There is a Lutheran pastor working among the cultivators, giving them the plough, monogamy and “mournful choruses.” There is also another European, living on a huge fortified estate. Yusuf hears talk like this: “These Europeans are very persistent, and as they fight over the prosperity of the earth they will crush all of us… it isn’t trade they are after, but the land itself.”
Yusuf remains with Hamid, while Uncle Aziz takes his caravan further into the interior, into Congo. “On the other side of the lakes… he was trading with the Manyema people and doing good business. It was dangerous country, but trade was possible. Rubber, ivory and even a little gold, God willing.”
Hamid also takes Yusuf on a smaller four-day trade journey to Hussein, He is another Swahili trader, from Zanzibar. They travel in the van(?) belonging to the outspoken Sikh who comes out with a surprising outburst against “ignorant Allah-wallahs”; “Maybe I don’t know what God is, or remember all his thousand names and million promises, but I know that he can’t be this big bully you worship.”
Meanwhile, the more devout Hamid discovers that Yusuf can’t read the Qur‘an. So he makes sure to send him to madrassa with the children during Ramadan. But after a period gaining some literacy there, Yusuf learns more from visiting Kalasingh at his garage.
Into Congo with Uncle Aziz
The next year, Uncle Aziz arrives with an even larger caravan. He takes Yusuf with him as they trade in the various settlements going westwards into Congo. The perils of the journey are well described, the rivers they have to cross, the bartering with each “sultan” to be allowed to cross, and the dangers from animals and insects. Porters die on such journeys.
At the final destination, exhausted, and with stores depleted from the commissions paid en route, there is disappointment as that sultan turns hostile and imprisons the caravan, supposedly for a debt that another Arab trader did not pay. They are rescued by a Belgian administrator, who turns up to adjudicate. So they went back to the coast by another route:
“They had lost nearly a quarter of their men..and nearly half their goods, what with the tributes, and Chatu’s robbery.”
So Yusuf arrives back at the home of Uncle Aziz, back to his old job in the shop.
Entering the grove of desire
It is only at this point in the story that “the grove of desire” becomes accessible to young Yusuf who has grown into an exceedingly handsome young man. While he is gardening, the mistress of the house (Aziz’s wife) spies on him and demands, through Khalil, to see him. Aziz is away, so both are fearful of such visits inside the house. But they have to obey, as the mistress demands. She wants young Yusuf to lay his hands upon her, which he does reluctantly, under the eyes of the young female servant, Amina, who is also “rehani.”
Eventually, it is Amina that Yusuf desires. In a novel that has so far depicted the separation of the sexes to a degree hard to imagine for non-Muslim readers, there is this late onrush of a love story. The pair are plotting to abscond together. But war interrupts and German forces march on the town, a German officer leading Askaris (Swahili youths who had enlisted).
War intervenes
The novel ends abruptly when Yusuf runs after the Germans to join the Askaris, ”with smarting eyes.” The love line in the plot is also dropped at this point.
I disagree with the comment from the Guardian emblazoned on the front cover, “a small paradise in itself.” This is not a novel about Rousseau-esque noble savages. It is more like Conrad’s “heart of darkness,” only the viewpoint is that of “more civilised” coast people regarding the black tribes of the hinterland and, more sporadically, regarding their ruthless colonisers.
For a reader in Kent, some 100 years later and more than 7,000 km away from the region, it is an exotic glimpse into a very different multicultural world. Tanzania is home to over 100 languages. For those of us used to battling modern varieties of racism, it is salutary to recognise it in more brutal varieties prevalent in that region and epoch of Africa. Also, in a survivalist economy, cruel forms of domination and slavery (rehani) prevailed: it is not surprising that Yusuf’s final choice was to run away.
That essentially is what Gurnah did at the age of 18 – he migrated from Zanzibar. I wanted to discover his take on the varieties of racism he then encountered in the UK, but have not yet succeeded in getting an interview.
I must just read more of his novels, most available on Kindle, but surprisingly Paradise has never been bought into the collection of Kent County Library. Perhaps it seems just too exotic.
Romney Marsh – the fifth continent
Magdalena and mike visit pest, charlotte mbali.
Charlotte Mbali has lived in Ashford since 2017. Her childhood home was in the Kent countryside. Married to a South African, she spent 25 years in South Africa working in universities before returning to Kent. As an academic and teacher, she is used to handling text products for various purposes. Since her student days at Oxford, she has also been involved in a variety of political activities: homelessness; world development and education about it; first democratic elections in South Africa; community policing; University Staff union; organizing network for lifelong learning,and since her retirement back to UK, with anti-Brexit activities via the European Movement), “green” campaigns (she belongs to RHS and Kent Wildlife) and with the Ashford Libdems. She is currently editor in chief of Kent & Surrey Bylines. For green reasons she no longer owns a car, so uses Kent buses to visit her husband now in a care home.
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57 pages • 1 hour read
A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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Summary and Study Guide
Abdulrazak Gurnah, a Zanzibar-born British writer, published his novel Paradise in 1994. Set in the early 1900s in what is now Tanzania, it tells the story of Yusuf , a young man who is sold at age 12 to a traveling merchant called Uncle Aziz to pay off his parents’ debt, a system known as rehani. He works in the merchant’s shop with another rehani and eventually goes on a trade journey into the interior of the African continent. Along the way, he learns what fear and desperation will make people do, as well as how people use belief to hide behind and justify their actions. The novel depicts the array of cultures in East Africa, as well as the looming figure of colonialism. It was nominated for both the Booker Prize and the Whitbread Prize for fiction. Gurnah was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2021.
This guide refers to the 1994 New Press International Fiction edition.
Plot Summary
A wealthy merchant called Uncle Aziz comes to visit 12-year-old Yusuf and his parents, the owners of a hotel. Yusuf looks forward to these visits because his mother will lay out a feast, even in the times of drought and hunger, and Uncle Aziz often gives Yusuf a coin. At this visit, however, talks with the merchant are intense. His father informs him that he will be going on a trip with Uncle Aziz immediately. Yusuf does not know that he will never see his parents again.
He travels by train with Uncle Aziz to the town on the coast where he lives. Uncle Aziz hands him over to a young man named Khalil who runs his shop. Khalil shows Yusuf the ropes in working at the shop and explains that the merchant is not his uncle—he should call him “seyyid” because Yusuf’s father, like Khalil’s father, sold him to the merchant as a rehani (unpaid worker) to pay off debts. The two bond, though Khalil sometimes is tough on his “little brother” for being naïve. Yusuf ventures into a walled garden and sees mirrors on the tree and hears a woman’s voice . Khalil explains that the Mistress, the merchant’s wife, lives there, but she never goes out. Khalil occasionally attends to her, though, because he speaks Arabic.
After a few years pass, Uncle Aziz announces that Yusuf will join him on a trade journey to the interior. Yusuf leaves with the caravan of porters and Mohammed Abdalla , the mnyapara or leader of the crew. He is wary of Abdalla, who has a reputation for sodomy and who makes lewd remarks about Yusuf. Abdalla and the other porters talk of the “savages” with whom they’ll be trading and warn Yusuf of their odd rituals and customs. When the caravan arrives at a town near the mountains, Uncle Aziz arranges for Yusuf to stay there with the shopkeeper Hamid and his wife Maimuna, with whom he has left some of the mysterious hessian-covered cargo in a storeroom, while the rest of the caravan moves on into the interior. One night, Yusuf sees Hamid in the storeroom with the mysterious goods, whimpering and worrying.
Yusuf runs errands and does odd jobs for Hamid and Maimuna. One day, Hamid proposes that they take their own little trade journey with a Sikh friend of his called Kalasinga. On their journey, Yusuf finds a beautiful waterfall and they intend to camp nearby until a guard in a European-issued uniform warns them away, saying the bwana (his boss) does not want them there. They move on to the home of Hussein, one of Hamid’s friends, who worries that Hamid has gotten himself in over his head with the merchant and will one day get cheated or be caught in the middle of a bad situation. Hamid is afraid for the future, with the Europeans taking over and forcing people to learn their way of life.
Shortly after their return, Uncle Aziz returns from his trade journey, which was difficult. Two men were injured and had to be left behind in a town to recover. Uncle Aziz gives Yusuf some money and tells him that he will see him the next year when he returns.
Hamid starts acting pious after he notices that Yusuf has seen him worry over the goods Uncle Aziz stashed in his storeroom. He decides that they should read the Koran together, which forces Yusuf to admit that he cannot read. Hamid and Maimuna decide that he should go to the Koran school with their children. Though he is teased by the other children for being much older, the imam who teaches the lessons takes kindly to Yusuf and assigns him errands. Kalasinga, wary of Yusuf’s new religious tone , has him come over to learn English or mechanics.
Yusuf’s hosts cool toward him after Maimuna discovers that Asha, their daughter, has been spending time in his room without her brothers there, cuddling with Yusuf. When Uncle Aziz arrives for the next expedition, Hamid arranges for him to take Yusuf on the trade journey. In addition to Mohammed Abdalla, Uncle Aziz has hired Simba Mwene, a large, fierce man who helps control all the porters. Eight days into their journey, they arrive in an area controlled by the sultan of Mkata who demands tribute, though he is not satisfied until the merchant doubles the offer twice. When a crocodile kills a village woman, the sultan claims the caravan has brought evil upon them and demands compensation. That night, Yusuf dreams of a dog slavering over him, searching for his secrets. When he wakes, he discovers that a hyena attacked one of the porters at dawn. The sultan declares it recompense.
As the caravan continues, the going gets tougher and the sultans they encounter ask for more and more. Friction arises between Simba Mwene and Mohammed Abdalla about how to handle most situations. Yusuf feels more comfortable around the crew, however. When they arrive at a lakeside town, Yusuf learns that that is where Uncle Aziz left the two injured men to recover. Hints from Mohammed Abdalla, however, indicate that it was more of an abandonment than a kind gesture. After paying a hefty tribute to help the sultan secure a shroud for his recently deceased wife, the crew is allowed to negotiate for passage with the boatmen. They survive a storm, but the boatmen insist they pay homage at a shrine to a spirit named Pembe for safe travel.
In the next town, they hire a guide to take them to Chatu, the leader at their final destination. Although the elders they meet in Chatu’s area are unfriendly, Chatu seems quite kind. Yet, that night, Yusuf has a prophetic dream of a gate of flames. As he awakes, Chatu’s men attack the encampment and kill four guards. Chatu takes all the goods and the merchant’s money, claiming that someone like him cheated them, so his action is repayment. Chatu keeps Yusuf in his house as a hostage, though he is treated well and develops a relationship with a young woman named Bati. Uncle Aziz tells Chatu that they cannot leave without their goods. One day, a German officer with a column of askaris appears and listens to the merchant’s claim . He orders Chatu to return the stolen goods, as the government has outlawed tribute. The caravan still takes five months to return home, as they often must stop and work for sultans and elders to afford food.
Back at Uncle Aziz’s home, he begins paying his crew what he can. As he still owes money, he leaves with Simba Mwene to make collections from people who owe him. Mwene thinks the goods stashed at Hamid’s store are rhino horn, which the Mdachi (“German” in Swahili) government has forbidden. He relates rumors, too, of an impending war between the Germans and the English.
Gradually, Yusuf gets back into doing work in the garden. While widening the channels to the pool, he discovers a leather pouch containing an amulet. He hears a woman’s voice and sees a figure in the doorway. When he asks Khalil about it, Khalil tells him the Mistress has gone crazy and wants to see Yusuf. He relates her story: She was a wealthy widow who married Aziz 12 years earlier. She has a purple mark, an illness, on her cheek, so she never leaves the house. Uncle Aziz visited Khalil’s Ba (father), as he had borrowed money for a business, which eventually failed. A year later, Mohammed Abdalla came and took Khalil and his seven-year-old sister Amina away. Amina serves the Mistress. The Mistress believes Yusuf can heal her with prayers, touch, or spit.
Khalil and Yusuf visit the Mistress. Khalil translates, but when he doesn’t know a word, another voice supplies it—Amina. Yusuf is immediately enchanted with Amina. He mumbles a prayer over the Mistress, and they leave. They visit several more times, and against Khalil’s advice, Yusuf touches the Mistress’s face. Khalil accuses him of not taking the situation seriously, but Yusuf continues to go and to work in the garden just to catch glimpses of Amina. Yusuf visits the Mistress on his own, and Amina tells him there is much that Khalil didn’t translate, such as that the Mistress’s name is Zulekha. Zulekha invites him not just to eat in the house but to sleep in the courtyard. As Amina walks Yusuf out, she tells him she saw him find an amulet and that she threw one away once, over the wall into the garden.
Khalil’s demeanor toward Yusuf is distant and disapproving. Yusuf continues to visit the Mistress on his own, just to see Amina, though after Zulekha tells him to breathe on her, Amina warns him that the Mistress’s obsession has reached a new high and he should stay away. Yusuf asks why Amina doesn’t resemble her brother, and she tells him that she and her sister had been kidnapped as young children, and Khalil’s father managed to rescue her. He then adopted her. Later, Yusuf confronts Khalil about why he didn’t just tell him that. Khalil explains that the death of their father meant that Amina was essentially sold into bondage. Even though Khalil is free to leave, he will not leave Amina there alone, but if she leaves without the merchant’s consent, then Khalil will be rehani again, so Amina will not leave.
Yusuf visits the Mistress one last time to see Amina and asks her to leave with him. However, Zulekha meets him alone at the door. She speaks to him passionately and touches him. He turns to run, and she rips his shirt. Khalil goes in to calm her. When he comes out, he advises Yusuf to leave immediately, as the Mistress is claiming the Yusuf attacked her. Yusuf refuses, thinking that will make him look guilty. In the morning, Uncle Aziz returns and questions Yusuf about his involvement with the Mistress. He seems to believe Yusuf that Zulekha grabbed him, and he had visited so often just to see Amina. Uncle Aziz informs Yusuf that his father is dead and his mother has moved away. He has plans for Yusuf, perhaps travelling in his stead. As he leaves, he warns the young men to be wary of Germans who may snatch up men for their army.
A troop of askaris arrive in the neighborhood, led by a German officer. Khalil and Yusuf board up the shop and watch them. The German sends groups of askaris to round up men. After they leave, Khalil runs to check on the house and Yusuf goes outside to look through the detritus the men left behind. He sees dogs eating at a pile of excrement. He recalls his earlier dream of his cowardice gleaming in its afterbirth. He realizes the paths that lie before him, what he could become. Behind him, the doors of the garden are bolted shut. Yusuf runs after the retreating column of marching men.
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Paradise: By the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature 2021 Hardcover – April 1, 1994
Shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the Whitbread Award, Paradise was characterized by the Nobel Prize committee as Abdulrazak Gurnah’s “breakthrough” work. It is at once the chronicle of an African boy’s coming-of-age, a tragic love story, and a tale of the corruption of African tradition by European colonialism.
Sold by his father in repayment of a debt, twelve-year-old Yusuf is thrown from his simple rural life into complexities of pre-colonial urban East Africa. Through Yusuf’s eyes, Gurnah depicts communities at war, trading safaris gone awry, and the universal trials of adolescence. The result is what Publishers Weekly calls a “vibrant” and “powerful” work that “evokes the Edenic natural beauty of a continent on the verge of full-scale imperialist takeover.”
- Print length 256 pages
- Language English
- Publisher The New Press
- Publication date April 1, 1994
- Dimensions 5.6 x 1.2 x 8.5 inches
- ISBN-10 156584162X
- ISBN-13 978-1565841628
- See all details
Editorial Reviews
From publishers weekly, from library journal, from kirkus reviews, from the back cover, about the author, product details.
- Publisher : The New Press; First Edition (April 1, 1994)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 256 pages
- ISBN-10 : 156584162X
- ISBN-13 : 978-1565841628
- Item Weight : 14.4 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.6 x 1.2 x 8.5 inches
- #9,966 in Coming of Age Fiction (Books)
- #49,038 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- #55,828 in American Literature (Books)
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“When these people say you belong to me, I own you, it is like the passing of the rain, or the setting of the sun at the end of the day.”
Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah
April 29, 2022 by blauracke Leave a Comment
Yusuf is a strange and passive character that is hard to relate to. From the outset, things happen to him, while he doesn’t make anything happen; he is swept along for the ride, and he never seems to feel strongly one way or the other about it all. The only feature of his that truly stands out is his handsomeness, which attracts men and women alike, but doesn’t seem to serve any greater purpose. His character is supposedly an incarnation of the prophet Yusuf mentioned in the Quran, who corresponds to Joseph from the Book of Genesis, but I honestly don’t know enough about their stories to draw any parallels or inferences from this information. On the other hand, many of the characters around him are colourful and intriguing which makes Yusuf stand out even more. To me it seems that he is very much a symbol for his country Tanzania, which is on the verge of being colonized by Germany, as both of them are not in control of their fate at this moment in time and face an uncertain and probably grim future.
In general, the writing is very good, and there are many layers that are hidden under the superficially simple story, especially in regards to the meaning of freedom and independence. It is told in an emotionally detached way which combined with Yusuf’s passivity and opaqueness of character evokes a feeling of inevitability that hangs over the proceedings, but surprisingly this doesn’t lead to an unnecessarily bleak reading experience, even with the generally dark subject matter. Also, the ending is quite unpredictable which makes for another nice surprise. It took me some time to get into the story, but overall I would call it a rewarding and slightly unusual read.
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Paradise Novel Summary by Abdulrazak Gurnah
Table of Contents
“Paradise” is a powerful and profound novel written by Abdulrazak Gurnah , the acclaimed Tanzanian-British author. With its captivating narrative and insightful exploration of themes, the book stands as a Novel work of literature that leaves a lasting impact on its readers.
Paradise Novel Summary by Abdulrazak Gurnah- Through its examination of love, loss, colonialism, and the complexities of human relationships, “Paradise” showcases Gurnah’s literary prowess and solidifies his reputation as a master storyteller.
Paradise Novel Summary by Abdulrazak Gurnah- The novel is set in Zanzibar, an island off the coast of East Africa, during the late 19th century when the region was under the rule of the Omani Empire. Against this historical backdrop, Gurnah crafts a compelling tale that revolves around the lives of two main characters, Yusuf and Amina. Yusuf, a young man from a modest background, is torn from his village and sold into slavery.
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Paradise Novel Summary by Abdulrazak Gurnah- Amina, the daughter of an Arab merchant, is forced into an arranged marriage that fails to bring her happiness. The paths of these two characters intertwine, and their individual struggles against oppression and societal expectations form the core of the novel.
One of the central themes explored in “Paradise” is the impact of colonialism and the slave trade on individuals and communities. Gurnah delves into the historical context, shedding light on the complex power dynamics, racial prejudices, and cultural clashes that characterized this era.
Paradise Novel Summary by Abdulrazak Gurnah- The novel delves into the dehumanizing effects of slavery, the loss of identity, and the enduring consequences for generations to come. Through his meticulous research and evocative prose, Gurnah shines a spotlight on this dark chapter of history, urging readers to confront the past and reflect on its lingering implications.
Love and relationships are also significant themes in “Paradise.” The novel examines the complexities of romantic entanglements and the consequences of societal expectations. Yusuf and Amina, both trapped in oppressive circumstances, find solace and connection in their shared experiences of suffering.
Paradise Novel Summary by Abdulrazak Gurnah- Their relationship serves as a testament to the power of human connection, resilience, and the pursuit of personal freedom. Gurnah explores the nuances of love, desire, and sacrifice, highlighting the transformative power of human emotions in the face of adversity.
Gurnah’s writing style in “Paradise” is marked by its eloquence and lyrical beauty. His prose flows effortlessly, painting vivid imagery and immersing readers in the sights, sounds, and emotions of Zanzibar.
Paradise Novel Summary by Abdulrazak Gurnah- Through his rich descriptions, Gurnah brings the island to life, capturing the vibrant culture, lush landscapes, and the contrasting worlds of privilege and oppression. His attention to detail and ability to evoke a sense of time and place contribute to the novel’s immersive experience.
Moreover, “Paradise” addresses themes of identity, belonging, and the search for freedom. Yusuf and Amina, despite their different backgrounds, share a common yearning for liberation from societal constraints.
Paradise Novel Summary by Abdulrazak Gurnah- Their individual quests for self-discovery and autonomy resonate with readers on a universal level. Gurnah skillfully navigates these themes, weaving them into the fabric of the narrative, and leaving readers with profound questions about the nature of freedom and the pursuit of happiness.
“Paradise” by Abdulrazak Gurnah is a remarkable and Novel work of literature that delves into the profound themes of colonialism, slavery, love, and personal liberation.
Set in the historical context of 19th century Zanzibar, Gurnah’s masterful storytelling and eloquent prose create a captivating narrative that explores the complexities of human relationships and the enduring consequences of historical injustices.
Through his vivid descriptions and insightful characterizations, Gurnah transports readers to a world filled with oppression, resilience, and the transformative power of love. “Paradise” stands as a testament to Gurnah’s literary skill and his ability to shed light on important aspects of the human experience.
Q: What is “Paradise” about?
Ans: “Paradise” is a novel written by Abdulrazak Gurnah. It is set in Zanzibar during the 19th century, a time when the region was under the rule of the Omani Empire. The story follows the lives of two main characters, Yusuf and Amina. Yusuf, a young man from a modest background, is sold into slavery, while Amina, the daughter of an Arab merchant, is trapped in an unhappy arranged marriage. The novel explores themes of colonialism, the slave trade, love, and personal liberation.
Q: What are the main themes in “Paradise”?
Ans: Some of the main themes in “Paradise” include colonialism, the slave trade, love, personal liberation, identity, and societal expectations. The novel delves into the impact of colonialism and the slave trade on individuals and communities, examining the power dynamics, racial prejudices, and cultural clashes of the time. It also explores the complexities of love and relationships, as well as the pursuit of personal freedom and self-discovery.
Q: What is Abdulrazak Gurnah’s writing style in “Paradise”?
Ans: Abdulrazak Gurnah’s writing style in “Paradise” is characterized by its eloquence, lyrical beauty, and vivid imagery. His prose flows seamlessly, drawing readers into the world of Zanzibar and immersing them in its rich cultural and historical context. Gurnah’s attention to detail and his ability to evoke a sense of time and place contribute to the immersive reading experience of the novel.
Q: What is the significance of “Paradise” as a work of literature?
Ans: “Paradise” holds significant literary value due to its exploration of profound themes, its historical context, and the author’s skillful storytelling. The novel sheds light on the impact of colonialism, the slave trade, and societal expectations on individuals and communities. Gurnah’s insightful exploration of love, personal liberation, and the complexities of human relationships resonates with readers on a universal level. Through his eloquent prose and vivid descriptions, Gurnah creates a compelling narrative that invites readers to reflect on the enduring consequences of historical injustices and the pursuit of freedom and happiness.
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This, Abdulrazak Gurnah's fourth novel, is many-layered, violent, beautiful and strange. It incorporates its disparate elements - myth, folktale, Biblical and Koranic tradition, a strong whiff of ...
Paradise by Adbulrazak Gurnah (Book Review) Paradise, published in 1994, was written by Tanzanian author Abdulrazak Gurnah. Set in East Africa in the early 1900s, this wonderfully written tale follows Yusuf, a young boy who is taken from his parents to work for 'Uncle Aziz'. We soon learn that Uncle Aziz is not his uncle at all, but a ...
ISBN. 9780747573999. Preceded by. Dottie. Followed by. Admiring Silence. Paradise is a historical novel by the Nobel Prize -winning Zanzibar -born British writer Abdulrazak Gurnah, first published in 1994 by Hamish Hamilton in London. The novel was nominated for both the Booker Prize and the Whitbread Prize for Fiction.
This is set to change only now, with American publishers Riverhead Books acquiring the rights to Gurnah's 2022 novel, Afterlives.) Paradise , Abdulrazak Gurnah, Bloomsbury. Get the app
Praise for Paradise: "An evocative portrait of Africa on the brink of change. . . . A poignant meditation on the nature of freedom and the loss of innocence, for both a single sensitive boy and an entire continent." — The New York Times Book Review "Gurnah masterfully interweaves Yusuf's story with the larger historical forces transforming the continent, all in a lush, seductive ...
Paradise, by Abdulrazak Gurnah is perhaps the best known of this Nobel prize-winning author, whose works focus on the early 20th century issues of slavery, displacement and the search for identity among the native peoples of Africa. We follow the story of Yusuf who is sold into slavery to pay off his father's debt. At…
by Imogen Gladman. AFRICA. Author Abdulrazak Gurnah was born in East Africa in what is now Tanzania, and emigrated to the UK in 1968. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1994, Paradise is a coming of age story set in East Africa prior to the First World War, and during the German occupation. The book is beautifully written in a lyrical, mythical style, and takes the story of Yusuf, from the ...
PARADISE. by Abdulrazak Gurnah ‧RELEASE DATE: April 1, 1994. bookshelf. shop now. amazon. This disappointing second novel from the author of Memory of Departure (1988) never quite gets off the ground, although the language is simple and appealing. The setting is precolonial north Africa.
An African boy comes of age in an East Africa increasingly corrupted by colonialism and violence, in Abdulrazak Gurnah's powerful historical fiction. It soon transpires that the 'uncle' young Yusuf is travelling with is in reality a powerful merchant, and he has been pawned to him to pay his father's debts. Having been sold into slavery ...
Book Review: Paradise (1994) ... Gurnah gives the idea that the groups keep prejudices against each other. The native tribes are often dismissed by the others as savages (just like how Conrad wrote, but rather uncritically). Yusuf grows up, amidst slavery, bondage, love and life lessons. The last few pages of the novel open to the beginning of ...
Charlotte Mbali reviews the novel, "Paradise" by Abdulrazak Gurnah, winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize for Literature. ... "Paradise" by Abdulrazak Gurnah, winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize for Literature. ... It is a copy our daughter annotated when it was a set-book in a course of post-colonial literature she took at University of Natal near ...
Abdulrazak Gurnah, a Zanzibar-born British writer, published his novel Paradise in 1994. Set in the early 1900s in what is now Tanzania, it tells the story of Yusuf, a young man who is sold at age 12 to a traveling merchant called Uncle Aziz to pay off his parents' debt, a system known as rehani. He works in the merchant's shop with another rehani and eventually goes on a trade journey ...
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Paradise: By the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature 2021 at Amazon.com. Read honest and unbiased product reviews from our ... The second of Gurnah's books that I've read, I become ever more convinced of the merit to his selection for the Nobel Prize this year. 6 people found this helpful.
From the Nobel Prize winner, a coming-of-age story that illuminates the harshness and beauty of an Africa on the brink of colonization. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the Whitbread Award, Paradise was characterized by the Nobel Prize committee as Abdulrazak Gurnah's "breakthrough" work. It is at once the chronicle of an African boy's coming-of-age, a tragic love story, and a tale ...
Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah April 29, 2022 by blauracke Leave a Comment In the late 19th century, in pre-colonial coastal East Africa, 12-year-old Yusuf is taken by a merchant to pay off his father's debts.
The book was oddly reminiscent of Heart of Darkness, with the journey into a lawless land and the biblical metaphors of heaven and hell. However, Gurnah's book is more subtle, and with a more complex moral underlying it. The writing is easy to read and vivid, and the characters likeable and empathetic.
Paradise Novel Summary by Abdulrazak Gurnah "Paradise" is a powerful and profound novel written by Abdulrazak Gurnah, the acclaimed Tanzanian-British author.With its captivating narrative and insightful exploration of themes, the book stands as a Novel work of literature that leaves a lasting impact on its readers.
Paradise. Abdulrazak Gurnah. New Press, $19.95 (246pp) ISBN 978-1-56584-162-8. Gurnah's powerful, ironically titled story evokes the Edenic natural beauty of a continent on the verge of full-scale ...
36,305. (3.68) 130. From the Nobel Prize winner, a coming-of-age story that illuminates the harshness and beauty of an Africa on the brink of colonization. Paradise was characterized by the Nobel Prize committee as Abdulrazak Gurnah's "breakthrough" work. It is at once the chronicle of an African boy's coming-of-age,
Here are the Times reviews of Gurnah's books. Memory of Departure ... Paradise (1994) Shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 1994, this novel opens in East Africa before World War I and follows 12 ...
Share your opinion of this book. by J.D. Salinger. Gurnah (Paradise, 1994), born in Zanzibar, poignantly redefines the colonial experience as he details the ``disappointed love'' that an exile feels for both the colonial mother, England, and his now independent homeland. Suffering from heart disease and homesickness, the 40-year-old unnamed ...
Abdulrazak Gurnah. Bloomsbury, $26 (288p) ISBN 978-1-62040-328-. Gurnah's latest (after Paradise) follows an East African immigrant living in a small English town as he and his family reckon ...