Challenging Narrative of Kenya's Independence, 04 Jul 2007
In A Grain of Wheat, Ngugi challenges the reader by using different voices within the narrative as different characters relate their views of the story, though the controlling narrative is in the form of the omniscient third person. What is really striking here is the dislocated chronology of the novel. Though at its centre it has Kenyan Uhuru, or Independence Day, the narrative repeatedly switches to different moments in the past. The narrative, though, gives no direct indication that the time focus is changing, as it does not only between chapters but also between paragraphs, which can sometimes leave the reader momentarily disorientated. This demands an alert reading, which pays rewards as at times the same event is returned to from a different angle at a different place in the novel, or the reader's response to event is coloured by their prior knowledge of what the consequences will be. Most crucially, it means that the day of Uhuru itself is inextricably linked with Kenya's painful and violent past, where courage and betrayal have been evident in equal measure. This explains why the longed-for independence is accompanied by "a disturbing sense of inevitable gloom".
The novel is an important retelling of history from an African perspective, directly challenging British colonialism in Kenya by charting the resistance to it which led up to independence, (or Uhuru, the Swahili word for freedom). His novel questions the imperial view of Kenya's history by presenting the Kenyan perspective, where the Mau Mau movement is sympathetically portrayed as a band of courageous freedom fighters, rather than as insurgents or terrorists. The novel describes the decline in imperial idealism as well as the brutality of the British military regime in Kenya in the face of resistance. However, he is equally uncompromising about the prospect for independent Kenya, describing 'a feeling of inevitable gloom' as Uhuru approaches because of the pain of Kenya's past and the corruption which is already evident in the new independent government.

One of Africa's Finest, 03 Feb 2007
This is perhaps one of the greatest books by an African author that I have read. It tells the story of a Kenya reaching for Uhuru (freedom). It takes an original structure weaving skilfully between past and present as more and more of the plot is revealed. This is a book without heroes; we see the story from many angles and men whose actions seem heroic from one perspective will often deconstruct the actions when it comes their turn to tell the story. It tells of men who imprisoned in concentration camps for many years with only the thoughts of their wives to keep them going, who come out only to find their wives pregnant by other man. It tells of what price is freedom worth, and whether people actually wish to pay it. The plot revolves around the betrayal of a freedom fighter, Kihika and on one level the book is a quest to find who betrayed him. Mugo, a solitary loner thrust into the spotlight by his heroic actions and resolute silence in the face of British torture is the unwilling protagonist who tries hard to avoid the action. Reminiscent of Camus' Meursault (the Outsider) Mugo is a man who sees little meaning in the struggle, his silence from torture more a feature of his almost existentialist view of life than any belief in Uhuru. Mugo contains dark secrets whose content is gradually revealed to us as the book progresses. The other main character is Gikonyo, and we see his relationship to his wife, how he feels her betrayal and ultimately their story more than any other symbolises Kenya's path to freedom.

From a literary point of view this book is without fault. However the author is a nationalist at heart, he now writes in his native tongue and whilst the anti-colonial resonances are to be expected in novel of this theme, his passing negative references to the East African Indians was a little harsh. Thiongo is a black nationalist (as well as a Marxist) but his black nationalism not the laudable sort that Steve Biko propagated, Thiongo's has racist overtones in it. However even if we left the politics out of the book it would still be a book worth reading for the beauty of the prose and the captivating storyline.


A revealing story, 21 Jul 2005
Centered on the pre-Independence Kenyan struggle between the Mau Mau liberation fighters and the British colonial government, A GRAIN OF WHEAT gives a portrayal of the struggle that few writers have ever depicted. One gets a good picture of the Mau Mau fighters, the attitude of the Colonialists, their the detention camps, the nature of the war, the bloody encounters, the ruthlessness of some of the soldiers of Colonial army and the direction to independence for the African continent. Betrayal, hopes and dreams, horrors and loss are all parts of the story.
Like TRIPLE AGENT DOUBLE CROSS, WHEN VICTIMS BECOME KILLERS, DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE, KING LEOPOLD'S GHOST, we learn that the tragic nature of this story reveals the futility of conflicts which in the end produces no winners, because humanity loses when the majority of the people emerge from a war scarred for life, having lost the innocence that epitomizes the freedom of the soul.

Challenging Narrative of Kenya's Independence, 04 Jul 2007
In A Grain of Wheat, Ngugi challenges the reader by using different voices within the narrative as different characters relate their views of the story, though the controlling narrative is in the form of the omniscient third person. What is really striking here is the dislocated chronology of the novel. Though at its centre it has Kenyan Uhuru, or Independence Day, the narrative repeatedly switches to different moments in the past. The narrative, though, gives no direct indication that the time focus is changing, as it does not only between chapters but also between paragraphs, which can sometimes leave the reader momentarily disorientated. This demands an alert reading, which pays rewards as at times the same event is returned to from a different angle at a different place in the novel, or the reader's response to event is coloured by their prior knowledge of what the consequences will be. Most crucially, it means that the day of Uhuru itself is inextricably linked with Kenya's painful and violent past, where courage and betrayal have been evident in equal measure. This explains why the longed-for independence is accompanied by "a disturbing sense of inevitable gloom".
The novel is an important retelling of history from an African perspective, directly challenging British colonialism in Kenya by charting the resistance to it which led up to independence, (or Uhuru, the Swahili word for freedom). His novel questions the imperial view of Kenya's history by presenting the Kenyan perspective, where the Mau Mau movement is sympathetically portrayed as a band of courageous freedom fighters, rather than as insurgents or terrorists. The novel describes the decline in imperial idealism as well as the brutality of the British military regime in Kenya in the face of resistance. However, he is equally uncompromising about the prospect for independent Kenya, describing 'a feeling of inevitable gloom' as Uhuru approaches because of the pain of Kenya's past and the corruption which is already evident in the new independent government.

One of Africa's Finest, 03 Feb 2007
This is perhaps one of the greatest books by an African author that I have read. It tells the story of a Kenya reaching for Uhuru (freedom). It takes an original structure weaving skilfully between past and present as more and more of the plot is revealed. This is a book without heroes; we see the story from many angles and men whose actions seem heroic from one perspective will often deconstruct the actions when it comes their turn to tell the story. It tells of men who imprisoned in concentration camps for many years with only the thoughts of their wives to keep them going, who come out only to find their wives pregnant by other man. It tells of what price is freedom worth, and whether people actually wish to pay it. The plot revolves around the betrayal of a freedom fighter, Kihika and on one level the book is a quest to find who betrayed him. Mugo, a solitary loner thrust into the spotlight by his heroic actions and resolute silence in the face of British torture is the unwilling protagonist who tries hard to avoid the action. Reminiscent of Camus' Meursault (the Outsider) Mugo is a man who sees little meaning in the struggle, his silence from torture more a feature of his almost existentialist view of life than any belief in Uhuru. Mugo contains dark secrets whose content is gradually revealed to us as the book progresses. The other main character is Gikonyo, and we see his relationship to his wife, how he feels her betrayal and ultimately their story more than any other symbolises Kenya's path to freedom.

From a literary point of view this book is without fault. However the author is a nationalist at heart, he now writes in his native tongue and whilst the anti-colonial resonances are to be expected in novel of this theme, his passing negative references to the East African Indians was a little harsh. Thiongo is a black nationalist (as well as a Marxist) but his black nationalism not the laudable sort that Steve Biko propagated, Thiongo's has racist overtones in it. However even if we left the politics out of the book it would still be a book worth reading for the beauty of the prose and the captivating storyline.


A revealing story, 21 Jul 2005
Centered on the pre-Independence Kenyan struggle between the Mau Mau liberation fighters and the British colonial government, A GRAIN OF WHEAT gives a portrayal of the struggle that few writers have ever depicted. One gets a good picture of the Mau Mau fighters, the attitude of the Colonialists, their the detention camps, the nature of the war, the bloody encounters, the ruthlessness of some of the soldiers of Colonial army and the direction to independence for the African continent. Betrayal, hopes and dreams, horrors and loss are all parts of the story.
Like TRIPLE AGENT DOUBLE CROSS, WHEN VICTIMS BECOME KILLERS, DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE, KING LEOPOLD'S GHOST, we learn that the tragic nature of this story reveals the futility of conflicts which in the end produces no winners, because humanity loses when the majority of the people emerge from a war scarred for life, having lost the innocence that epitomizes the freedom of the soul.

Good, but typical Booker exoticism, 18 Dec 2006
A nice coming of age story, but a little formulaic in my opinion, and fortunate upon the Booker prize favouritism towards exoticism and the post-colonial. I found this a good read, but a little tedious and plot-less in places. If you like Rushdie and the other 'exotic' Booker authors, you'll like this, but for me this just didn't really have enough 'bite' to make me want to re-read.

Beautifully realized portrait of pre-World War I Tanzania., 01 Aug 2005
A finalist in 1994 for both the Booker Prize and the Whitbread Award, Paradise hides major themes and ideas within the seemingly simple story of Yusuf, a twelve-year-old boy in rural East Africa whose father sells him to a trader to settle a debt. East Africa is in turmoil-on the verge of World War I and the fighting which eventually develops between the Germans in Tanzania and the British in Kenya. Cities are growing, populations are moving, merchants are trading and selling, and colonialists from many countries are trying to impose their own cultures.

When Yusuf is sold to his "uncle" Aziz, he leaves his remote rural village in what is now Tanzania and joins a trading caravan, traveling to the highlands and eventually on an ill-fated trading safari to the remote interior, discovering whole new worlds as he goes. In eight years of travel, he "progresses" from the countryside to a coastal city, from simple subsistence to the complexities of urban, mercantile life, and from his childish pleasure with a shiny coin to an adult's need for love.

Yusuf, as a young child/adolescent, is an obvious symbol of Tanzania itself at this stage of its history. Just as Yusuf must come of age, so also must the country as the various groups contending for influence must make choices about how much they will accept, reject, or adapt to outside influences. As Yusuf comes into contact with tribal chieftains, Muslim traders, Indian shopkeepers, and German empire builders, the reader observes all contending for influence, within Yusuf and within the loose, artificial borders of Tanzania.

Creating vivid images primarily through his selection of the perfect detail, Gurnah uses simple, poetic language to tell a story loaded with important social and political observations, conveying clearly and objectively the historical background of the country in which he was born. Dialogue is often filled with humor, and Yusuf becomes a real person, not a cardboard symbol. A novel which begins as a beautifully realized coming-of-age story, also becomes a story of adventure, social realism, and eventually love. Mary Whipple

Coming of Age in a Changing Africa, 25 May 2005
'Paradise' is the coming of age story of Yusuf, a twelve-year old boy when the story opens in an East Africa on the brink of change with the Anglo-German conflict of the First World War looming. The young Yusuf is indentured to the rich trader Aziz, who Yusuf believes to be his uncle, in order to pay off his father's debts. As the story develops, Yusuf gets to experience being a part of the trading caravans that linked the diverse racial, ethnic and religious groups of the region during this bygone era. Against the background of a changing world, the maturing Yusuf must start to make some decisions on the direction of his own life....

'Paradise' contains a number of interesting characters: the good-natured banter between Sikh Harbans Singh (Kalasinga) and Muslim Hamid Suleiman is a real treat, as is the interaction between Yusuf and similarly indentured shopkeeper Khalil. Undoubtedly, the stand-out feature of 'Paradise' is Gurnah's beautiful poetic prose: every aspect of this novel was completely mesmerising from the first word to the last. 'Paradise' succeeds on many levels: as a coming of age story; commentary on slavery and colonialism; tale of travel and adventure in a past world; and story dealing with first-love and friendships. 'Paradise' was short-listed for the Booker back in '94 and richly deserves a continued wide readership. I hope to read more of Gurnah's work, and have bought Gurnah's critically acclaimed 'By the Sea' on the strength of my enchantment with 'Paradise'.

Abdulrazak Gurnah's By the Sea tells of an elderly man coming to Britain from Zanzibar, off the coast of Tanzania, as an asylum seeker. Rajab Shaaban--the name on his passport--does not explain to the British immigration authorities why he needs asylum, expecting only to be accepted, as the government of Zanzibar has been officially designated "as dangerous to its own citizens". The picture Gurnah paints of the asylum-seeker's lot in late 20th-century Britain is not a favourable one. Shaaban comes to Britain claiming he cannot speak English, yet understands all that is said to him. Through this deception he meets, after 30 years, the son of his namesake; Latif Mahmud has settled in Britain and is presented as an academic expert who will speak Rajab's language. We also receive glimpses of the torture and imprisonment of Shaaban in his own country, where men abuse their power after independence from colonialism. However, this unfair treatment is marginalised by the deception, bitterness and revenge that reverberates between the two families of Gurnah's story.

By the Sea does not present the reader with sympathetic characters and the tales that are woven are often confusing and petty. Mahmud and Shaaban take it in turns to tell their side of the story, almost drenching the reader with too much detail. Notably, Gurnah always makes his characters point out that they do not tell each other the whole truth; they leave gaps as if to protect each other and their families. Unfortunately, this makes the narrative distant and incomplete. It is hard to appreciate the stories and lives being unravelled when the narrators themselves seem unlikeable and distrustful. However, this may merely be a reflection of the bitterness and deprivation suffered in post-colonial Zanzibar, and the desolation that refugees find when away from their birth land. --Olivia Dickinson

Challenging Narrative of Kenya's Independence, 04 Jul 2007
In A Grain of Wheat, Ngugi challenges the reader by using different voices within the narrative as different characters relate their views of the story, though the controlling narrative is in the form of the omniscient third person. What is really striking here is the dislocated chronology of the novel. Though at its centre it has Kenyan Uhuru, or Independence Day, the narrative repeatedly switches to different moments in the past. The narrative, though, gives no direct indication that the time focus is changing, as it does not only between chapters but also between paragraphs, which can sometimes leave the reader momentarily disorientated. This demands an alert reading, which pays rewards as at times the same event is returned to from a different angle at a different place in the novel, or the reader's response to event is coloured by their prior knowledge of what the consequences will be. Most crucially, it means that the day of Uhuru itself is inextricably linked with Kenya's painful and violent past, where courage and betrayal have been evident in equal measure. This explains why the longed-for independence is accompanied by "a disturbing sense of inevitable gloom".
The novel is an important retelling of history from an African perspective, directly challenging British colonialism in Kenya by charting the resistance to it which led up to independence, (or Uhuru, the Swahili word for freedom). His novel questions the imperial view of Kenya's history by presenting the Kenyan perspective, where the Mau Mau movement is sympathetically portrayed as a band of courageous freedom fighters, rather than as insurgents or terrorists. The novel describes the decline in imperial idealism as well as the brutality of the British military regime in Kenya in the face of resistance. However, he is equally uncompromising about the prospect for independent Kenya, describing 'a feeling of inevitable gloom' as Uhuru approaches because of the pain of Kenya's past and the corruption which is already evident in the new independent government.

One of Africa's Finest, 03 Feb 2007
This is perhaps one of the greatest books by an African author that I have read. It tells the story of a Kenya reaching for Uhuru (freedom). It takes an original structure weaving skilfully between past and present as more and more of the plot is revealed. This is a book without heroes; we see the story from many angles and men whose actions seem heroic from one perspective will often deconstruct the actions when it comes their turn to tell the story. It tells of men who imprisoned in concentration camps for many years with only the thoughts of their wives to keep them going, who come out only to find their wives pregnant by other man. It tells of what price is freedom worth, and whether people actually wish to pay it. The plot revolves around the betrayal of a freedom fighter, Kihika and on one level the book is a quest to find who betrayed him. Mugo, a solitary loner thrust into the spotlight by his heroic actions and resolute silence in the face of British torture is the unwilling protagonist who tries hard to avoid the action. Reminiscent of Camus' Meursault (the Outsider) Mugo is a man who sees little meaning in the struggle, his silence from torture more a feature of his almost existentialist view of life than any belief in Uhuru. Mugo contains dark secrets whose content is gradually revealed to us as the book progresses. The other main character is Gikonyo, and we see his relationship to his wife, how he feels her betrayal and ultimately their story more than any other symbolises Kenya's path to freedom.

From a literary point of view this book is without fault. However the author is a nationalist at heart, he now writes in his native tongue and whilst the anti-colonial resonances are to be expected in novel of this theme, his passing negative references to the East African Indians was a little harsh. Thiongo is a black nationalist (as well as a Marxist) but his black nationalism not the laudable sort that Steve Biko propagated, Thiongo's has racist overtones in it. However even if we left the politics out of the book it would still be a book worth reading for the beauty of the prose and the captivating storyline.


A revealing story, 21 Jul 2005
Centered on the pre-Independence Kenyan struggle between the Mau Mau liberation fighters and the British colonial government, A GRAIN OF WHEAT gives a portrayal of the struggle that few writers have ever depicted. One gets a good picture of the Mau Mau fighters, the attitude of the Colonialists, their the detention camps, the nature of the war, the bloody encounters, the ruthlessness of some of the soldiers of Colonial army and the direction to independence for the African continent. Betrayal, hopes and dreams, horrors and loss are all parts of the story.
Like TRIPLE AGENT DOUBLE CROSS, WHEN VICTIMS BECOME KILLERS, DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE, KING LEOPOLD'S GHOST, we learn that the tragic nature of this story reveals the futility of conflicts which in the end produces no winners, because humanity loses when the majority of the people emerge from a war scarred for life, having lost the innocence that epitomizes the freedom of the soul.

Good, but typical Booker exoticism, 18 Dec 2006
A nice coming of age story, but a little formulaic in my opinion, and fortunate upon the Booker prize favouritism towards exoticism and the post-colonial. I found this a good read, but a little tedious and plot-less in places. If you like Rushdie and the other 'exotic' Booker authors, you'll like this, but for me this just didn't really have enough 'bite' to make me want to re-read.

Beautifully realized portrait of pre-World War I Tanzania., 01 Aug 2005
A finalist in 1994 for both the Booker Prize and the Whitbread Award, Paradise hides major themes and ideas within the seemingly simple story of Yusuf, a twelve-year-old boy in rural East Africa whose father sells him to a trader to settle a debt. East Africa is in turmoil-on the verge of World War I and the fighting which eventually develops between the Germans in Tanzania and the British in Kenya. Cities are growing, populations are moving, merchants are trading and selling, and colonialists from many countries are trying to impose their own cultures.

When Yusuf is sold to his "uncle" Aziz, he leaves his remote rural village in what is now Tanzania and joins a trading caravan, traveling to the highlands and eventually on an ill-fated trading safari to the remote interior, discovering whole new worlds as he goes. In eight years of travel, he "progresses" from the countryside to a coastal city, from simple subsistence to the complexities of urban, mercantile life, and from his childish pleasure with a shiny coin to an adult's need for love.

Yusuf, as a young child/adolescent, is an obvious symbol of Tanzania itself at this stage of its history. Just as Yusuf must come of age, so also must the country as the various groups contending for influence must make choices about how much they will accept, reject, or adapt to outside influences. As Yusuf comes into contact with tribal chieftains, Muslim traders, Indian shopkeepers, and German empire builders, the reader observes all contending for influence, within Yusuf and within the loose, artificial borders of Tanzania.

Creating vivid images primarily through his selection of the perfect detail, Gurnah uses simple, poetic language to tell a story loaded with important social and political observations, conveying clearly and objectively the historical background of the country in which he was born. Dialogue is often filled with humor, and Yusuf becomes a real person, not a cardboard symbol. A novel which begins as a beautifully realized coming-of-age story, also becomes a story of adventure, social realism, and eventually love. Mary Whipple

Coming of Age in a Changing Africa, 25 May 2005
'Paradise' is the coming of age story of Yusuf, a twelve-year old boy when the story opens in an East Africa on the brink of change with the Anglo-German conflict of the First World War looming. The young Yusuf is indentured to the rich trader Aziz, who Yusuf believes to be his uncle, in order to pay off his father's debts. As the story develops, Yusuf gets to experience being a part of the trading caravans that linked the diverse racial, ethnic and religious groups of the region during this bygone era. Against the background of a changing world, the maturing Yusuf must start to make some decisions on the direction of his own life....

'Paradise' contains a number of interesting characters: the good-natured banter between Sikh Harbans Singh (Kalasinga) and Muslim Hamid Suleiman is a real treat, as is the interaction between Yusuf and similarly indentured shopkeeper Khalil. Undoubtedly, the stand-out feature of 'Paradise' is Gurnah's beautiful poetic prose: every aspect of this novel was completely mesmerising from the first word to the last. 'Paradise' succeeds on many levels: as a coming of age story; commentary on slavery and colonialism; tale of travel and adventure in a past world; and story dealing with first-love and friendships. 'Paradise' was short-listed for the Booker back in '94 and richly deserves a continued wide readership. I hope to read more of Gurnah's work, and have bought Gurnah's critically acclaimed 'By the Sea' on the strength of my enchantment with 'Paradise'.

A passionate tale of colonialism and its aftermath., 10 Nov 2002
I cannot imagine why this thoughtful and beautifully constructed novel by an author of immense talent is so little known and so little praised. It's a very strong book, filled with sensual images, subtle feelings, vibrant scenes, carefully plotted intrigue, and clear messages. Its scenes of family life and strife in Zanzibar, contrasted with the "civilized," bureaucratic, and officious behavior of the British at home and abroad, establish strong contrasts and illuminate the themes.

The book begins as a leisurely portrait of two lonely immigrants to England from Zanzibar, one of them a distinguished young professor and the other a 65-year-old asylum seeker who has just arrived, pretending he understands no English. As the points of view shift back and forth between the two men in succeeding sections of the novel, we come to know each man well--his life, his aspirations in Zanzibar, his extended family, the family's business connections there, and ultimately, the how and why of each man's emigration to England. Coming from two different generations, each man has a different view of his former country, the older man having spent most of his life there, escaping to England when all other hope is gone, and the younger having left as a young student, but still longing for the connections he left behind.

Powerful ironies drive the action. Each man knows who the other is, or was, in Zanzibar, and each believes that the other's family has brought about his own family's downfall there. As the two men tentatively explore the past and the old man reveals information the young man could never have known, the pace quickens until the past and the present merge and each of the men discovers hidden truths and new strengths. This is passionate book of clear vision, a book which recognizes harsh truths and still remains compassionate. Mary Whipple

An engrossing novel, 14 Aug 2002
I stumbled across this book a few weeks ago and the writer's name immediately caught my attention as he was my tutor at Kent University over 10 years ago. I hadn't actually heard anything about the book although the reviews on the back suggested that I would enjoy it. I was gripped immediately by the emerging story of the asylum seeker and his past life. The style of writing is very engaging and I was particularly fascinated by way in which the stories intertwined and the way that we are kept guessing about the reason for Saleh's arrival in England. The writer vividly conjures Zanzibar as a place of beauty, intrigue and complexity and juxtaposes it with the grim realities of life for an asylum seeker in England. I found it a fascinating and very moving story and would recommend it highly.

Worthy, but ..., 07 Aug 2002
The synopsis is accurate so I won't bother summarising the plot. However, I just don't see what all the rave reviews see in this book. It made the Booker longlist, and I think it can be summed up in the word "worthy". On the other hand, I found it awfully slow at times, the plot meanders around eventually getting to some sort of conclusion, none of the characters are particularly engaging, and the poetry of the language failed to move me.

Heavenly reading, 30 Jul 2002
This beautiful book describes the arrival of an elderly refugee from Zanzibar in the UK. The events causing him to flee "paradise" are gradually revealed. When he makes contact with a younger man who shares some of his history more and more layers are peeled away to reveal entwined human tragedies. The events are shocking yet understated and the narrators voice is not self pitying. Abdulrazak Gurnah's writing is lyrical and moving. The storytelling is even-paced yet I found it impossible to put this book down. I recommend it highly.

shear poetry, 17 Jul 2002
This is one of the most poetic books I have ever read. The language flows easily, with a real lyrical quality: it belongs to an oral tradition, and I found myself wanting to read it aloud. The story is of an elderly Zanzibari, who seeks to escape his past life by coming as a refugee to England. But his past catches up with him. All the confusions and misunderstandings of a small comunity are vividly explored, giving considerable insight into life by the sea of east africa, influenced by the seasons of the sea, and life in any small, rigidly divided community.

Challenging Narrative of Kenya's Independence, 04 Jul 2007
In A Grain of Wheat, Ngugi challenges the reader by using different voices within the narrative as different characters relate their views of the story, though the controlling narrative is in the form of the omniscient third person. What is really striking here is the dislocated chronology of the novel. Though at its centre it has Kenyan Uhuru, or Independence Day, the narrative repeatedly switches to different moments in the past. The narrative, though, gives no direct indication that the time focus is changing, as it does not only between chapters but also between paragraphs, which can sometimes leave the reader momentarily disorientated. This demands an alert reading, which pays rewards as at times the same event is returned to from a different angle at a different place in the novel, or the reader's response to event is coloured by their prior knowledge of what the consequences will be. Most crucially, it means that the day of Uhuru itself is inextricably linked with Kenya's painful and violent past, where courage and betrayal have been evident in equal measure. This explains why the longed-for independence is accompanied by "a disturbing sense of inevitable gloom".
The novel is an important retelling of history from an African perspective, directly challenging British colonialism in Kenya by charting the resistance to it which led up to independence, (or Uhuru, the Swahili word for freedom). His novel questions the imperial view of Kenya's history by presenting the Kenyan perspective, where the Mau Mau movement is sympathetically portrayed as a band of courageous freedom fighters, rather than as insurgents or terrorists. The novel describes the decline in imperial idealism as well as the brutality of the British military regime in Kenya in the face of resistance. However, he is equally uncompromising about the prospect for independent Kenya, describing 'a feeling of inevitable gloom' as Uhuru approaches because of the pain of Kenya's past and the corruption which is already evident in the new independent government.

One of Africa's Finest, 03 Feb 2007
This is perhaps one of the greatest books by an African author that I have read. It tells the story of a Kenya reaching for Uhuru (freedom). It takes an original structure weaving skilfully between past and present as more and more of the plot is revealed. This is a book without heroes; we see the story from many angles and men whose actions seem heroic from one perspective will often deconstruct the actions when it comes their turn to tell the story. It tells of men who imprisoned in concentration camps for many years with only the thoughts of their wives to keep them going, who come out only to find their wives pregnant by other man. It tells of what price is freedom worth, and whether people actually wish to pay it. The plot revolves around the betrayal of a freedom fighter, Kihika and on one level the book is a quest to find who betrayed him. Mugo, a solitary loner thrust into the spotlight by his heroic actions and resolute silence in the face of British torture is the unwilling protagonist who tries hard to avoid the action. Reminiscent of Camus' Meursault (the Outsider) Mugo is a man who sees little meaning in the struggle, his silence from torture more a feature of his almost existentialist view of life than any belief in Uhuru. Mugo contains dark secrets whose content is gradually revealed to us as the book progresses. The other main character is Gikonyo, and we see his relationship to his wife, how he feels her betrayal and ultimately their story more than any other symbolises Kenya's path to freedom.

From a literary point of view this book is without fault. However the author is a nationalist at heart, he now writes in his native tongue and whilst the anti-colonial resonances are to be expected in novel of this theme, his passing negative references to the East African Indians was a little harsh. Thiongo is a black nationalist (as well as a Marxist) but his black nationalism not the laudable sort that Steve Biko propagated, Thiongo's has racist overtones in it. However even if we left the politics out of the book it would still be a book worth reading for the beauty of the prose and the captivating storyline.


A revealing story, 21 Jul 2005
Centered on the pre-Independence Kenyan struggle between the Mau Mau liberation fighters and the British colonial government, A GRAIN OF WHEAT gives a portrayal of the struggle that few writers have ever depicted. One gets a good picture of the Mau Mau fighters, the attitude of the Colonialists, their the detention camps, the nature of the war, the bloody encounters, the ruthlessness of some of the soldiers of Colonial army and the direction to independence for the African continent. Betrayal, hopes and dreams, horrors and loss are all parts of the story.
Like TRIPLE AGENT DOUBLE CROSS, WHEN VICTIMS BECOME KILLERS, DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE, KING LEOPOLD'S GHOST, we learn that the tragic nature of this story reveals the futility of conflicts which in the end produces no winners, because humanity loses when the majority of the people emerge from a war scarred for life, having lost the innocence that epitomizes the freedom of the soul.

Good, but typical Booker exoticism, 18 Dec 2006
A nice coming of age story, but a little formulaic in my opinion, and fortunate upon the Booker prize favouritism towards exoticism and the post-colonial. I found this a good read, but a little tedious and plot-less in places. If you like Rushdie and the other 'exotic' Booker authors, you'll like this, but for me this just didn't really have enough 'bite' to make me want to re-read.

Beautifully realized portrait of pre-World War I Tanzania., 01 Aug 2005
A finalist in 1994 for both the Booker Prize and the Whitbread Award, Paradise hides major themes and ideas within the seemingly simple story of Yusuf, a twelve-year-old boy in rural East Africa whose father sells him to a trader to settle a debt. East Africa is in turmoil-on the verge of World War I and the fighting which eventually develops between the Germans in Tanzania and the British in Kenya. Cities are growing, populations are moving, merchants are trading and selling, and colonialists from many countries are trying to impose their own cultures.

When Yusuf is sold to his "uncle" Aziz, he leaves his remote rural village in what is now Tanzania and joins a trading caravan, traveling to the highlands and eventually on an ill-fated trading safari to the remote interior, discovering whole new worlds as he goes. In eight years of travel, he "progresses" from the countryside to a coastal city, from simple subsistence to the complexities of urban, mercantile life, and from his childish pleasure with a shiny coin to an adult's need for love.

Yusuf, as a young child/adolescent, is an obvious symbol of Tanzania itself at this stage of its history. Just as Yusuf must come of age, so also must the country as the various groups contending for influence must make choices about how much they will accept, reject, or adapt to outside influences. As Yusuf comes into contact with tribal chieftains, Muslim traders, Indian shopkeepers, and German empire builders, the reader observes all contending for influence, within Yusuf and within the loose, artificial borders of Tanzania.

Creating vivid images primarily through his selection of the perfect detail, Gurnah uses simple, poetic language to tell a story loaded with important social and political observations, conveying clearly and objectively the historical background of the country in which he was born. Dialogue is often filled with humor, and Yusuf becomes a real person, not a cardboard symbol. A novel which begins as a beautifully realized coming-of-age story, also becomes a story of adventure, social realism, and eventually love. Mary Whipple

Coming of Age in a Changing Africa, 25 May 2005
'Paradise' is the coming of age story of Yusuf, a twelve-year old boy when the story opens in an East Africa on the brink of change with the Anglo-German conflict of the First World War looming. The young Yusuf is indentured to the rich trader Aziz, who Yusuf believes to be his uncle, in order to pay off his father's debts. As the story develops, Yusuf gets to experience being a part of the trading caravans that linked the diverse racial, ethnic and religious groups of the region during this bygone era. Against the background of a changing world, the maturing Yusuf must start to make some decisions on the direction of his own life....

'Paradise' contains a number of interesting characters: the good-natured banter between Sikh Harbans Singh (Kalasinga) and Muslim Hamid Suleiman is a real treat, as is the interaction between Yusuf and similarly indentured shopkeeper Khalil. Undoubtedly, the stand-out feature of 'Paradise' is Gurnah's beautiful poetic prose: every aspect of this novel was completely mesmerising from the first word to the last. 'Paradise' succeeds on many levels: as a coming of age story; commentary on slavery and colonialism; tale of travel and adventure in a past world; and story dealing with first-love and friendships. 'Paradise' was short-listed for the Booker back in '94 and richly deserves a continued wide readership. I hope to read more of Gurnah's work, and have bought Gurnah's critically acclaimed 'By the Sea' on the strength of my enchantment with 'Paradise'.

A passionate tale of colonialism and its aftermath., 10 Nov 2002
I cannot imagine why this thoughtful and beautifully constructed novel by an author of immense talent is so little known and so little praised. It's a very strong book, filled with sensual images, subtle feelings, vibrant scenes, carefully plotted intrigue, and clear messages. Its scenes of family life and strife in Zanzibar, contrasted with the "civilized," bureaucratic, and officious behavior of the British at home and abroad, establish strong contrasts and illuminate the themes.

The book begins as a leisurely portrait of two lonely immigrants to England from Zanzibar, one of them a distinguished young professor and the other a 65-year-old asylum seeker who has just arrived, pretending he understands no English. As the points of view shift back and forth between the two men in succeeding sections of the novel, we come to know each man well--his life, his aspirations in Zanzibar, his extended family, the family's business connections there, and ultimately, the how and why of each man's emigration to England. Coming from two different generations, each man has a different view of his former country, the older man having spent most of his life there, escaping to England when all other hope is gone, and the younger having left as a young student, but still longing for the connections he left behind.

Powerful ironies drive the action. Each man knows who the other is, or was, in Zanzibar, and each believes that the other's family has brought about his own family's downfall there. As the two men tentatively explore the past and the old man reveals information the young man could never have known, the pace quickens until the past and the present merge and each of the men discovers hidden truths and new strengths. This is passionate book of clear vision, a book which recognizes harsh truths and still remains compassionate. Mary Whipple

An engrossing novel, 14 Aug 2002
I stumbled across this book a few weeks ago and the writer's name immediately caught my attention as he was my tutor at Kent University over 10 years ago. I hadn't actually heard anything about the book although the reviews on the back suggested that I would enjoy it. I was gripped immediately by the emerging story of the asylum seeker and his past life. The style of writing is very engaging and I was particularly fascinated by way in which the stories intertwined and the way that we are kept guessing about the reason for Saleh's arrival in England. The writer vividly conjures Zanzibar as a place of beauty, intrigue and complexity and juxtaposes it with the grim realities of life for an asylum seeker in England. I found it a fascinating and very moving story and would recommend it highly.

Worthy, but ..., 07 Aug 2002
The synopsis is accurate so I won't bother summarising the plot. However, I just don't see what all the rave reviews see in this book. It made the Booker longlist, and I think it can be summed up in the word "worthy". On the other hand, I found it awfully slow at times, the plot meanders around eventually getting to some sort of conclusion, none of the characters are particularly engaging, and the poetry of the language failed to move me.

Heavenly reading, 30 Jul 2002
This beautiful book describes the arrival of an elderly refugee from Zanzibar in the UK. The events causing him to flee "paradise" are gradually revealed. When he makes contact with a younger man who shares some of his history more and more layers are peeled away to reveal entwined human tragedies. The events are shocking yet understated and the narrators voice is not self pitying. Abdulrazak Gurnah's writing is lyrical and moving. The storytelling is even-paced yet I found it impossible to put this book down. I recommend it highly.

shear poetry, 17 Jul 2002
This is one of the most poetic books I have ever read. The language flows easily, with a real lyrical quality: it belongs to an oral tradition, and I found myself wanting to read it aloud. The story is of an elderly Zanzibari, who seeks to escape his past life by coming as a refugee to England. But his past catches up with him. All the confusions and misunderstandings of a small comunity are vividly explored, giving considerable insight into life by the sea of east africa, influenced by the seasons of the sea, and life in any small, rigidly divided community.

"To be certain of anything is the beginning of bigotry.", 03 Jan 2006
When Martin Pearce, an Englishman nearly dead from thirst, staggers out of the desert and into the life of Hassanali, a shopseller in a village south of Mombasa, he sets in motion events and themes which echo throughout the novel. It is 1899, and Pearce has been traveling on foot for four days. Believing that "This [man] was a burden [God] had...chosen for him," Hassanali enlists his wife Malika, and his sister Rehana to help care for him until a local British official brings him back to "civilization." When Pearce returns to thank Hassanali, he becomes enamored of Rehana, and their eventual affair becomes a scandal in both the British and the Indian/Muslim communities.

Part II, which takes place fifty years later in Zanzibar, focuses on a new set of characters--two brothers, Amin and Rashid, and their sister Farida. The story of Amin's love for Jamila, which soon unfolds, bears some resemblance to that of Pearce and Rehana--both loves involve cultural and religious taboos and raise questions about the ability of love to survive such difficulties.

Part III, which further develops the stories of Amin, Rashid, and Farida, takes place about fifteen years after that. Amin is still in Zanzibar, while Rashid is studying in England. The British have granted Zanzibar independence, but a revolution has taken place. The traumas of this period and its bloodshed, primarily in the 1970s, keep the brothers apart, and, because of censorship in Zanzibar, their communications are difficult and vague. "A Continuation," the five-page epilogue, eventually connects all the stories and resolves some unanswered questions.

Illustrating, to some extent, the effects of colonialism, along with desertions and displacements in the characters' lives, Gurnah concentrates primarily on stories of family, courtship, and relationships--ordinary people living their daily lives. His style is smooth and descriptive, conjuring the moods and images of different times and places, but structurally, the novel feels like three separate stories, rather than a continuous whole. The characters we meet in Part I (the most exciting part) are never mentioned again until the five-page epilogue, and that epilogue, which connects the various stories, depends on coincidence for its surprises and feels artificial. Individually, the stories, told primarily by Rashid, are intriging, but they feel more like three separate novellas than one unified novel. Mary Whipple

Challenging Narrative of Kenya's Independence, 04 Jul 2007
In A Grain of Wheat, Ngugi challenges the reader by using different voices within the narrative as different characters relate their views of the story, though the controlling narrative is in the form of the omniscient third person. What is really striking here is the dislocated chronology of the novel. Though at its centre it has Kenyan Uhuru, or Independence Day, the narrative repeatedly switches to different moments in the past. The narrative, though, gives no direct indication that the time focus is changing, as it does not only between chapters but also between paragraphs, which can sometimes leave the reader momentarily disorientated. This demands an alert reading, which pays rewards as at times the same event is returned to from a different angle at a different place in the novel, or the reader's response to event is coloured by their prior knowledge of what the consequences will be. Most crucially, it means that the day of Uhuru itself is inextricably linked with Kenya's painful and violent past, where courage and betrayal have been evident in equal measure. This explains why the longed-for independence is accompanied by "a disturbing sense of inevitable gloom".
The novel is an important retelling of history from an African perspective, directly challenging British colonialism in Kenya by charting the resistance to it which led up to independence, (or Uhuru, the Swahili word for freedom). His novel questions the imperial view of Kenya's history by presenting the Kenyan perspective, where the Mau Mau movement is sympathetically portrayed as a band of courageous freedom fighters, rather than as insurgents or terrorists. The novel describes the decline in imperial idealism as well as the brutality of the British military regime in Kenya in the face of resistance. However, he is equally uncompromising about the prospect for independent Kenya, describing 'a feeling of inevitable gloom' as Uhuru approaches because of the pain of Kenya's past and the corruption which is already evident in the new independent government.

One of Africa's Finest, 03 Feb 2007
This is perhaps one of the greatest books by an African author that I have read. It tells the story of a Kenya reaching for Uhuru (freedom). It takes an original structure weaving skilfully between past and present as more and more of the plot is revealed. This is a book without heroes; we see the story from many angles and men whose actions seem heroic from one perspective will often deconstruct the actions when it comes their turn to tell the story. It tells of men who imprisoned in concentration camps for many years with only the thoughts of their wives to keep them going, who come out only to find their wives pregnant by other man. It tells of what price is freedom worth, and whether people actually wish to pay it. The plot revolves around the betrayal of a freedom fighter, Kihika and on one level the book is a quest to find who betrayed him. Mugo, a solitary loner thrust into the spotlight by his heroic actions and resolute silence in the face of British torture is the unwilling protagonist who tries hard to avoid the action. Reminiscent of Camus' Meursault (the Outsider) Mugo is a man who sees little meaning in the struggle, his silence from torture more a feature of his almost existentialist view of life than any belief in Uhuru. Mugo contains dark secrets whose content is gradually revealed to us as the book progresses. The other main character is Gikonyo, and we see his relationship to his wife, how he feels her betrayal and ultimately their story more than any other symbolises Kenya's path to freedom.

From a literary point of view this book is without fault. However the author is a nationalist at heart, he now writes in his native tongue and whilst the anti-colonial resonances are to be expected in novel of this theme, his passing negative references to the East African Indians was a little harsh. Thiongo is a black nationalist (as well as a Marxist) but his black nationalism not the laudable sort that Steve Biko propagated, Thiongo's has racist overtones in it. However even if we left the politics out of the book it would still be a book worth reading for the beauty of the prose and the captivating storyline.


A revealing story, 21 Jul 2005
Centered on the pre-Independence Kenyan struggle between the Mau Mau liberation fighters and the British colonial government, A GRAIN OF WHEAT gives a portrayal of the struggle that few writers have ever depicted. One gets a good picture of the Mau Mau fighters, the attitude of the Colonialists, their the detention camps, the nature of the war, the bloody encounters, the ruthlessness of some of the soldiers of Colonial army and the direction to independence for the African continent. Betrayal, hopes and dreams, horrors and loss are all parts of the story.
Like TRIPLE AGENT DOUBLE CROSS, WHEN VICTIMS BECOME KILLERS, DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE, KING LEOPOLD'S GHOST, we learn that the tragic nature of this story reveals the futility of conflicts which in the end produces no winners, because humanity loses when the majority of the people emerge from a war scarred for life, having lost the innocence that epitomizes the freedom of the soul.

Good, but typical Booker exoticism, 18 Dec 2006
A nice coming of age story, but a little formulaic in my opinion, and fortunate upon the Booker prize favouritism towards exoticism and the post-colonial. I found this a good read, but a little tedious and plot-less in places. If you like Rushdie and the other 'exotic' Booker authors, you'll like this, but for me this just didn't really have enough 'bite' to make me want to re-read.

Beautifully realized portrait of pre-World War I Tanzania., 01 Aug 2005
A finalist in 1994 for both the Booker Prize and the Whitbread Award, Paradise hides major themes and ideas within the seemingly simple story of Yusuf, a twelve-year-old boy in rural East Africa whose father sells him to a trader to settle a debt. East Africa is in turmoil-on the verge of World War I and the fighting which eventually develops between the Germans in Tanzania and the British in Kenya. Cities are growing, populations are moving, merchants are trading and selling, and colonialists from many countries are trying to impose their own cultures.

When Yusuf is sold to his "uncle" Aziz, he leaves his remote rural village in what is now Tanzania and joins a trading caravan, traveling to the highlands and eventually on an ill-fated trading safari to the remote interior, discovering whole new worlds as he goes. In eight years of travel, he "progresses" from the countryside to a coastal city, from simple subsistence to the complexities of urban, mercantile life, and from his childish pleasure with a shiny coin to an adult's need for love.

Yusuf, as a young child/adolescent, is an obvious symbol of Tanzania itself at this stage of its history. Just as Yusuf must come of age, so also must the country as the various groups contending for influence must make choices about how much they will accept, reject, or adapt to outside influences. As Yusuf comes into contact with tribal chieftains, Muslim traders, Indian shopkeepers, and German empire builders, the reader observes all contending for influence, within Yusuf and within the loose, artificial borders of Tanzania.

Creating vivid images primarily through his selection of the perfect detail, Gurnah uses simple, poetic language to tell a story loaded with important social and political observations, conveying clearly and objectively the historical background of the country in which he was born. Dialogue is often filled with humor, and Yusuf becomes a real person, not a cardboard symbol. A novel which begins as a beautifully realized coming-of-age story, also becomes a story of adventure, social realism, and eventually love. Mary Whipple

Coming of Age in a Changing Africa, 25 May 2005
'Paradise' is the coming of age story of Yusuf, a twelve-year old boy when the story opens in an East Africa on the brink of change with the Anglo-German conflict of the First World War looming. The young Yusuf is indentured to the rich trader Aziz, who Yusuf believes to be his uncle, in order to pay off his father's debts. As the story develops, Yusuf gets to experience being a part of the trading caravans that linked the diverse racial, ethnic and religious groups of the region during this bygone era. Against the background of a changing world, the maturing Yusuf must start to make some decisions on the direction of his own life....

'Paradise' contains a number of interesting characters: the good-natured banter between Sikh Harbans Singh (Kalasinga) and Muslim Hamid Suleiman is a real treat, as is the interaction between Yusuf and similarly indentured shopkeeper Khalil. Undoubtedly, the stand-out feature of 'Paradise' is Gurnah's beautiful poetic prose: every aspect of this novel was completely mesmerising from the first word to the last. 'Paradise' succeeds on many levels: as a coming of age story; commentary on slavery and colonialism; tale of travel and adventure in a past world; and story dealing with first-love and friendships. 'Paradise' was short-listed for the Booker back in '94 and richly deserves a continued wide readership. I hope to read more of Gurnah's work, and have bought Gurnah's critically acclaimed 'By the Sea' on the strength of my enchantment with 'Paradise'.

A passionate tale of colonialism and its aftermath., 10 Nov 2002
I cannot imagine why this thoughtful and beautifully constructed novel by an author of immense talent is so little known and so little praised. It's a very strong book, filled with sensual images, subtle feelings, vibrant scenes, carefully plotted intrigue, and clear messages. Its scenes of family life and strife in Zanzibar, contrasted with the "civilized," bureaucratic, and officious behavior of the British at home and abroad, establish strong contrasts and illuminate the themes.

The book begins as a leisurely portrait of two lonely immigrants to England from Zanzibar, one of them a distinguished young professor and the other a 65-year-old asylum seeker who has just arrived, pretending he understands no English. As the points of view shift back and forth between the two men in succeeding sections of the novel, we come to know each man well--his life, his aspirations in Zanzibar, his extended family, the family's business connections there, and ultimately, the how and why of each man's emigration to England. Coming from two different generations, each man has a different view of his former country, the older man having spent most of his life there, escaping to England when all other hope is gone, and the younger having left as a young student, but still longing for the connections he left behind.

Powerful ironies drive the action. Each man knows who the other is, or was, in Zanzibar, and each believes that the other's family has brought about his own family's downfall there. As the two men tentatively explore the past and the old man reveals information the young man could never have known, the pace quickens until the past and the present merge and each of the men discovers hidden truths and new strengths. This is passionate book of clear vision, a book which recognizes harsh truths and still remains compassionate. Mary Whipple

An engrossing novel, 14 Aug 2002
I stumbled across this book a few weeks ago and the writer's name immediately caught my attention as he was my tutor at Kent University over 10 years ago. I hadn't actually heard anything about the book although the reviews on the back suggested that I would enjoy it. I was gripped immediately by the emerging story of the asylum seeker and his past life. The style of writing is very engaging and I was particularly fascinated by way in which the stories intertwined and the way that we are kept guessing about the reason for Saleh's arrival in England. The writer vividly conjures Zanzibar as a place of beauty, intrigue and complexity and juxtaposes it with the grim realities of life for an asylum seeker in England. I found it a fascinating and very moving story and would recommend it highly.

Worthy, but ..., 07 Aug 2002
The synopsis is accurate so I won't bother summarising the plot. However, I just don't see what all the rave reviews see in this book. It made the Booker longlist, and I think it can be summed up in the word "worthy". On the other hand, I found it awfully slow at times, the plot meanders around eventually getting to some sort of conclusion, none of the characters are particularly engaging, and the poetry of the language failed to move me.

Heavenly reading, 30 Jul 2002
This beautiful book describes the arrival of an elderly refugee from Zanzibar in the UK. The events causing him to flee "paradise" are gradually revealed. When he makes contact with a younger man who shares some of his history more and more layers are peeled away to reveal entwined human tragedies. The events are shocking yet understated and the narrators voice is not self pitying. Abdulrazak Gurnah's writing is lyrical and moving. The storytelling is even-paced yet I found it impossible to put this book down. I recommend it highly.

shear poetry, 17 Jul 2002
This is one of the most poetic books I have ever read. The language flows easily, with a real lyrical quality: it belongs to an oral tradition, and I found myself wanting to read it aloud. The story is of an elderly Zanzibari, who seeks to escape his past life by coming as a refugee to England. But his past catches up with him. All the confusions and misunderstandings of a small comunity are vividly explored, giving considerable insight into life by the sea of east africa, influenced by the seasons of the sea, and life in any small, rigidly divided community.

"To be certain of anything is the beginning of bigotry.", 03 Jan 2006
When Martin Pearce, an Englishman nearly dead from thirst, staggers out of the desert and into the life of Hassanali, a shopseller in a village south of Mombasa, he sets in motion events and themes which echo throughout the novel. It is 1899, and Pearce has been traveling on foot for four days. Believing that "This [man] was a burden [God] had...chosen for him," Hassanali enlists his wife Malika, and his sister Rehana to help care for him until a local British official brings him back to "civilization." When Pearce returns to thank Hassanali, he becomes enamored of Rehana, and their eventual affair becomes a scandal in both the British and the Indian/Muslim communities.

Part II, which takes place fifty years later in Zanzibar, focuses on a new set of characters--two brothers, Amin and Rashid, and their sister Farida. The story of Amin's love for Jamila, which soon unfolds, bears some resemblance to that of Pearce and Rehana--both loves involve cultural and religious taboos and raise questions about the ability of love to survive such difficulties.

Part III, which further develops the stories of Amin, Rashid, and Farida, takes place about fifteen years after that. Amin is still in Zanzibar, while Rashid is studying in England. The British have granted Zanzibar independence, but a revolution has taken place. The traumas of this period and its bloodshed, primarily in the 1970s, keep the brothers apart, and, because of censorship in Zanzibar, their communications are difficult and vague. "A Continuation," the five-page epilogue, eventually connects all the stories and resolves some unanswered questions.

Illustrating, to some extent, the effects of colonialism, along with desertions and displacements in the characters' lives, Gurnah concentrates primarily on stories of family, courtship, and relationships--ordinary people living their daily lives. His style is smooth and descriptive, conjuring the moods and images of different times and places, but structurally, the novel feels like three separate stories, rather than a continuous whole. The characters we meet in Part I (the most exciting part) are never mentioned again until the five-page epilogue, and that epilogue, which connects the various stories, depends on coincidence for its surprises and feels artificial. Individually, the stories, told primarily by Rashid, are intriging, but they feel more like three separate novellas than one unified novel. Mary Whipple

"To be certain of anything is the beginning of bigotry.", 03 Jan 2006
When Martin Pearce, an Englishman nearly dead from thirst, staggers out of the desert and into the life of Hassanali, a shopseller in a village south of Mombasa, he sets in motion events and themes which echo throughout the novel. It is 1899, and Pearce has been traveling on foot for four days. Believing that "This [man] was a burden [God] had...chosen for him," Hassanali enlists his wife Malika, and his sister Rehana to help care for him until a local British official brings him back to "civilization." When Pearce returns to thank Hassanali, he becomes enamored of Rehana, and their eventual affair becomes a scandal in both the British and the Indian/Muslim communities.

Part II, which takes place fifty years later in Zanzibar, focuses on a new set of characters--two brothers, Amin and Rashid, and their sister Farida. The story of Amin's love for Jamila, which soon unfolds, bears some resemblance to that of Pearce and Rehana--both loves involve cultural and religious taboos and raise questions about the ability of love to survive such difficulties.

Part III, which further develops the stories of Amin, Rashid, and Farida, takes place about fifteen years after that. Amin is still in Zanzibar, while Rashid is studying in England. The British have granted Zanzibar independence, but a revolution has taken place. The traumas of this period and its bloodshed, primarily in the 1970s, keep the brothers apart, and, because of censorship in Zanzibar, their communications are difficult and vague. "A Continuation," the five-page epilogue, eventually connects all the stories and resolves some unanswered questions.

Illustrating, to some extent, the effects of colonialism, along with desertions and displacements in the characters' lives, Gurnah concentrates primarily on stories of family, courtship, and relationships--ordinary people living their daily lives. His style is smooth and descriptive, conjuring the moods and images of different times and places, but structurally, the novel feels like three separate stories, rather than a continuous whole. The characters we meet in Part I (the most exciting part) are never mentioned again until the five-page epilogue, and that epilogue, which connects the various stories, depends on coincidence for its surprises and feels artificial. Individually, the stories, told primarily by Rashid, are intriging, but they feel more like three separate novellas than one unified novel. Mary Whipple

Abdulrazak Gurnah's By the Sea tells of an elderly man coming to Britain from Zanzibar, off the coast of Tanzania, as an asylum seeker. Rajab Shaaban--the name on his passport--does not explain to the British immigration authorities why he needs asylum, expecting only to be accepted, as the government of Zanzibar has been officially designated "as dangerous to its own citizens". The picture Gurnah paints of the asylum-seeker's lot in late 20th-century Britain is not a favourable one. Shaaban comes to Britain claiming he cannot speak English, yet understands all that is said to him. Through this deception he meets, after 30 years, the son of his namesake; Latif Mahmud has settled in Britain and is presented as an academic expert who will speak Rajab's language. We also receive glimpses of the torture and imprisonment of Shaaban in his own country, where men abuse their power after independence from colonialism. However, this unfair treatment is marginalised by the deception, bitterness and revenge that reverberates between the two families of Gurnah's story.

By the Sea does not present the reader with sympathetic characters and the tales that are woven are often confusing and petty. Mahmud and Shaaban take it in turns to tell their side of the story, almost drenching the reader with too much detail. Notably, Gurnah always makes his characters point out that they do not tell each other the whole truth; they leave gaps as if to protect each other and their families. Unfortunately, this makes the narrative distant and incomplete. It is hard to appreciate the stories and lives being unravelled when the narrators themselves seem unlikeable and distrustful. However, this may merely be a reflection of the bitterness and deprivation suffered in post-colonial Zanzibar, and the desolation that refugees find when away from their birth land. --Olivia Dickinson

Challenging Narrative of Kenya's Independence, 04 Jul 2007
In A Grain of Wheat, Ngugi challenges the reader by using different voices within the narrative as different characters relate their views of the story, though the controlling narrative is in the form of the omniscient third person. What is really striking here is the dislocated chronology of the novel. Though at its centre it has Kenyan Uhuru, or Independence Day, the narrative repeatedly switches to different moments in the past. The narrative, though, gives no direct indication that the time focus is changing, as it does not only between chapters but also between paragraphs, which can sometimes leave the reader momentarily disorientated. This demands an alert reading, which pays rewards as at times the same event is returned to from a different angle at a different place in the novel, or the reader's response to event is coloured by their prior knowledge of what the consequences will be. Most crucially, it means that the day of Uhuru itself is inextricably linked with Kenya's painful and violent past, where courage and betrayal have been evident in equal measure. This explains why the longed-for independence is accompanied by "a disturbing sense of inevitable gloom".
The novel is an important retelling of history from an African perspective, directly challenging British colonialism in Kenya by charting the resistance to it which led up to independence, (or Uhuru, the Swahili word for freedom). His novel questions the imperial view of Kenya's history by presenting the Kenyan perspective, where the Mau Mau movement is sympathetically portrayed as a band of courageous freedom fighters, rather than as insurgents or terrorists. The novel describes the decline in imperial idealism as well as the brutality of the British military regime in Kenya in the face of resistance. However, he is equally uncompromising about the prospect for independent Kenya, describing 'a feeling of inevitable gloom' as Uhuru approaches because of the pain of Kenya's past and the corruption which is already evident in the new independent government.

One of Africa's Finest, 03 Feb 2007
This is perhaps one of the greatest books by an African author that I have read. It tells the story of a Kenya reaching for Uhuru (freedom). It takes an original structure weaving skilfully between past and present as more and more of the plot is revealed. This is a book without heroes; we see the story from many angles and men whose actions seem heroic from one perspective will often deconstruct the actions when it comes their turn to tell the story. It tells of men who imprisoned in concentration camps for many years with only the thoughts of their wives to keep them going, who come out only to find their wives pregnant by other man. It tells of what price is freedom worth, and whether people actually wish to pay it. The plot revolves around the betrayal of a freedom fighter, Kihika and on one level the book is a quest to find who betrayed him. Mugo, a solitary loner thrust into the spotlight by his heroic actions and resolute silence in the face of British torture is the unwilling protagonist who tries hard to avoid the action. Reminiscent of Camus' Meursault (the Outsider) Mugo is a man who sees little meaning in the struggle, his silence from torture more a feature of his almost existentialist view of life than any belief in Uhuru. Mugo contains dark secrets whose content is gradually revealed to us as the book progresses. The other main character is Gikonyo, and we see his relationship to his wife, how he feels her betrayal and ultimately their story more than any other symbolises Kenya's path to freedom.

From a literary point of view this book is without fault. However the author is a nationalist at heart, he now writes in his native tongue and whilst the anti-colonial resonances are to be expected in novel of this theme, his passing negative references to the East African Indians was a little harsh. Thiongo is a black nationalist (as well as a Marxist) but his black nationalism not the laudable sort that Steve Biko propagated, Thiongo's has racist overtones in it. However even if we left the politics out of the book it would still be a book worth reading for the beauty of the prose and the captivating storyline.


A revealing story, 21 Jul 2005
Centered on the pre-Independence Kenyan struggle between the Mau Mau liberation fighters and the British colonial government, A GRAIN OF WHEAT gives a portrayal of the struggle that few writers have ever depicted. One gets a good picture of the Mau Mau fighters, the attitude of the Colonialists, their the detention camps, the nature of the war, the bloody encounters, the ruthlessness of some of the soldiers of Colonial army and the direction to independence for the African continent. Betrayal, hopes and dreams, horrors and loss are all parts of the story.
Like TRIPLE AGENT DOUBLE CROSS, WHEN VICTIMS BECOME KILLERS, DISCIPLES OF FORTUNE, KING LEOPOLD'S GHOST, we learn that the tragic nature of this story reveals the futility of conflicts which in the end produces no winners, because humanity loses when the majority of the people emerge from a war scarred for life, having lost the innocence that epitomizes the freedom of the soul.

Good, but typical Booker exoticism, 18 Dec 2006
A nice coming of age story, but a little formulaic in my opinion, and fortunate upon the Booker prize favouritism towards exoticism and the post-colonial. I found this a good read, but a little tedious and plot-less in places. If you like Rushdie and the other 'exotic' Booker authors, you'll like this, but for me this just didn't really have enough 'bite' to make me want to re-read.

Beautifully realized portrait of pre-World War I Tanzania., 01 Aug 2005
A finalist in 1994 for both the Booker Prize and the Whitbread Award, Paradise hides major themes and ideas within the seemingly simple story of Yusuf, a twelve-year-old boy in rural East Africa whose father sells him to a trader to settle a debt. East Africa is in turmoil-on the verge of World War I and the fighting which eventually develops between the Germans in Tanzania and the British in Kenya. Cities are growing, populations are moving, merchants are trading and selling, and colonialists from many countries are trying to impose their own cultures.

When Yusuf is sold to his "uncle" Aziz, he leaves his remote rural village in what is now Tanzania and joins a trading caravan, traveling to the highlands and eventually on an ill-fated trading safari to the remote interior, discovering whole new worlds as he goes. In eight years of travel, he "progresses" from the countryside to a coastal city, from simple subsistence to the complexities of urban, mercantile life, and from his childish pleasure with a shiny coin to an adult's need for love.

Yusuf, as a young child/adolescent, is an obvious symbol of Tanzania itself at this stage of its history. Just as Yusuf must come of age, so also must the country as the various groups contending for influence must make choices about how much they will accept, reject, or adapt to outside influences. As Yusuf comes into contact with tribal chieftains, Muslim traders, Indian shopkeepers, and German empire builders, the reader observes all contending for influence, within Yusuf and within the loose, artificial borders of Tanzania.

Creating vivid images primarily through his selection of the perfect detail, Gurnah uses simple, poetic language to tell a story loaded with important social and political observations, conveying clearly and objectively the historical background of the country in which he was born. Dialogue is often filled with humor, and Yusuf becomes a real person, not a cardboard symbol. A novel which begins as a beautifully realized coming-of-age story, also becomes a story of adventure, social realism, and eventually love. Mary Whipple

Coming of Age in a Changing Africa, 25 May 2005
'Paradise' is the coming of age story of Yusuf, a twelve-year old boy when the story opens in an East Africa on the brink of change with the Anglo-German conflict of the First World War looming. The young Yusuf is indentured to the rich trader Aziz, who Yusuf believes to be his uncle, in order to pay off his father's debts. As the story develops, Yusuf gets to experience being a part of the trading caravans that linked the diverse racial, ethnic and religious groups of the region during this bygone era. Against the background of a changing world, the maturing Yusuf must start to make some decisions on the direction of his own life....

'Paradise' contains a number of interesting characters: the good-natured banter between Sikh Harbans Singh (Kalasinga) and Muslim Hamid Suleiman is a real treat, as is the interaction between Yusuf and similarly indentured shopkeeper Khalil. Undoubtedly, the stand-out feature of 'Paradise' is Gurnah's beautiful poetic prose: every aspect of this novel was completely mesmerising from the first word to the last. 'Paradise' succeeds on many levels: as a coming of age story; commentary on slavery and colonialism; tale of travel and adventure in a past world; and story dealing with first-love and friendships. 'Paradise' was short-listed for the Booker back in '94 and richly deserves a continued wide readership. I hope to read more of Gurnah's work, and have bought Gurnah's critically acclaimed 'By the Sea' on the strength of my enchantment with 'Paradise'.

A passionate tale of colonialism and its aftermath., 10 Nov 2002
I cannot imagine why this thoughtful and beautifully constructed novel by an author of immense talent is so little known and so little praised. It's a very strong book, filled with sensual images, subtle feelings, vibrant scenes, carefully plotted intrigue, and clear messages. Its scenes of family life and strife in Zanzibar, contrasted with the "civilized," bureaucratic, and officious behavior of the British at home and abroad, establish strong contrasts and illuminate the themes.

The book begins as a leisurely portrait of two lonely immigrants to England from Zanzibar, one of them a distinguished young professor and the other a 65-year-old asylum seeker who has just arrived, pretending he understands no English. As the points of view shift back and forth between the two men in succeeding sections of the novel, we come to know each man well--his life, his aspirations in Zanzibar, his extended family, the family's business connections there, and ultimately, the how and why of each man's emigration to England. Coming from two different generations, each man has a different view of his former country, the older man having spent most of his life there, escaping to England when all other hope is gone, and the younger having left as a young student, but still longing for the connections he left behind.

Powerful ironies drive the action. Each man knows who the other is, or was, in Zanzibar, and each believes that the other's family has brought about his own family's downfall there. As the two men tentatively explore the past and the old man reveals information the young man could never have known, the pace quickens until the past and the present merge and each of the men discovers hidden truths and new strengths. This is passionate book of clear vision, a book which recognizes harsh truths and still remains compassionate. Mary Whipple

An engrossing novel, 14 Aug 2002
I stumbled across this book a few weeks ago and the writer's name immediately caught my attention as he was my tutor at Kent University over 10 years ago. I hadn't actually heard anything about the book although the reviews on the back suggested that I would enjoy it. I was gripped immediately by the emerging story of the asylum seeker and his past life. The style of writing is very engaging and I was particularly fascinated by way in which the stories intertwined and the way that we are kept guessing about the reason for Saleh's arrival in England. The writer vividly conjures Zanzibar as a place of beauty, intrigue and complexity and juxtaposes it with the grim realities of life for an asylum seeker in England. I found it a fascinating and very moving story and would recommend it highly.

Worthy, but ..., 07 Aug 2002
The synopsis is accurate so I won't bother summarising the plot. However, I just don't see what all the rave reviews see in this book. It made the Booker longlist, and I think it can be summed up in the word "worthy". On the other hand, I found it awfully slow at times, the plot meanders around eventually getting to some sort of conclusion, none of the characters are particularly engaging, and the poetry of the language failed to move me.

Heavenly reading, 30 Jul 2002
This beautiful book describes the arrival of an elderly refugee from Zanzibar in the UK. The events causing him to flee "paradise" are gradually revealed. When he makes contact with a younger man who shares some of his history more and more layers are peeled away to reveal entwined human tragedies. The events are shocking yet understated and the narrators voice is not self pitying. Abdulrazak Gurnah's writing is lyrical and moving. The storytelling is even-paced yet I found it impossible to put this book down. I recommend it highly.

shear poetry, 17 Jul 2002
This is one of the most poetic books I have ever read. The language flows easily, with a real lyrical quality: it belongs to an oral tradition, and I found myself wanting to read it aloud. The story is of an elderly Zanzibari, who seeks to escape his past life by coming as a refugee to England. But his past catches up with him. All the confusions and misunderstandings of a small comunity are vividly explored, giving considerable insight into life by the sea of east africa, influenced by the seasons of the sea, and life in any small, rigidly divided community.

"To be certain of anything is the beginning of bigotry.", 03 Jan 2006
When Martin Pearce, an Englishman nearly dead from thirst, staggers out of the desert and into the life of Hassanali, a shopseller in a village south of Mombasa, he sets in motion events and themes which echo throughout the novel. It is 1899, and Pearce has been traveling on foot for four days. Believing that "This [man] was a burden [God] had...chosen for him," Hassanali enlists his wife Malika, and his sister Rehana to help care for him until a local British official brings him back to "civilization." When Pearce returns to thank Hassanali, he becomes enamored of Rehana, and their eventual affair becomes a scandal in both the British and the Indian/Muslim communities.

Part II, which takes place fifty years later in Zanzibar, focuses on a new set of characters--two brothers, Amin and Rashid, and their sister Farida. The story of Amin's love for Jamila, which soon unfolds, bears some resemblance to that of Pearce and Rehana--both loves involve cultural and religious taboos and raise questions about the ability of love to survive such difficulties.

Part III, which further develops the stories of Amin, Rashid, and Farida, takes place about fifteen years after that. Amin is still in Zanzibar, while Rashid is studying in England. The British have granted Zanzibar independence, but a revolution has taken place. The traumas of this period and its bloodshed, primarily in the 1970s, keep the brothers apart, and, because of censorship in Zanzibar, their communications are difficult and vague. "A Continuation," the five-page epilogue, eventually connects all the stories and resolves some unanswered questions.

Illustrating, to some extent, the effects of colonialism, along with desertions and displacements in the characters' lives, Gurnah concentrates primarily on stories of family, courtship, and relationships--ordinary people living their daily lives. His style is smooth and descriptive, conjuring the moods and images of different times and places, but structurally, the novel feels like three separate stories, rather than a continuous whole. The characters we meet in Part I (the most exciting part) are never mentioned again until the five-page epilogue, and that epilogue, which connects the various stories, depends on coincidence for its surprises and feels artificial. Individually, the stories, told primarily by Rashid, are intriging, but they feel more like three separate novellas than one unified novel. Mary Whipple

"To be certain of anything is the beginning of bigotry.", 03 Jan 2006
When Martin Pearce, an Englishman nearly dead from thirst, staggers out of the desert and into the life of Hassanali, a shopseller in a village south of Mombasa, he sets in motion events and themes which echo throughout the novel. It is 1899, and Pearce has been traveling on foot for four days. Believing that "This [man] was a burden [God] had...chosen for him," Hassanali enlists his wife Malika, and his sister Rehana to help care for him until a local British official brings him back to "civilization." When Pearce returns to thank Hassanali, he becomes enamored of Rehana, and their eventual affair becomes a scandal in both the British and the Indian/Muslim communities.

Part II, which takes place fifty years later in Zanzibar, focuses on a new set of characters--two brothers, Amin and Rashid, and their sister Farida. The story of Amin's love for Jamila, which soon unfolds, bears some resemblance to that of Pearce and Rehana--both loves involve cultural and religious taboos and raise questions about the ability of love to survive such difficulties.

Part III, which further develops the stories of Amin, Rashid, and Farida, takes place about fifteen years after that. Amin is still in Zanzibar, while Rashid is studying in England. The British have granted Zanzibar independence, but a revolution has taken place. The traumas of this period and its bloodshed, primarily in the 1970s, keep the brothers apart, and, because of censorship in Zanzibar, their communications are difficult and vague. "A Continuation," the five-page epilogue, eventually connects all the stories and resolves some unanswered questions.

Illustrating, to some extent, the effects of colonialism, along with desertions and displacements in the characters' lives, Gurnah concentrates primarily on stories of family, courtship, and relationships--ordinary people living their daily lives. His style is smooth and descriptive, conjuring the moods and images of different times and places, but structurally, the novel feels like three separate stories, rather than a continuous whole. The characters we meet in Part I (the most exciting part) are never mentioned again until the five-page epilogue, and that epilogue, which connects the various stories, depends on coincidence for its surprises and feels artificial. Individually, the stories, told primarily by Rashid, are intriging, but they feel more like three separate novellas than one unified novel. Mary Whipple

A passionate tale of colonialism and its aftermath., 10 Nov 2002
I cannot imagine why this thoughtful and beautifully constructed novel by an author of immense talent is so little known and so little praised. It's a very strong book, filled with sensual images, subtle feelings, vibrant scenes, carefully plotted intrigue, and clear messages. Its scenes of family life and strife in Zanzibar, contrasted with the "civilized," bureaucratic, and officious behavior of the British at home and abroad, establish strong contrasts and illuminate the themes.

The book begins as a leisurely portrait of two lonely immigrants to England from Zanzibar, one of them a distinguished young professor and the other a 65-year-old asylum seeker who has just arrived, pretending he understands no English. As the points of view shift back and forth between the two men in succeeding sections of the novel, we come to know each man well--his life, his aspirations in Zanzibar, his extended family, the family's business connections there, and ultimately, the how and why of each man's emigration to England. Coming from two different generations, each man has a different view of his former country, the older man having spent most of his life there, escaping to England when all other hope is gone, and the younger having left as a young student, but still longing for the connections he left behind.

Powerful ironies drive the action. Each man knows who the other is, or was, in Zanzibar, and each believes that the other's family has brought about his own family's downfall there. As the two men tentatively explore the past and the old man reveals information the young man could never have known, the pace quickens until the past and the present merge and each of the men discovers hidden truths and new strengths. This is passionate book of clear vision, a book which recognizes harsh truths and still remains compassionate. Mary Whipple

An engrossing novel, 14 Aug 2002
I stumbled across this book a few weeks ago and the writer's name immediately caught my attention as he was my tutor at Kent University over 10 years ago. I hadn't actually heard anything about the book although the reviews on the back suggested that I would enjoy it. I was gripped immediately by the emerging story of the asylum seeker and his past life. The style of writing is very engaging and I was particularly fascinated by way in which the stories intertwined and the way that we are kept guessing about the reason for Saleh's arrival in England. The writer vividly conjures Zanzibar as a place of beauty, intrigue and complexity and juxtaposes it with the grim realities of life for an asylum seeker in England. I found it a fascinating and very moving story and would recommend it highly.

Worthy, but ..., 07 Aug 2002
The synopsis is accurate so I won't bother summarising the plot. However, I just don't see what all the rave reviews see in this book. It made the Booker longlist, and I think it can be summed up in the word "worthy". On the other hand, I found it awfully slow at times, the plot meanders around eventually getting to some sort of conclusion, none of the characters are particularly engaging, and the poetry of the language failed to move me.

Heavenly reading, 30 Jul 2002
This beautiful book describes the arrival of an elderly refugee from Zanzibar in the UK. The events causing him to flee "paradise" are gradually revealed. When he makes contact with a younger man who shares some of his history more and more layers are peeled away to reveal entwined human tragedies. The events are shocking yet understated and the narrators voice is not self pitying. Abdulrazak Gurnah's writing is lyrical and moving. The storytelling is even-paced yet I found it impossible to put this book down. I recommend it highly.

shear poetry, 17 Jul 2002
This is one of the most poetic books I have ever read. The language flows easily, with a real lyrical quality: it belongs to an oral tradition, and I found myself wanting to read it aloud. The story is of an elderly Zanzibari, who seeks to escape his past life by coming as a refugee to England. But his past catches up with him. All the confusions and misunderstandings of a small comunity are vividly explored, giving considerable insight into life by the sea of east africa, influenced by the seasons of the sea, and life in any small, rigidly divided community.