Abdulrazak Gurnah was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 2021, as the first African-born writer in almost 20 years, for having, in the jury’s reasong, «highlighted the impact of colonialism and the fate of refugees». Now, in his first new novel following the prize, he has turned his focus closer to our own time. The novel has been titled Theft. But what is stolen, and who is the thief?
In a postcolonial East Africa in the early 1990s, marked by global change, we meet the oy Badar. He is sent away from his foster parents in Zanzibar to serve a rich family on the mainland, in Dar es Salaam. He feels inferior and ignorant, but is soon embraced by the son of the house, Karim. When Badar is later accused of stealing from his employer, he gets to move in with Karim and his fiancée, Fauzia.
In a finely tuned and precise language, Gurnah portrays the deeply human experiences of the three young people, through trials and tribulations as they grow up, and he explores human relations with characteristic empathy and eye for alienation.
Abdulrazak Gurnah is professor of postcolonial literature, and the author of eleven novels, among them the critically acclaimed Paradise and Afterlives. Gurnah is a master of allusion, and in an understated language, he creates recognizable, flawed characters, always with a keen eye for those feeling like outsiders.
One who has followed Gurnah’s writing for years, and also been mentored by him herself, is author and historian Nadifa Mohamed. She will join Gurnah for a conversation about theft and trust, betrayal and belonging.
The conversation will be in English, and take place in the University of Oslo’s Ceremonial Hall.
The event is supported by NORAD.
