Afterlives

De: Abdulrazak Gurnah

Narrado por: Damian Lynch

Bloomsbury presents Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah, read by Damian Lynch.

BY THE WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE 2021

'One of Africa's greatest living writers' Giles Foden
'Exquisite' Telegraph
‘A remarkable novel, by a wondrous writer’ Philippe Sands
'To read Afterlives is to be returned to the joy of storytelling' Aminatta Forna
'Effortlessly compelling storytelling ... You forget that you are reading fiction, it feels so real' Leila Aboulela


Restless, ambitious Ilyas was stolen from his parents by the Schutzruppe askari, the German colonial troops; after years away, he returns to his village to find his parents gone, and his sister Afiya given away.

Hamza was not stolen, but was sold; he has come of age in the army, at the right hand of an officer whose control has ensured his protection but marked him for life. Hamza does not have words for how the war ended for him. Returning to the town of his childhood, all he wants is work, however humble, and security – and the beautiful Afiya.

The century is young. The Germans and the British and the French and the Belgians and whoever else have drawn their maps and signed their treaties and divided up Africa. As they seek complete dominion they are forced to extinguish revolt after revolt by the colonised. The conflict in Europe opens another arena in east Africa where a brutal war devastates the landscape.

As these interlinked friends and survivors come and go, live and work and fall in love, the shadow of a new war lengthens and darkens, ready to snatch them up and carry them away.

©2020 Abdulrazak Gurnah (P)2020 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

A Very Human Story

This was an interesting book and mirrors to a significant extent the feelings of powerlessness we experience living under colonial rule. Decisions made elsewhere influenced how we perceived the world and the fates we endured.

Compelling story.

Impossible to stop listening. Thé life in the German occupation East African is unfamiliar and doesn’t feature in western culture. But it’s told in an amazing way by Gurnah.
The reading is very good.
No wonder the writer was awarded the Nobel price.

Enjoyed the history, but the writing dissapointed

Fascinating history, but the narrative meanders to an abrupt end and the writing is average.

Excellent, thought-provoking read

An excellent, thought-provoking read on the confluence of colonization, socialization, nurture, nature and humanity in the different characters individually and as a collective.

Extraordinary text

Wonderful text about the former German colonies in Africa from WWI to the post WWII period