Publisher’s
write-up:
‘Born in East Africa, Yusuf has few qualms
about the journey he is to make. It never occurs to him to ask why he is
accompanying Uncle Aziz or why the trip has been organised so suddenly, and he
does not think to ask when he will be returning. But the truth is that his
'uncle' is a rich and powerful merchant and Yusuf has been pawned to him to pay
his father's debts.
Paradise is a rich tapestry of myth, dreams and Biblical and Koranic tradition,
the story of a young boy's coming of age against the backdrop of an Africa
increasingly corrupted by colonialism and violence.’
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Paradise is a novel written by the British
Tanzanian author Abdulrazak Gurnah, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature
in 2021. The story follows the journey of Yusuf, a young boy, who is sent on unpaid
labour by his father, to settle his debts from his sinking hotel business in
Zanzibar.
The story is set in the early 20th
century, a few decades after the scramble for Africa. Yusuf travels from Zanzibar
across east Africa, largely in present-day Tanzania, with Aziz, the man to whom
he had been sold by his father. Given the setting, there was the colonial
aspect that the regions they were travelling in was under German control and a
war in Europe between Britain and Germany seemed imminent (which I understood
as the lead up to the First World War).
I enjoyed the author’s description of the rich
landscape and the diverse culture; showing how during that time, it was a mix
of Arabs, Europeans and Indians living alongside the native population.
Different interactions between the characters also bring out the prejudices
each group had for the other, throughout the novel.
One relationship I appreciated in the novel was
the friendship that was formed between Yusuf and Khalil, the latter too who was
brought in by Aziz under a similar debt settlement arrangement. Thus, Khalil
was like the “caring older sibling” of Yusuf, and both of them had a longing
for home once this ordeal was over but also knew that there was probably very
little to return to – a feeling of helplessness that could be seen very well.
While the setting and the diversity was
interesting, I also felt like reading multiple different stories forced in
together, with just a few core characters in common in each of those stories.
After a point, it became very difficult to keep track of all these different
characters, and many who do not ever appear again after being all important at
one part of the novel – which is understandable in a novel that focuses on a
journey, but difficult for a reader like myself.
I also could not help but notice how invisible
women seemed to be in the novel. This was not because I was expecting strong
female protagonists or feminist characters; even traditional mothers, devoted
wives, daughters or older women could have added to the sense of the
communities Yusuf encounters. Given how much the novel focuses on different
cultures, families and social relationships, I found the relative absence of
women somewhat surprising. It felt as though an important part of the social
world was missing.
To summarise, I felt that it had a good setting
that helped me explore and understand a culture, given previously I had not
read any literature from this region. The impact of colonialism on these
societies was also brought out in a subtle manner that I appreciated. Having
said that, somewhere on the way, the author had lost focus on the plot, and I
did not feel like I was reading a fulfilling story. I still had a decent
reading experience, but it is unlikely for it to be a memorable book on my
bookshelf in the long run. On that note, I award the novel a rating of six on
ten.
Rating - 6/10
Have a nice day
Anirudh
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