The literary world is familiar with Abdulrazzak Gurnah. He is a master storyteller, having written seven books, taught English, and served as one of the 2016 Man Booker Prize judges. But, given that it is presented in an almost memoir-like manner, his latest book, Gravel Heart, is an intriguing work of fiction. If this is the author’s own story or the story of someone he knows, the readers can be confused. The calm, even neutral, writing style may also leave them feeling less than enthusiastic.
Another facet of skilled storytelling is when there is a sense of disconnection between the words. Gurnah has written something unique in a special way. Salim, a little child growing up in Zanzibar in the 1970s, is the main character. He describes a house that has been torn apart by an unidentified conflict. The link between his mother and an unidentified, powerful man gradually comes to light when his father moves out. Salim is bitter and unappreciated, but rather than Salim himself, we learn about him and his family via the distant words of the storyteller Gurnah.
Salim’s unsettled and increasingly irate childhood is covered in the first section of the book. The youngster reads and makes vain attempts to establish some type of connection with his father. Uncertainty and worry are part of growing up: “When I moved into my own room, I did not want to close the door on me.” I felt so alone inside. I did not leave the small window, which was located high on the exterior wall, and view the lane at night since the darkness would have rushed in and made me afraid.
Soon after, Salim receives the chance of a lifetime from his uncle Amir to study in London. The second section of the book is about Salim’s new life, which is both challenging and unanticipated. Uncle Amir and his family are not the charming folks he had hoped for, and he doesn’t even like the weather in his new nation or his studies. Salim, who is struggling in both his personal and academic lives, makes the decision to leave Uncle Amir’s home and embark on a personal adventure.
The hard existence of an immigrant student in London in the 1970s and 1980s will be shown to readers. “I learned to move purposefully everywhere I went, to avoid being scared by crowds and roughness, to avoid curiosity, and to not feel desolate at harsh looks.” I learned to live in London. I developed the ability to deal with the cold, the mud, and the irate college students with their swagger, feelings of injustice, and expectations of failure. I developed the ability to deal with broken and incorrect English that lacked articles or was in the incorrect tense, as well as the jumbled languages of London that did not communicate with one another.
Salim’s trip back to Zanzibar is described in Part Three of the book. Readers finally discover, along with Salim, the scandal that caused Salim’s father to leave the house and ruin their family life. It comes as a subdued awareness of human frailties rather than the surprising conclusion to a thriller. Salim and his rage are exposed, along with his father’s suffering and the crooked complexities of both public and private life in Zanzibar.
Gurnah’s writing style might not appeal to everyone, but in this book, it works well for narrating a narrative within a story. There are numerous characters, layers, and decades to peel back. The tone is almost conversational, and we can almost picture a man relating his story while sitting down in his advanced years. In Gravel Heart, a period and culture that aren’t frequently explored in literature are examined.
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Writer:
Risalat Rahman Hridoy
Intern, Content Writing Department
YSSE