The 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to Tanzanian novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah “for his uncompromising and compassionate insight into the effects of colonialism and the fate of refugees in the chasm between cultures and continents.”
The Zanzibar-born writer, who resides in the UK, is best known for his novels “Paradise” (1994), “Dropout” (2005), and “By the Sea” (2001).
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“Gurnah’s dedication to truth and his aversion to simplification are striking,” wrote anders olsson, president of the swedish academy, which awards the prestigious literary prize in the jury’s statement. “this can make him gloomy and uncompromising, while also following people’s fates with great compassion and unwavering commitment.”
Leaving Zanzibar, which is now part of Tanzania, for Britain as a student in 1968, Abdulrazak Gurnah began writing fiction when he was 21 in exile, choosing English over his mother tongue, the Swahili, for his literary writings. plays. his first novel, “memory of departure”, was published in 1987.
a journey through East Africa into the heart of darkness
Among Gurnah’s 10 novels, his fourth, “Paradise” (1994), marked his international breakthrough as an author and earned him a Booker Award nomination, the UK’s highest honor for works of fiction.
The novel is based on intertextual references to other literary classics, from the story of Yusuf in the Koran to Joseph Conrad’s “Heart of Darkness,” as well as 19th-century Swahili documents.
on the self-image of the refugee
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The author has also explored the refugee experience in novels such as “Admiring Silence” (1996) and “By the Sea” (2001), where his “focus is on identity and self-image,” notes the academy swedish .
Told in the first person, the narrator of these two stories is a man from Zanzibar who has escaped to England and lies about his African past to protect himself from racism and prejudice.
In his typical literary style, Gurnah travels through time, geography, politics, and personal relationships in these novels.
for example, in “admiring the silence”, the main character, a teacher in a london school, finds solace in inventing for his wife and suburban parents several romantic tales about post-colonial Africa, but does not mention that he has completely lost contact with their own relatives in zanzibar.
a saga about the atrocities of German colonial rule
Gurnah’s latest novel of 2020, “Beyond”, is about racism, submission and sacrifice. like “paradise”, it is set in the early 20th century, shortly before the end of German colonial rule in East Africa in 1919.
The saga follows, among other protagonists, a young man who is forced to go to war on the side of the Germans and who is sexually exploited by an officer who otherwise acts as his protector. Spanning several generations, the novel also explores the Nazis’ unrealized plan for the recolonization of East Africa and the long-term impact of colonialism.
an unexpected winner
gurnah, now in his early 70s, recently retired from his post as professor of english and post-colonial literature at the university of kent, canterbury. along with several articles on contemporary postcolonial writers, such as v.s. Naipaul and Salman Rushdie, he has also edited two volumes of “Essays on African Writing.”
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Despite his renown in post-colonial academic and literary circles, the author was not among the immediate favorites named to win the honor this year, which British bookmakers said included Kenyan ngugi wa thiong’o, the French writer Annie Ernaux, Japanese author Haruki Murakami, Canadian Margaret Atwood, and Jamaican former American writer Kincaid.
Last year’s literature award went to American poet Louise Glück for what the judges described as her “unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal.”
In 2019, the prize was awarded to Austrian writer Peter Handke, a controversial choice that sparked protests due to his strong support for the Serbs during the Balkan wars in the 1990s.
While the Nobel Prize for Literature recognizes one person for their outstanding literary contribution, the Nobel Prizes for Science typically honor two or three laureates, especially if they have conducted joint research.
Earlier this week, the Stockholm-based Nobel Committee named winners in the categories of medicine, physics and chemistry. awards for outstanding work in the fields of economics and peace have yet to be announced.
The prize consists of a gold medal and 10 million Swedish kronor (over $1.14 million; €980,000).
the prizes are traditionally presented on december 10, the anniversary of the death of swedish inventor alfred nobel. the official ceremony has been curtailed due to the coronavirus pandemic for the second year in a row. Gurnah received the award from him in the UK, where he lives.