Nobel Prize-winner Abdulrazak Gurnah talks about his new book ahead of the city’s literary festival
Theft is the latest novel from the winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize for Literature, Abdulrazak Gurnah. It’s a captivating story of the intertwined lives of three young people coming of age in post-colonial east Africa. Set in Zanzibar in the 90s, Karim, Fauzia and Badar dream of great possibilities in their young nation. But for Badar, an uneducated servant boy, it seems as if all doors are closed to him. Brought into a lowly position in a great house, Badar finds the first true home of his life – and the friendship of Karim. Even when a false accusation sees Badar sent away, Karim and Fauzia stand by their friend.
The story is underpinned by themes of displacement, belonging and historical injustices. “These issues have been with us through all times, but increasingly so in our contemporary period,” says Abdulrazak. “It doesn’t require any special insight to be confronted by them, although my own life experience has brought them closer to me.
“My writing is influenced by personal experiences, but this is a complex concept. It refers both to what we have undergone ourselves and also to what we have heard or read about others; it can be extrapolated and imagined.”
Much of Abdulrazak’s work examines the legacy of colonialism. “I’m interested in writing about how people learn to deal with traumatic events and how they gain something from difficulties or suffering. I hope readers find pleasure in reading Theft, and reach a better understanding of issues like migration, justice and reconciliation.”
Abdulrazak Gurnah will be talking about his novel at St John’s College on 20 March, as part of the Cambridge Literary Festival
