Abdulrazak Gurnah on AFTERLIVES
"Well, home is a complicated concept....So you've shaken me awake at three o'clock in the morning.\xa0Where's home? I\u2019ll say Zanzibar without hesitation. Oh, but then on the other hand, I've been living here and working here for 50 years, my family, my children, and my grandchildren live here. The idea that this is not my home, it's just ridiculous. I just won't have it. You know, this is my home. So home is complicated, both are home, but it means something different." An epic story of life, loss, and love set against an unforgiving landscape of colonial violence,\xa0Afterlives\xa0is a multi-generational novel set in East Africa that is at once wistful, grounded\u2014and unforgettable. 2021 Nobel Laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah joins us on the show to discuss his body of work, the legacy of colonialism, what it was like to win the Nobel and much more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer.
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Feature Books (Episode):
Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah
Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah
Memory of Departure by Abdulrazak Gurnah
Admiring Silence by Abdulrazak Gurnah
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Featured Books (TBR Topoff):
Home by Toni Morrison
Dear Life by Alice Munro
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Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.
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A complete transcript of this episode is available here.