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Afterlives

Afterlives

Historical FictionHistory
Pages
288
Published
2020
Language
English

Synopsis

In early 20th-century East Africa, two young men, Ilyas and Hamza, are irrevocably shaped by the brutal realities of German colonialism. Ilyas returns home after years of war to find his family gone, while Hamza, a veteran of the Schutztruppe, seeks peace and a new life in the village of his youth. As their lives intertwine with Afiya, the shadow of empire and the lingering embers of revolt threaten to consume them.

Prose complexity
7/10

Vibe

DarkEmotionalReflectiveThought-Provoking
Found Family

Genres

Historical Fiction History Literary Fiction

About the author

A
Abdulrazak Gurnah

Abdulrazak Gurnah FRSL (born 20 December 1948) is a Tanzanian-born British novelist and academic. He was born in the Sultanate of Zanzibar and moved to the United Kingdom in the 1960s as a refugee during the Zanzibar Revolution. His novels include Paradise (1994), which was shortlisted for both the Booker and the Whitbread Prize; Desertion (2005); and By the Sea (2001), which was longlisted for the Booker and shortlisted for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. Gurnah was awarded the 2021 No...

Characters

IlyasProtagonist
HamzaProtagonist
AfiyaSupporting
All characters in Afterlives