Paradise (works by Gurna)
by (british) Abdul Razak Gulna
About This Novel
The masterpiece of Gurna, the 2021 Nobel Prize winner, reproduces the growth path of a young man in his hometown without a filter, and post-colonially writes about the journey of several generations of immigrants in their previous lives in search of a dream paradise. The unabridged translation of the Nobel Prize speech gives a glimpse into the secrets of growth and writing that span two continents and blend with multiple civilizations. The story takes place in Zanzibar, East Africa, which was under the shadow of German colonization a hundred years ago. This is an ancient land where multiple civilizations blend and multiple religions coexist. The boy Yusuf was mortgaged by his father to the businessman Aziz to pay off his debt. Since then, he has traveled to foreign lands with the caravan and experienced the difficulties of survival. He is confused by the unpredictable nature of Aziz, the guide in his coming-of-age ceremony; he is curious about the sobs and whispers of the mad woman who is locked deep behind the garden; he is obsessed with the towering cliff like a wall of flames during the journey, which is like the door to heaven, opening his eyes: Should he endure humiliation and live quietly, holding on to a small shop and become a small shopkeeper, or should he become as strong as iron in a cruel world and find a paradise for the poor with gardens and fountains, and more freedom and dignity? "Paradise" was published in 1994 and is one of Gurner's masterpieces. The author uses the unworldly and unfiltered perspective of a young man to embed a boy's growth story in the context of social turmoil and historical changes. By writing about the past lives of a generation of immigrants, the author "strives to preserve that memory and retrieve those moments and stories that people rely on to live and understand themselves."
What Readers Think
Rating
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Official(3)Scraped 20d ago
This book reads relatively smoothly. But if you're not careful, it's easy to paddle past. I read it a second time immediately after finishing it, so that I basically absorbed the content of the book. I was very dissatisfied with the last chapter "Blood Clot". It doesn't feel pure or real. Maybe it's because of cultural differences that I can't integrate into it. The characters have basically no personality. In the last chapter, some of the words spoken by the two young people became the author's thoughts as a professor. Here we can see the level of China's four great masterpieces. Wang Xifeng speaks Wang Xifeng's words, Zui King Kong speaks Zui King Kong's words, Sister Lin speaks sister Lin's words, Third Sister You speaks the words of Third Sister You, Sun Houhou, Lu Zhishen, Wang Po, Cao Cao and Zhang Fei all have their own languages. The author is a Nobel Prize winner in literature and a great writer. But I still find it difficult to understand how one can write about Africa while teaching at a university in the UK. Can it go deep, can it penetrate into the bones? In the past two days, I have been rereading "Snow Country" by Kawabata Yasunari. The description in the article is so delicate that it reaches the blood vessels. I think that in addition to using capillary-like feelings, the author also needs to be immersed in such an environment and culture for a long time in order to write such an irreplaceable article. Otherwise, wouldn't it be based on imagination, and wouldn't it feel like something is missing?
A boy's experience, an abbreviation of a racial era.
Yusuf is really becoming more and more like the master. He can still pick up the master's class. After all, Yusuf is also a person who was sold to the master's house. He cannot leave unless he redeems himself.
Rating
Community(0)
Official(3)Scraped 20d ago
This book reads relatively smoothly. But if you're not careful, it's easy to paddle past. I read it a second time immediately after finishing it, so that I basically absorbed the content of the book. I was very dissatisfied with the last chapter "Blood Clot". It doesn't feel pure or real. Maybe it's because of cultural differences that I can't integrate into it. The characters have basically no personality. In the last chapter, some of the words spoken by the two young people became the author's thoughts as a professor. Here we can see the level of China's four great masterpieces. Wang Xifeng speaks Wang Xifeng's words, Zui King Kong speaks Zui King Kong's words, Sister Lin speaks sister Lin's words, Third Sister You speaks the words of Third Sister You, Sun Houhou, Lu Zhishen, Wang Po, Cao Cao and Zhang Fei all have their own languages. The author is a Nobel Prize winner in literature and a great writer. But I still find it difficult to understand how one can write about Africa while teaching at a university in the UK. Can it go deep, can it penetrate into the bones? In the past two days, I have been rereading "Snow Country" by Kawabata Yasunari. The description in the article is so delicate that it reaches the blood vessels. I think that in addition to using capillary-like feelings, the author also needs to be immersed in such an environment and culture for a long time in order to write such an irreplaceable article. Otherwise, wouldn't it be based on imagination, and wouldn't it feel like something is missing?
A boy's experience, an abbreviation of a racial era.
Yusuf is really becoming more and more like the master. He can still pick up the master's class. After all, Yusuf is also a person who was sold to the master's house. He cannot leave unless he redeems himself.
