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Gravel Heart

By the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature 2021

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Gravel Heart

By: Abdulrazak Gurnah
Narrated by: Damian Lynch
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Bloomsbury presents Gravel Heart by Abdulrazak Gurnah, read by Damian Lynch.

By the winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature

‘The elegance and control of Gurnah's writing, and his understanding of how quietly and slowly and repeatedly a heart can break, make this a deeply rewarding novel’ Kamila Shamsie, Guardian
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For seven-year-old Salim, the pillars upholding his small universe – his indifferent father, his adored uncle, his treasured books, the daily routines of government school and Koran lessons – seem unshakeable.

But it is the 1970s, and the winds of change are blowing through Zanzibar: suddenly Salim’s father is gone, and the island convulses with violence and corruption the wake of a revolution. It will only be years later, making his way through an alien and hostile London, that Salim will begin to understand the shame and exploitation festering at the heart of his family’s history.
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‘Riveting … The measured elegance of Gurnah’s prose renders his protagonist in a manner almost uncannily real’ New York Times

‘Glittering ... Each work is different from the last, yet they build into a powerfully evocative oeuvre that keeps coming back to the same questions, in spare, graceful prose, about the ties that bind and the ties that fray’ Telegraph

‘A colourful tale of life in a Zanzibar village, where passions and politics reshape a family… Powerful’ Mail on Sunday©2017 Abdulrazak Gurnah (P)2022 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Coming of Age Family Life Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction World Literature
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Critic reviews

[A] captivating storyteller, with a voice both lyrical and mordant, and an oeuvre haunted by memory and loss. His intricate novels of arrival and departure … reveal, with flashes of acerbic humour, the lingering ties that bind continents, and how competing versions of history collide
Gurnah is a master storyteller (Aminatta Forna)
Gurnah writes with wonderful insight about family relationships and he folds in the layers of history with elegance and warmth
Exile has given Gurnah a perspective on the “balance between things” that is astonishing, superb
Gurnah etches with biting incisiveness the experiences of immigrants exposed to contempt, hostility or patronising indifference on their arrival in Britain
Gurnah writes with quiet humour and great affection about pre-revolutionary Zanzibar and its people … Gurnah writes beautifully, with the satisfying assurance of someone who knows how to achieve his effects without undue fuss but with absolute precision
Gurnah evokes his world in poetic prose which is pure and lucid
His prose is elegant and evocative
Gurnah has laid powerful imaginative claim to the eastern seaboard of Africa
Gravel Heart is one of the beautiful novels that lingers in the mind long after reading. Gurnah writes about the clash of worlds with such pathos and elegance. (Amanda Foreman)
Glittering...Each work is different from the last, yet they build into a powerfully evocative oeuvre that keeps coming back to the same questions, in spare, graceful prose, about the ties that bind and the ties that fray (Judith Woods)
Entertainingly intertwines migration and a tale of family drama ... Gurnah has rightly been praised for his masterful storytelling ... An emotive tale about betrayal, families and the East African diaspora (Theresa Munoz)
A colourful tale of lie in a Zanzibar village, where passions and politics reshape a family ... Expect echoes of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure (Jeffery Burke)
Throughout, the elegance and control of Gurnah’s writing, and his understanding of how quietly and slowly and repeatedly a heart can break, make this a deeply rewarding novel
The measured elegance of Gurnah’s prose renders his protagonist in a manner almost uncannily real … Gurnah’s portrayal of student immigrant life in Britain is pleasingly deliberate and precise, and also riveting … Even the minor characters in this novel have richly imagined histories that inflect their smallest interactions – one of the loveliest pleasures of this book, and a choice that makes its world exceptionally full
All stars
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I found it a bit difficult to get into the story, as I felt it started out a bit slowly. Only after the first half of the book did I become more interested in the plot. I read along with the audiobook, which was a big help in following the many different characters and their stories.

Interesting read

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Very poignant and heartbreaking. Full of loneliness and regret. How one action can create a ripple effect. Written beautifully.

Heartbreaking

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I loved this novel by Abdulrazak Gurnah, who is becoming one of my favourite authors. His descriptions of life in Zanzibar and his perceptions of the British and people from elsewhere living in Britain are so relatable. The family secret revealed in the book is heartbreaking and leads one into numerous hypothetical discussions.

Another magnificent story by Abdulrazak Gurnah

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I didn't share other reader's enthusiasm for this story. I found some opinions and attitudes expressed by the main character a little troubling. The first half of the book is an almost documentary account of the main character's life in London. It was rather dull. The second half was more interesting, however the main character's lack of emotion towards his mother's plight was quite unusual I thought. Won't rush to read another book by this author.

Pedestrian

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waste of a credit, wish I hadn't bought it, self indulgent pity party and I only listened to a a few pages. not sure what he got a prize for

rubbish

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