On a late November afternoon Saleh Omar arrives at Gatwick Airport from Zanzibar, a far away island in the Indian Ocean. With him he has a small bag in which. By the Sea [Abdulrazak Gurnah] on *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. On a late November afternoon Saleh Omar arrives at Gatwick Airport. By the Sea [Abdulrazak Gurnah] on *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. In the late afternoon of November 23rd, Saleh Omar arrives at Gatwick.
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Review: By the Sea | Boston Review
Preview — By the Sea by Abdulrazak Gurnah. By the Sea by Abdulrazak Gurnah. With him he has a small bag in which there lies his most precious possession – a mahogany box containing incense. He used ggurnah own a furniture shop, have a house and be a husband and father, but now he is an asylum seeker from paradise; silence his only pr On a late November afternoon Saleh Omar arrives at Gatwick Airport from Zanzibar, a far away island in the Indian Ocean.
He used to own a furniture shop, have a house and be a husband and father, but now he is an asylum seeker from paradise; silence his only protection. Meanwhile, Latif Mahmud, someone intimately gurnaj with Saleh’s past, lives quietly alone in his London flat. When Saleh and Latif bg in an English seaside town, a story is unravelled.
It is a story of love, betrayal, of seduction and of possession, and of a people desperately trying to find stability amidst the maelstrom of their times. Paperbackpages. Man Booker Prize Nominee for Longlist To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about By the Sea gurnau, please sign up.
Every time I read the back cover, I think “I’d love to read that book” but whenever I pick it up, I struggle to get through more than a page or two. At what point did you change from feeling ambivalent to gripped? Spoilers don’t bother me – please feel free to tell me fhe that you think will make me want to keep reading this book!
For me it’s a bit special, as I know the author in person, so I had that …more Hi Lindsay, I saw you asked a question on By the Sea, which I finished today. For me it’s a bit special, as I know the author in person, so I had that connection in the first place. I know his academic work, which is also on postcolonial issue, Eastern Africa and the sea communities along that coast. So those things drew me to the book initially.
I was never “gripped”, though I liked the ways in which the narrative alternates between two characters’ stories, and how these stories bring up historical facts, personal stories of rivalry, travel and friendship, and contemporary issues e. I don’t know if this answers your question, but please if you have any thoughts on this, do write back! See 1 question about By the Sea….
Lists with This Book. Aug 04, Calzean gurhah it really liked it Shelves: There were parts of this book that were like listening to a maestro story teller, then there were parts of great mundane detail.
Overall, a book that needs every word read. Saleh Omar is a 65 year old from Esa. He arrives in England and seeks asylum. The book is narrated by him and Latif Mahmud, a younger man who’s father played an integral role in Omar’s life.
By the Sea: Abdulrazak Gurnah: Bloomsbury Paperbacks
Early in the book Omar tells of his hatred Imperialism, he is bitter about the changes it made to his country and in hy mess it left There were parts of this book that were like listening to a maestro story teller, then there were parts of great mundane detail. Early in the book Omar tells of his hatred Imperialism, he is bitter about the changes it made to his country and in the mess it left when the English departed.
These sections of the book did not become a theme but were one of the highlights to me. The rest of the book tells of life in Zanzibar, the pettiness and mindless attempts at greed and duplicity in dealing with a person’s estate after they had died.
Apr 19, Gumble’s Yard rated it liked it. A book longlisted for the Booker Prize. The author writes about two emigrants from his home country of Zanzibar, both, like him, ending up in the UK.
The two are the recently arrived and much older Saleh Omar. The two turn out to be intimately connected via a long running dispute between their families. Much of the book is Saleh telling Latif the real story of this feud; style is unusual as the story is told like a story rather than as narrative.
We also hear directly from A book longlisted for the Booker Prize. We also hear directly from Saleh and Latif of some of their own stories. These stories are very detailed – lots of characters involved and digressions which are hard for the reader to follow. The effect is somewhat like going to someone else’ family, school or work reunion. The writing style is very elegant however but the difficult to follow or almost care about detail makes it a less engrossing read than it otherwise would be.
It reminded me a little of the effect of reading Proverbs in large chunks — almost too much to want to take in. The book is full of explicit allusions to Bartelby the Scribe: View all 5 comments. Mar 22, Kenneth rated it really liked it. Told from several different perspectives, ‘By the Sea’ offers contradictory and inconsistent alternatives of the truth; the veracity of which cannot — intentionally — be determined. You are being both misled but also left at the mercy of the vagaries of memory.
writers make worlds
The story told is a seemingly straightforward one: It tells us much about deceit, anguish and gyrnah but also understanding and acceptance. Apr 29, Sharadha Jayaraman rated it really liked it Recommends it for: They, each in their lifetime, have faced atrocities in the hands of their beloved ones and a crumbling government. They are united in England years later, where one seeks asylum while the other is a professor of Literature. In their meeting, Latif Mahmud confronts Saleh Omar about his objectionable be gurnqh.
In their meeting, Latif Mahmud confronts Saleh Omar about his objectionable betrayals, those which have tormented and uprooted the former’s family back in Africa. Will Latif Mahmud pardon Saleh Omar’s crimes?
Held a prisoner most of his life for his supposed treachery, will Saleh Omar seek atonement for his deeds from Latif Mahmud? Will their byy absolve them of the ghosts of their pasts?
Gurnah weaves a congenial thread of events revolving around these questions. Suffice to say that the foremost element I liked in this novel was its uncomplicated yet endearing plot. I also enjoyed reading about the good and harrowing times alike in colonial and post-colonial Africa, the latter which Gurnah describes with restrained poise.
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It was easier to feel compassion for all characters when reading the unfiltered version of their sorrows, pardon gurnqh sadistic opinions. A thorough let down in Gurnah’s narration was the dramatic, complicated, and oftentimes, mellifluous storytelling.
It completely obscured the aforesaid simplistic plot. As spot on as the writing was, the editing was unflattering at best.
I say this because patience is one of my temperamental virtues and By the Sea infinitely tested my resolve minus stars for that, ARG. Overall, an enjoyable read save the sappy editing. Dec 21, Ming rated it liked it. This was a clever and engaging story.
Well-written beautifully poetic and evocative and full of on-point psychological insights about two men who meet in England and who have pasts in Zanzibar that connect them. And as most books I enjoy, this one weaves in historical events. I look forward to reading more from this author. Aug 07, Gabriela rated it it was amazing. Another pearl, probably one of the most exquisites i found on my travel through african literature in English. Oct 18, Wangui rated it liked it.
Interesting book though a bit strange. I found it dry and soul-sucking- not the book itself, but the story that the main character tells about his life, and the reality he finds himself in at the end. You meet him at the airport in the UK, an old man arrived from Zanzibar and claiming refugee status which he gets and is taken to live in a small English town by the sea. In the novel he flashes back to his life growing up in Zanzibar by the sea and to the events that led up to him having to run Interesting book though a bit strange.
In the novel he flashes back to his life growing up in Zanzibar by the sea and to the events that led up to him having to run away, and at his old age. The memories of him while he was young are warm. But once he begins to describe the disintegration of life and family that happens when the jealousy of a neighbour and power from corrupt government officials combine to exact a painful revenge it is draining.
Review: By the Sea
By the Sea is an intimate story- a story of family in the nuclear and extended sense. A story of hte torn apart thanks sae the trickery of a foreign tradesman, ego, and a thirst for revenge- and instructive on how seemingly daily happenings on the island can reverberate for many years.
It’s the first novel about Zanzibar I have read in English and I was quite excited about it. But like the young man that the main character tells his story to, I almost didn’t want to finish. Aug 19, Katherine Howell rated it it was amazing.
Started off thinking it was a bit hard to read and a bit dependent on my mood. Got better and better. Really damn good, in fact