{"id":539,"date":"2025-03-27T06:05:14","date_gmt":"2025-03-27T06:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2025\/03\/27\/abdulrazak-gurnahs-theft-follows-his-2021-nobel-prize-win\/"},"modified":"2025-03-27T06:05:17","modified_gmt":"2025-03-27T06:05:17","slug":"abdulrazak-gurnahs-theft-follows-his-2021-nobel-prize-win","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tmbglobal.news\/index.php\/2025\/03\/27\/abdulrazak-gurnahs-theft-follows-his-2021-nobel-prize-win\/","title":{"rendered":"Abdulrazak Gurnah\u2019s \u201cTheft\u201d follows his 2021 Nobel Prize Win"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

With a title like \u201cTheft,\u201d it\u2019s not unreasonable to expect that most readers of Abdulrazak Gurnah\u2019s new novel will expect a story centered around a significant theft, or a series of thefts or a community of thieves. These readers, however, will be surprised to find that \u201cTheft\u201d has little to do with literal thievery. \u201cTheft,\u201d in fact, repeatedly defies what one might expect from\u00a0modern literary fiction: maybe a novel obsessed with narrative drive, riddled with beautiful prose or chock-full of thematic tension. That Gurnah\u2019s first published novel since his 2021 win of the Nobel Prize in Literature does not possess these elements to the same degree as its contemporaries is not a statement of his inferiority. On the contrary \u2014 it is an intelligent move, purposefully sidestepping the trappings of what makes a book feel \u201cliterary\u201d in favor of something arguably much more important: what makes a book feel true<\/em>.<\/p>\n

In his novel, Gurnah opts for a mode of storytelling that I can only refer to as extreme realism. It is a tale of real people living real lives, not for the sake of their narrative power, but because this is simply what would likely happen. While the novel is separated into many perspectives, the focal points are centered on three individuals: Karim, a son born into an unhappy marriage who grows into a well-educated architectural developer; Badar, a poor boy forced into servitude after his father can no longer pay for his son\u2019s care; and\u00a0Fauzia, a girl with aspirations of becoming a teacher. By the end of the novel each storyline will fully converge. The book\u2019s chronological narrative, beginning with the parents of the three in 1960s Tanzania, gives each story space to grow before intertwining their stories.<\/p>\n

It is here that the strongest element of \u201cTheft\u201d emerges: its plot. Counterintuitively to many books of its kind, \u201cTheft\u201d seems to place no distinction between the \u201cinteresting\u201d or especially dramatic points of its story and the more mundane. This is not an issue of pacing \u2014 the book excels here, feeling especially even throughout \u2014 but an intentional choice of ideological assignment of importance. Though what we may traditionally consider the thrust of the novel occurs only in the last third of \u201cTheft,\u201d each and every incident that comes before feels relevant and important to the success of this final part, though they appear insignificant at first glance. It is important that we see exactly how Badar struggles to adjust to his overwhelming role as a servant, and equally crucial that we explore Karim\u2019s relationship with his older brother Ali, although neither of these elements have explicit plot significance later. Effectively, the book announces that each moment in each character\u2019s life is worthy of discovery and important to their development as people, not simply the \u201cexciting\u201d ones.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

This brings us to the strange, but rather refreshing, prose style that Gurnah chooses for this novel. Instead of leaving layers of internality for the reader to speculate upon, the book repeatedly goes out of its way to lay out each and every motivation for characters\u2019 actions, even within its limited first-person perspectives. Take, for example, Badar, who comes to work for a wealthier family as a serving boy. When his employer takes him out to get new clothing, Badar reflects, \u201cI liked being without, liked wearing shabby secondhand clothes.\u201d Where many books would leave this statement here, imposing the responsibility of assigning the reasons behind such a thought to reader interpretation, Gurnah goes a step further. Badar continues, \u201cbecause it reminded him of his lowly condition and allowed him to indulge in warming self-pity when he needed to.\u201d The unambiguous style is bold but satisfies a reader looking for a full picture of people rather than contrived caricatures.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n