Paradise

Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurna is a historical novel first published in 1994. The novel was well received by critics and the book won the Man Booker Prize in the same year. This impressive work, with the ironic title "Paradise", drags the reader into the natural turmoil of a helpless continent that is on the brink of complete European colonialism. The action takes place in colonial North Africa. This is the time when the English are evicting the natives from their lands, and the Germans are planning to build a railroad from one end of the continent to the other. The main protagonist is twelve-year-old Yusuf, whom his father gives to a rich merchant in exchange for debts. Yusuf works in the shop of uncle Aziz, an exploitative rich merchant, whom the boy initially thinks is his real uncle. Then he has to travel with a trading caravan, and the still immature Yusuf stumbles upon Africa, where brutal tribal wars are raging, people live with superstitions, many diseases are common, and child slave labor is considered a common occurrence. Along with everything, Yusuf falls hopelessly in love with Amina, a young woman who was forced into marriage with the much older Aziz. The Zanzibar-raised writer, who later became a professor of English literature, easily manages to lump together and turn into a coming-of-age story of the feuds and enmities between African Muslims, Indian traders, European farmers and local tribes. Abdulrazak Gurna, whose works deserve special attention, often combines geography and people's stories, however, at the same time, each story remains special. Implausibility, the presence of many different opinions on one issue and irony are Gurna's signature, which gives his works a special touch. "Paradise" is written by a man who loves Africa and Africans, so the work goes much closer to the reader's heart than books created by European authors. Africa painted by Gurna is real, cheerful, beautiful, diverse, people are interesting, the reader can easily feel sympathy for them. "Paradise" takes place shortly before World War I, when the Germans became the dominant group in what is now Tanzania in East Africa. The characters in the book called Germans "Europeans". Africans were known to be more ruthless and cruel than others. The ambiguous nature of Yusuf, who grew up in the last period of European colonial rule, is described by the author with the precision of a jeweler. The boy's sudden decision ends the book with one breath, if you like, with one stroke, but very wisely. Yusuf's choice is a conscious choice and makes us think about the reasons that made the young man voluntarily join the German army. When awarding the author with the Nobel Prize in 2021, the jury took into account this excellent novel, among other considerations.