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A review by gilmoreguide
Gravel Heart by Abdulrazak Gurnah
3.0
(2.5)
The fact that Gravel Heart is set in 1970s Zanzibar means it is already steeped in mystery for me as I had to look up where its located (an island off the coast of Tanzania). From the very opening the plot itself is intriguing, with Salim, a young man, being offered a chance to emigrate to England to stay with his much loved and charismatic uncle Amir. Amir will pay for everything, he will study business and become a success. The choice is an easy one as Salim does not have much of a life in Zanzibar. His father left him and his mother when he was a little boy and it isn’t until he is a teenager and his mother his pregnant that he realizes it was because she was having an affair. That his father is shamed and now his mother has agreed to be a second wife, makes leaving easy for Salim.
Except that once in London he finds adapting difficult and decides that business is boring. He wants to study literature. This enrages his uncle who cuts him off and leaves him to find his own way. For the rest of the novel Salim does just that, including going home to try and find answers to the things he never understood about his mother and father.
The rest of this review is available at The Gilmore Guide to Books: http://wp.me/p2B7gG-2po
The fact that Gravel Heart is set in 1970s Zanzibar means it is already steeped in mystery for me as I had to look up where its located (an island off the coast of Tanzania). From the very opening the plot itself is intriguing, with Salim, a young man, being offered a chance to emigrate to England to stay with his much loved and charismatic uncle Amir. Amir will pay for everything, he will study business and become a success. The choice is an easy one as Salim does not have much of a life in Zanzibar. His father left him and his mother when he was a little boy and it isn’t until he is a teenager and his mother his pregnant that he realizes it was because she was having an affair. That his father is shamed and now his mother has agreed to be a second wife, makes leaving easy for Salim.
Except that once in London he finds adapting difficult and decides that business is boring. He wants to study literature. This enrages his uncle who cuts him off and leaves him to find his own way. For the rest of the novel Salim does just that, including going home to try and find answers to the things he never understood about his mother and father.
The rest of this review is available at The Gilmore Guide to Books: http://wp.me/p2B7gG-2po