A review by bukolayemi
Memory of Departure by Abdulrazak Gurnah

dark reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This debut novel first published in 1987 is a story about poverty and its effects on a family, a young man’s destiny and a nation.

Hassan Omar wants to get out of the struggle but the government refuses to release examination results. The youths are basically held hostage in a country that is disintegrating after independence.

His mother sends him to Nairobi to live with her brother who cheated her of her share of their inheritance. Hassan sees how the other half and sees how his family is viewed by his uncle. 

Right from chapter one of this book, we are faced with the evil men do to boys and men. How the poor are made even smaller by those around them. 

This was not an easy read. The words are well crafted and I get the story but it wasn’t easy to read.