Contemporary literature

Published in 1994, Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah is a novel set in East Africa around the end of the 19th century, when European colonial powers were beginning to divide and claim the continent for themselves. The story follows Yusuf, a twelve-year-old boy whose father hands him over to a wealthy merchant named Aziz to pay off a debt. At first, Yusuf works in Aziz’s shop and gardens, but soon he joins the merchant on long trading journeys deep into the African interior. Along the way, Yusuf s...