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 sees many different places, meets all kinds of people, and slowly becomes aware of how complex and often harsh the world is.

The novel shows a rich and busy East Africa, full of different cultures, religions, and languages, long before European rule takes full control. It also looks at older systems of power, like how some Africans kept slaves themselves, and how local and foreign traders competed for business. In many ways, Gurnah’s book can be seen as an answer to Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. While Conrad’s story is about Europeans traveling into Africa and seeing it as dark and mysterious, Paradise puts African characters and their lives at the center, showing their hopes, struggles, and daily realities.

Even though Paradise wasn’t exactly my cup of tea it was still interesting to learn about what life was like for people in East Africa at that time. It was eye-opening to see that slavery wasn’t only something done by white Europeans; it also existed within African societies, tied to older trade systems. In general, reading this novel gave me a better understanding of Africa’s history and the big changes it was facing around the start of the 20th century. For that reason alone, I’m glad I read it.