Abdulrazak Gurnah on AFTERLIVES

Poured Over

"Well, home is a complicated concept....So you've shaken me awake at three o'clock in the morning. Where's home? I’ll say Zanzibar without hesitation. Oh, but then on the other hand, I've been living here and working here for 50 years, my family, my children, and my grandchildren live here. The idea that this is not my home, it's just ridiculous. I just won't have it. You know, this is my home. So home is complicated, both are home, but it means something different." An epic story of life, loss, and love set against an unforgiving landscape of colonial violence, Afterlives is a multi-generational novel set in East Africa that is at once wistful, grounded—and unforgettable. 2021 Nobel Laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah joins us on the show to discuss his body of work, the legacy of colonialism, what it was like to win the Nobel and much more with Poured Over's host, Miwa Messer.

Feature Books (Episode):

Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah Memory of Departure by Abdulrazak Gurnah Admiring Silence by Abdulrazak Gurnah

Featured Books (TBR Topoff):

Home by Toni Morrison Dear Life by Alice Munro

Poured Over is produced and hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app.

A complete transcript of this episode is available here.