Review of Theft by Abdulrazak Gurnah
Nobel laureate Abdulrazak Gurnah's latest novel Theft is beguiling in its construction of a fictional universe where lives are upended or redeemed by the cruelty and kindness that the characters encounter. Their own actions do play a critical role but causality is not straightforward here; there are secrets and silences, revealed only when the novelist deems the timing to be ripe enough for drama and heartbreak. Gurnah shows yet again why he is a master storyteller.
Set in Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam, the novel revolves around the trio of Karim, Badar and Fauzia as they transition from teenage to early adulthood in the 1990s. What they have in common is a love of books and thirst for knowledge. Their circumstances, however, are vastly different.
Karim, whose world is shattered after his parents' divorce, is nurtured by his half-brother Ali, sister-in-law Jalila, and his mother Raya's second husband, Haji. Badar, a 'servant', knows little about his biological parents. He has survived thanks to the generosity of adults who raised him but they too have run out of resources, so he is now employed in the house of Haji's father, Uncle Othman. This is where Karim and Badar meet.
Surprise elements
Through their intersecting lives, Gurnah explores the human heart's wonderful capacity to embrace people beyond the call of duty or obligation. It is moving to witness the genuine pride that Ali takes in Karim's academic accomplishments despite their murky family history. It seems that since Karim can never fully repay the kindness that Ali, Jalila and Haji extend to him, he pays it forward to Badar. When Badar is wrongly accused of a theft, it is Karim who stands by him, welcomes him into his house, and also helps him get a secure job.
Gurnah's genius as a storyteller lies in surprising readers. While Karim is being put on a pedestal, it is difficult to imagine his impending downfall later in the novel. Badar feels indebted for everything that Karim has done for him, so he does not mind the latter's patronising tone. However, some lines cannot be crossed. Karim's bitter outburst at the end of the novel is startling because it challenges almost everything that one is led to believe about the kind of person he is and what he values.
Fauzia's role in the narrative is closely connected to how this transformation plays out, but she is more than just a device to move the plot forward. Gurnah presents her as a woman of profound strength; one who is aware of her intellectual gifts but feels low on self-esteem because of a childhood illness that she fears she might pass on to her child with Karim. The novelist's depiction of their courtship is tender and breezy, so the complications in their marriage come across as alarming.
Social realities
Gurnah is not opposed to giving a love story its happy end, but he is in no hurry. Badar has feelings for Fauzia but he cannot dream of betraying Karim's trust. Karim, however, is drawn to a woman named Jerry, who he meets at Badar's workplace.
Read the novel, the first after Gurnah's Nobel win in 2021, to find out how it ends. It is a journey worth undertaking because the author makes one feel deeply for his characters and root for their happiness. In a patriarchal culture that treats women as dispensable, he celebrates their ambition, sisterhood, and resilience. That said, he does not idealise women characters or overlook their flaws and vulnerabilities.
In addition to the plot and characterisation, what stays with the reader is Gurnah's worldbuilding that looks effortless but is highly sophisticated. It displays his subtle observations about social hierarchies, the rural-urban divide, and the lure of capitalism in a part of the world that he grew up in but had to leave when he arrived in England as a refugee.
The reviewer is a journalist, educator and literary critic.
Theft Abdulrazak Gurnah Bloomsbury ₹699
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