Afterlives

Many of the characters in Afterlives mirror elements of Gurnah’s life. For example, Khalifa’s father, Qassim, immigrated from India as a young adult and set down roots in Tanzania, though he always viewed India as his true home. This model is similar to Gurnah, who immigrated to England in his late teens but continues to regard Tanzania as his true homeland. Like Khalifa, Gurnah has multiple nationalities, in the author’s case the son of a Yemeni Arab. Just as many of the characters in the narrative are swept up in a war that challenges their allegiances and forces permanent personal changes upon them, so Gurnah was forced to flee as a refugee from his native Zanzibar because of a revolution when he was 18.

Perhaps more compelling than the overt similarities the author shares with the characters are the subtle, underlying qualities Gurnah imputes to the key figures in the story that are elements of his makeup as well. Like virtually every character he writes about, Gurnah expresses yearning for what is lost. Indeed, reviewers note that Gurnah began to write as a young man out of pervasive homesickness. Like Hamza and his son Ilyas, Gurnah is a dreamer, equally lost in longing remembrance and unfulfilled hopes of what might be. Like Khalifa, Gurnah loves stories and imparts honesty, truth, and wisdom through them.

Readers may also note that the author portrays the most important characters as being literate—an unusual quality for citizens of early-20th century Tanzania. Their scholastic abilities make them stand out in various ways, as when Sulemani asks Hamza to translate German just to hear the sound of it, or the British police make him translate a letter from Germany they cannot read. Their scholarship also comes with risks, as when Afiya’s uncle brutally beats her because she is literate. Thus, Gurnah implies that the unique ability of an articulate storyteller is both a blessing and a curse.