Gravel Heart
Book description
By the winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature 'The elegance and control of Gurnah's writing, and his understanding of how quietly and slowly and repeatedly a heart can break, make this a deeply rewarding novel' Kamila Shamsie, Guardian ________________________ For seven-year-old Salim, the pillars upholding his small universe…
Why read it?
1 author picked Gravel Heart as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I so easily identified with the lead character, Salim, who is caught between two cultures–his country of origin, Zanzibar, and his adopted country, England.
The author provides detailed and satisfying descriptions of Zanzibar in the 1960s and of London in the 1990s, portraying effectively how he is pulled by both and yet part of both. He confronts the vexed questions of ‘Who am I?’ and ‘Where is home?’
The colourful description of life in a Zanzibar village is delightful, reminding me so much of Mombasa, where I was born, especially as both places share the language, Kiswahili–which I still remember!
From Ram's list on refugees, inclusion, diversity and equality.
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