"Theft" by Abdulrazak Gurnah

 

Wrenching life episodes told in plain language; human urges and inadequacies portrayed perfectly; the long-term inescapable consequences of life decisions—all these are on display in Abdulrazak Gurnah’s felicitous and big-hearted latest novel, Theft. Set in the author’s native Tanzania, the book takes up the lives of a couple of extended families, and explores themes of love, betrayal, class oppression, and international economics. It all seems so effortless, and it concludes in such a balanced and generous way. It’s quite artful and unreservedly recommended.

The events of Theft depend on complex family relationships, and they reflect a well-entrenched, if quirky, ethos. This culture reflects an openness to relatives in need, but the need arises from outmoded and frequently misanthropic attitudes. Young people are ostracized—shunted off into service to unfriendly relations and deprived of education—for the offense of having miscreant or unorthodox parents. Tourists to the area show off their wealth and their disregard for local customs and mores. This book contains an unveiled indictment of the systems that result in such abuses.

Gurnah, the 2021 Nobel Prize winner for Literature, composes in plain-spoken, unassuming language; he relies on it to carry the weight of the events which sometimes wreak havoc on his characters’ lives, which it does beautifully. These characters represent the full range of personalities—greed, prejudice, anger, generosity, respectfulness, acceptance—and the author unfailingly presents them as arising from the everyday human business of surviving. The tone is very effective; it’s all superb in his hands.

Generous, deceptively deep, and rewarding, this novel is well worth taking up.