Nobel Prize for Literature

Published: 11th Oct, 2021

Context

Abdulrazak Gurnah became the fifth African writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature on 7^th October 2021.

Key Highlights

He was awarded for his Contribution "in a non-judgmental sympathy for the effects of colonialism and the fate of the fugitive in the gap between cultures and continents."
It was taken from his novel famous the premise of 'Paradise' 1994.
It examines the fate of young African Arabs enlisted for the German occupation in World War I.
Some of his famous writings: His writing explores the immigrant experience and how exile and loss shape identities and cultures.
- Memory of Departure (1987)
- Pilgrims Way (1988)
- Paradise (1994)
- By the Sea (2001)
- Desertion (2005)
- Gravel Heart (2017)
- Afterlives (2020)
His books contain African characters who are trying to embrace segregation, looking at societies and cultures.
His work draws attention to the extent to which prejudice and discrimination against communities and religions perpetuate oppressive cultures.
In 1994, he won the Booker Prize for his fiction ‘Paradise’.
In 2001, He was awarded the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for 'Desertion' and 'By the Sea'.

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