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Desertion

By the winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature 2021

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Desertion

By: Abdulrazak Gurnah
Narrated by: Damian Lynch
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Bloomsbury presents Desertion by Abdulrazak Gurnah, read by Damian Lynch.

By the winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature

'A careful and heartfelt exploration of the way memory inevitably consoles and disappoints us' Sunday Times

'Beautifully written and pleasurable ... The work of a maestro' Guardian

'An absorbing novel about abandonment and loss' Daily Telegraph
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Early one morning in 1899, in a small town along the coast from Mombasa, Hassanali sets out for the mosque. But he never gets there, for out of the desert stumbles an ashen and exhausted Englishman who collapses at his feet. That man is Martin Pearce – writer, traveller and something of an Orientalist. After Pearce has recuperated, he visits Hassanali to thank him for his rescue and meets Hassanali's sister Rehana; he is immediately captivated.

In this crumbling town on the edge of civilised life, with the empire on the brink of a new century, a passionate love affair begins that brings two cultures together and which will reverberate through three generations and across continents.©2005 Abdulrazak Gurnah (P)2022 Bloomsbury Publishing PLC Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction World Literature
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Critic reviews

Rich in detail and filled with acute observations, this novel movingly examines the absences eating away at the core of all of its characters
As beautifully written and pleasurable as anything I've read ... Gurnah's portrait is the work of a maestro
This is an impressive and deeply serious book, a careful and often heartfelt exploration of the way memory inevitably consoles and disappoints us
An absorbing novel about abandonment and loss ... Gurnah writes beautifully, with the satisfying assurance of someone who knows how to achieve his effects without undue fuss but with absolute precision
All stars
Most relevant
My fourth book by Abdulrasak Gurnah in the past few months and I will continue until I have read all. The historical setting in East Africa is fascinating and each book has driven me to research and discover more about that time and place. The characters are beautifully crafted, the sights, smells and tastes are so vivid. Above all, the storyline is unpredictable and kept me engaged and surprised until the end.

Another great read from this author

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Having recently discovered this author, I have become a huge fan, devouring 3 of his books in a row. Unfortunately, by the time I got to this one, the spell had broken. Unlike his other 2 novels 'By The Sea' and 'Theft' where I was swept up into the narratives, I found this one tedious and dull, with no structure. There was a story in there somewhere, but just suffocated by all the info dump. It won't put me off the author though. I was on a roll and it had to end at some point.

Not for me

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