The Nobel Prize in literature has been awarded to the novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah, for his « uncompromising and passionate » portrayals of the effects of colonialism.
The Nobel Prize in literature has been awarded to the novelist Abdulrazak Gurnah, for his « uncompromising and passionate » portrayals of the effects of colonialism. Gurnah was born in Tanzania in 1948 but moved to England at a young age. He has written 10 novels, many of which focus on the refugee experience. His 1994 novel « Paradise, » which told the story of a boy growing up in Tanzania in the early 20th century, won the Booker Prize and marked his breakthrough as a novelist. « Gurnah’s dedication to truth and his aversion to simplification are striking, » the Nobel Committee for Literature said in a statement. « This can make him bleak and uncompromising, at the same time as he follows the fates of individuals with great compassion and unbending commitment.
