Abdulrazak Gurnah 소설 "Paradise"

 

Abdulrazak Gurnah, "Paradise" (1994)

 

"An evocative portrait of Africa on the brink of change ...

A poignant meditation on the nature of freedom and the

loss of innocence." --- New York Times Book Review

 

The traders spoke of the Europeans with amazement, awed

by their ferocity and ruthlessness. They take the best land

without paying a bead, force the people to work for them

by one trick or another ... Their appetite has no limit or

decency.... The first thing they build is a lock-up, then

a church. (p. 72)

 

'Kimwana, the boy doesn't know how to read the Koran!'

Hamid said, turning to her with a distraught look. 'He has

no father and no mother, and does not even know the

word of God!' (p. 98)

 

They didn't even have to capture their victims themselves,

although some of them did so for the pleasure of it. There

were enough people eager to sell their cousins and

neighbours for trinkets. (p. 131)

 

'Your caravan trade is finished,' the sultan of Mkalikali said.

'We used to sell slaves to these people from the coast. We

know them, and we're not afraid of them."

'The Europeans and the Indians will take everything now,'

the merchant said, making the sultant smile. (p. 176)