When I read By the Sea by Gurnah last year it was possibly one of the most frustrating reading experiences of 2023. The first part was brilliant, gorgeous writing and the characters fleshed out beautifully. But as the book went on it slowed to a crawl and too many characters/stories within stories to keep track of. But I thought, given the start, I’d give him another chance - sad to report I’ve been burned again 😭 Afterlives switches from utterly compelling to utterly dull within a page or two. I would be completely invested (typically with Afiyah’s sections but the boys had compelling parts too), and then five minutes later be on the verge of falling asleep after one too many descriptions of joinery or ~trade speak~.

I did appreciate learning more about the colonisation of East Africa by the Germans. I said this about another book I read this year (The Cursed Friend), but remembering the violences of colonialism in literature is often restricted to British and French colonisers. I’m glad for books which immortalise the horrors inflicted by other European entities as well, so they’re not forgotten or swept under the rug.

But my other complaint is the ending - after 270 pages of glacial storytelling, the ending gave me whiplash. At least 50 pages of story is condensed into 10, making the ending feel too abrupt.

I think I’ll probably stop here with Gurnah’s oeuvre… but Gravel Heart does sound good so maybe I’ve not learned my lesson yet!