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Afterlives
- Narrated by: Damian Lynch
- Length: 10 hrs and 20 mins
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Afterlives
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Publisher's Summary
Bloomsbury presents Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah, read by Damian Lynch.
Restless, ambitious Ilyas was stolen from his parents by the Schutzruppe askari, the German colonial troops; after years away, he returns to his village to find his parents gone and his sister, Afiya, given away.
Hamza was not stolen but was sold; he has come of age in the army, at the right hand of an officer whose control has ensured his protection but marked him for life. Hamza does not have words for how the war ended for him. Returning to the town of his childhood, all he wants is work, however humble, and security - and the beautiful Afiya.
The century is young. The Germans and the British and the French and the Belgians and whoever else have drawn their maps and signed their treaties and divided up Africa. As they seek complete dominion they are forced to extinguish revolt after revolt by the colonised. The conflict in Europe opens another arena in East Africa where a brutal war devastates the landscape.
As these interlinked friends and survivors come and go, live and work and fall in love, the shadow of a new war lengthens and darkens, ready to snatch them up and carry them away.
Critic Reviews
"One of Africa's greatest living writers." (Giles Foden)
"Exquisite." (Telegraph)
"A remarkable novel, by a wondrous writer, deeply compelling, a thread that links our humanity with the colonial legacy that lies beneath, in ways that cut deep." (Philippe Sands)
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What listeners say about Afterlives
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Deepanjan Roy
- 26-11-21
Life & Times in Colonial East Africa
A sweeping memoir of the lives and times of Colonial East Africa, Afterlives is tender, but perhaps, does not tie the different threads of the story together.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 14-09-22
Excellent, thought-provoking read
An excellent, thought-provoking read on the confluence of colonization, socialization, nurture, nature and humanity in the different characters individually and as a collective.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Delphine
- 21-05-22
Extraordinary text
Wonderful text about the former German colonies in Africa from WWI to the post WWII period
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Adayam mirsky
- 01-01-22
Compelling story.
Impossible to stop listening. Thé life in the German occupation East African is unfamiliar and doesn’t feature in western culture. But it’s told in an amazing way by Gurnah.
The reading is very good.
No wonder the writer was awarded the Nobel price.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Ando
- 25-11-21
A Very Human Story
This was an interesting book and mirrors to a significant extent the feelings of powerlessness we experience living under colonial rule. Decisions made elsewhere influenced how we perceived the world and the fates we endured.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- JanitaH
- 17-10-21
Enjoyed the history, but the writing dissapointed
Fascinating history, but the narrative meanders to an abrupt end and the writing is average.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- EEL
- 06-11-21
Lynch a great reader of this book
The actor here, Damian Lynch, has performed Shakespeare in German in Germany, so is well able to handle the short passages of German that give an authentic flavour to the setting in German East Africa in the book. He is a perfect choice for the novel.
A great introduction to the work of the winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize for Literature.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 10-07-22
Great new learning and a great story
I learnt so much new about German colonial activities in East Africa. This was delivered by a captivating story about the lives of those living through those realities. The characters were well described and easy to identify with. I found myself really eager to discover what happened to Elyas. The descriptions of the towns, buildings, streets and food made the environment easy to visualise.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Leena Istanbuli
- 08-01-22
Interesting mix between reality and fiction
Couldn't stop listening to it. Well written and a really interesting story/stories. I wish it didn't finish so quickly
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- S.K
- 17-01-23
Captivating story
Abdulrazak is a great story teller, and for someone who is passionate about world history, I enjoyed the background events occurring in this part of the world during the first half of the 20th century.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- wormwood
- 01-01-23
Interesting subject, unremarkably told.
Gurnah described a moment and place in history i knew nothing about, which held my interest sufficiently to the end . But i found it tough- going. His style here is very matter- fact and rather pedestrian. This was not helped by the narrator who, though he did a reasonable job at giving voice to the characters, told the story in a repetitive, monotonous report- giving manner, which drained the drama from the narrative and failed to hold my attention for long. I am not inclined to read any other books by this author.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 22-12-22
A beautiful thread through wounded lives
Gurnah beautifully weaves the wounded lives of three generations together as they live and love through the pains of wars and colonialism. Their relationships both created and destroyed by the wars. As the title says this story is not about the great conflicts of the 20th century but rather about the lives after them. So rather than a bitter story on suffering the story is mostly a sweet one on family and friendship throughout it all
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Andrew
- 09-12-21
Left me wanting more, literally
I enjoyed this book, I'm looking forward to coming back to it when the author writes the ending.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- P. Douglas
- 21-03-23
The most boring book I’ve ever listened to.
I’m sorry. I’m sure some people love this book and I mean absolutely no disrespect to the author or the narrator but I found this book to be very dreary. Just an account of a life/lives with no clear direction or enthralling content. Maybe I’m missing something. To each their own.
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