Abdulrazak Gurnah’s THE LAST GIFT, a brilliant refugee tale.

What could be the best gift your father could give you with his last breath? Money? Secrets? Fears? 

As an immigrant to Britain, Abbas denies his children the satisfaction of knowing who they really belong to. England or Tanzania? 
It all comes to a head when he gets affected by a stroke. And it gives his children, a licence to exhibit what they previously hid. 

Hanna who now wants to be called Anna loves everything England makes available, the sex, the books, the freedom but when in a parallel plot her boyfriend’s parents question her about where her black skin really belonged to. She is hurt and uncertain.
Jamal seems to be immune to the uncertainties of being an immigrant Muslim. However, despite not being a devout Muslim like his father, he beats the brunt of what a devout Muslim faces in Britain.

Then their mother, whose life is a stereotypical rendition of a black woman. A foundling, born from an Arab and a Polish. It takes Abbas sickness ans death for her to truly live.

Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2014

ISBN: 978-1-62040-328-0

Page Count: 288

Publisher: Bloomsbury

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