Our book group choice for July 2022 is Afterlives by Abdulrazak Gurnah. Set against the brutal canvas of German East Africa at the dawn of the twentieth century, Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Afterlives is a deeply intimate epic tracing the collision of imperial violence and everyday survival.
Decades of colonial cruelty culminate in the First World War, as indigenous askari soldiers are drawn into fighting their European masters’ war on African soil.
Rather than focusing merely on battlefields, Gurnah grounds this turmoil in the intertwined lives of characters fighting for dignity. Ilyas, stolen as a boy by German colonial troops, returns years later to search for his fragmented lineage, only to disappear once more. His neglected younger sister, Afiya, survives abuse to nurture a fierce, hidden literacy. Meanwhile, Hamza, a shell-shocked former soldier returning from the horrors of the German Schutztruppe, drifts into their coastal town carrying physical and psychological trauma, yet searching for peace, labour, and purpose.
As their paths cross, Gurnah crafts a profound narrative of quiet resilience, chosen family, and reclamation. Afterlives explores how ordinary men and women assemble meaningful existence amidst the devastation of empire—examining how colonial legacies linger across generations, and what it costs to simply build a home from the ruins.
Discussion Questions for Afterlives
- Did you find the book an easy read? Was it difficult to get in to?
- The book starts with Khalifa’s backstory. Was all this background necessary for the story?
- What did you think of the narrative style? Rambling? Excess of background information? Or storyteller?
- Compare and contrast Ilyas’ and Hamza’s experiences of with the German occupiers
- How does the book portray the different colonial powers who try to control this part of Africa. Do their methods change over time/ between masters?
- What would you say was the main theme of the book?
- One theme of the book is exploitation. Other than colonial exploitation already discussed, can you think of examples of other types of exploitation?
- Another theme is loss. Do the losses bring people together?
- Education features strongly in the book. Whether formal or informal. What does literacy do for the characters in the book and do you think this was realistic?
- Give examples of the unexpected kindnesses shown in the book. Are these random acts?
- Despite the backdrop of colonial competition and upheaval, was this a happy book?
- Did religion make a difference to people’s life chances?
- Could any of the characters be said to be stereotypical?
- How did you view the unusual behaviour of young Ilyas? What did you think of the ‘treatment’ sought by the family and the outcome of this?
- Why do you think the author chose the title ‘Afterlives’?
- What did you think about the ending and Ilyas’ experience of life in Germany? What it a satisfying conclusion?
- Gurnah won the Nobel Prize for literature in 2021. On the basis of this book, does his writing merit the award? Does this book inspire you to read any of his other books?
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