Paradise cover art

Paradise

 Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Paradise

By: Abdulrazak Gurnah
Narrated by: Ashley Zhangazha
Try Premium Plus free

$16.45 per month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $21.99

Buy Now for $21.99

About this listen

Bloomsbury presents Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah, read by Ashley Zhangazha.

By the winner of the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature
A BBC RADIO 4 Book at Bedtime
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE
_______________________
'A poetic and vividly conjured book about Africa and the brooding power of the unknown' Independent on Sunday

'Gurnah evokes his world in poetic prose which is pure and lucid – a small paradise in itself ... The pleasures, sadnesses and losses in all the shining facets of this book are lingering and exquisite' Guardian

'An obliterated world is enthrallingly retrieved' Sunday Times
_______________________
Born in East Africa, Yusuf has few qualms about the journey he is to make. It never occurs to him to ask why he is accompanying Uncle Aziz or why the trip has been organised so suddenly, and he does not think to ask when he will be returning. But the truth is that his ‘uncle' is a rich and powerful merchant and Yusuf has been pawned to him to pay his father's debts.

Paradise is a rich tapestry of myth, dreams and Biblical and Koranic tradition, the story of a young boy's coming of age against the backdrop of an Africa increasingly corrupted by colonialism and violence.

©1994 Abdulrazak Gurnah (P)2022 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Coming of Age Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction World Literature Africa
All stars
Most relevant  
Character driven. Colonialism pillage by many western countries. Interesting story and learned a lot about this African nation

Paradise

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This novel is an important contribution to African literature. It gives excellent insights into the society on the cusp of war and colonialism. The gender politics is also interesting given the time it was written.

very interesting

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Boring boring boring Boring Boring boring Boring Boring boring Boring
Need I go on so sorry wasted money on this drivel

Boringness

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.