Skip to main content
Book review

'I didn't bring my heart with me' : Unfeeling as a mode of resistance in Abdulrazak Gurnah's Afterlives.

Author
  • 'I didn't bring my heart with me' : Unfeeling as a mode of resistance in Abdulrazak Gurnah's Afterlives.

    Book review

    'I didn't bring my heart with me' : Unfeeling as a mode of resistance in Abdulrazak Gurnah's Afterlives.

    Author

Abstract

This retelling of a Swahili fable is a cautionary tale, exposing the potential dangers of offering wholehearted support to a colonial regime while also subtly advocating for ‘heartlessness’ as a mode of survival. ‘Don’t you think that was a clever little monkey?’, Khalifa asks the protagonist Ilyas. The story suggests that, when faced with abuses of power, Ilyas might learn not to ‘bring his heart’ with him; to be disaffected, or ‘unfeeling’.

Keywords: Unfeeling, Afterlives, Abdulrazak Gurnah

How to Cite:

Mathers, A., (2022) “'I didn't bring my heart with me' : Unfeeling as a mode of resistance in Abdulrazak Gurnah's Afterlives.”, Moveable Type 14(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.14324/111.1755-4527.138

Downloads:
Download PDF
View PDF

1435 Views

230 Downloads

Published on
2022-11-30

Peer Reviewed