Das versteinerte Herz

For the first time in German: Gurnah's moving coming-of-age novel about betrayal, migration and the search for a place in lifeSalim is seven and a little dreamer. His life rests on a few seemingly unshakeable pillars: the daily routine of school and Koran lessons, his beloved books and his adored uncle, who - unlike his father - does not constantly elude him. But it is the 1970s and therefore not good times for dreamers, as the spirit of change sweeps over Zanzibar. Suddenly Salim's father has disappeared and a revolution, violence and corruption shake the island. Only in retrospect, as a teenager and student making his way through the strange and forbidding city of London, does Salim begin to realise the shadows that dominated his family during this time of upheaval. Salim searches for answers about what happened back then and has to face the truth about the people closest to him. As powerful as he is moving, Abdulrazak Gurnah writes about the impact of history on our lives, creating characters you won't soon forget. "The elegance and aplomb with which Gurnah writes, his understanding of how quietly, slowly and repeatedly a heart can break, make this novel a deep source of pleasure." Guardian.