Discontinuous homecoming and community-forging storytelling in Abdulrazak Gurnah’s By the Sea

Abstract

In By the Sea, written by Abdulrazak Gurnah in 2001, the theme of the homecoming is of paramount importance. The trajectory of the main characters’ movement is fragmented and incomplete in the sense that they end up feeling at home in a foreign country rather than choosing their birthplace, Zanzibar. By referring to selected scenes from Gurnah’s narrative, the present paper aims to analyse the images of home portrayed in the novel and the discontinuous character of the homecoming it depicts. In addition, the role of storytelling is investigated so as to show its importance for two related processes: homecoming and community-forging.