Undermining the Concept of Paradise: Intertextuality and Storytelling in Abdulrazak Gurnah’s Paradise

Abstract

Storytelling and intertextuality feature frequently in Abdulrazak Gurnah’s literary works. This paper investigates the role intertextuality and storytelling play in his novel Paradise, published in 1994, and shows how they ultimately undermine the very concept of paradise itself. The first section of the paper analyses two intertextual references to Milton which cast doubt on the idea of East Africa as a paradise through their contradictory nature. The second part focuses on the theme of storytelling in the novel at large and more specifically in the main character’s life, demonstrating that both clashes and correspondences between life and storytelling eventually undercut the main character’s idea of paradise.