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Winner of the 1990 Commonwealth First Novel Prize (Africa). The Gunny Sack begins its tale with an old and unremarkable bag. Its inheritor, Salim Juma, begins to piece together the stories hidden inside only to discover the fateful series of events that changed his family forever.In exile from Tanzania, Salim Juma is bequeathed a gunny sack by his beloved but strange great-aunt. The bag takes him back to his childhood, when he was first mesmerised by the peculiar mementos inside. Put together, the bag's contents tell the tantalising tales of his great-grandfather, Dhanji Govindji, who migrated from India to East Africa and fell in love with an enslaved woman named Bibi Taratibu.
The stories that follow stretch across four generations of Salim's family, tracing their footsteps and unravelling their loves, betrayals, and incredible adventures.
The Gunny Sack is an extraordinary chronicle into the experiences of Indian migrants in Africa as they struggled under changing power structures, from German invasions to British colonialism.
About the author
Moyez G. Vassanji is one of Canada's most celebrated and prominent writers. Born in Kenya in 1950, Vassanji was raised in Tanzania and arrived in Canada in 1978.
He studied theoretical nuclear physics at MIT and the University of Pennsylvania before becoming a postdoctoral fellow at the Atomic Energy of Canada. From 1980 to 1989, he was a research associate at the University of Toronto. During this period he co-founded and edited a literary magazine,
The Toronto Review of Contemporary Writing Abroad, and began writing stories.
In 1989, with the publication of his first novel,
The Gunny Sack, he was invited to spend a season at the International Writing Program of the University of Iowa. He is currently the author of nine novels, two collections of short stories, and three non-fiction works. He is a two-time winner of the Giller Prize and a member of the Order of Canada. In 2016, he received the Canada Council Molson Prize for the Arts for his outstanding career achievements.
He now lives in Toronto with his wife and two sons, and visits Africa and India often.
To find out more visit: www.mgvassanji.com
Summary
Winner of the 1990 Commonwealth First Novel Prize (Africa). The Gunny Sack follows the bizarre tale of an old and unremarkable bag and the life changing secrets within it.
In exile from Tanzania, Salim Juma is given a gunny sack by his beloved, but strange, great-aunt. The bag takes him back to his childhood, when he was first mesmerised by the peculiar mementos inside. He soon begins to piece together the stories hidden within, only to discover the truth behind a fateful series of events that changed his family forever.
The stories that follow stretch across four generations of Salim's family, tracing their footsteps and unravelling their loves, betrayals, and incredible misadventures.
The Gunny Sack is an extraordinary chronicle into the experiences of Indian migrants in Africa as they struggled under changing power structures, from German invasions to British colonialism.
Foreword
Winner of the 1990 Commonwealth First Novel Prize (Africa). The Gunny Sack follows the bizarre tale of an old and unremarkable bag and the life changing secrets within it.
Additional text
Vassanji captures a wide and authentic perspective that ranks with V. S. Naipaul and Graham Greene.
