Insidious Trauma in the Consciousnesses of the Zanzibari Arabs: A Reading of Selected Works of Abdulrazak Gurnah
Abstract
This paper examines insidious trauma by closely studying Abdulrazak Gurnah’s novels. It explores the complexity of migration within East Africa and to Britain by the Zanzibari Arabs represented in the novels, and glosses over their reasons for not going back to Oman in Arabia. The study purposively selected two of Gurnah’s novels that provide narratives with insights into insidious trauma. From the study findings, it is concluded that Gurnah’s fiction uses reverse chronology as a strategy that could lend insight into how the author reorganizes the Zanzibari Arabs’ history to confront the insidious trauma manifested in the form of social and political oppression. The study demonstrates how characters strive to define their identity and sense of belonging amidst their struggles with the painful past and highly discriminative present realities. It is demonstrated that, though not always blatant or violent, the effects of insidious trauma threaten the basic well-being of the person who suffers it.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Seraphine Chepkosgei, PhD
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