By the Sea

By the Sea (2001) is a postcolonial novel by Abdulrazak Gurnah. Born in Zanzibar, Gurnah left for Britain as a refugee in the 1960s, and his personal history of displacement informs his writing. In 2021, Gurnah was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature for his examination of the effects of colonialism and the experiences of refugees. Set against the backdrop of Zanzibar’s turbulent transition to independence and the historical decline of the Indian Ocean trade, the novel tells the story of two men from Zanzibar who meet in an English seaside town. Their encounter forces them to confront a shared and painful history of family betrayal, dispossession, and political persecution. Narrated from two alternating first-person perspectives and unfolding largely through flashbacks, the novel explores themes of The Unreliability of Memory and Competing Narratives, The Dehumanizing Process of Seeking Asylum, and The Intergenerational Burdens of Betrayal and Inheritance.

This guide refers to the 2023 Riverhead Books trade paperback edition.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of racism, physical abuse, emotional abuse, graphic violence, addiction, death, child death, child sexual abuse, antigay bias, pregnancy loss, religious discrimination, and substance use.

Plot Summary

An elderly man from Zanzibar, now a refugee in an English seaside town, recounts his arrival at Gatwick Airport. He used a passport with the name Rajab Shaaban and, following advice, pretended not to speak English. When the immigration officer questioning him, Kevin Edelman, was about to deny him entry, the narrator uttered the words “Refugee” and “Asylum,” securing temporary admission due to the UK’s political stance on his home country. However, Edelman also confiscated his prized mahogany box of incense.

The narrator, whose real name is Saleh Omar, was then sent to a rural detention center where he met other asylum seekers, including an outspoken Angolan named Alfonso. He maintained his silence when he met his legal adviser, Rachel Howard. Rachel arranged for his transfer to a seaside town, where he was placed in a dilapidated bed-and-breakfast run by a woman named Celia. He felt isolated and disgusted by the unsanitary conditions and the taunts of his fellow residents, Ibrahim and Georgy.

Frustrated by his situation, Saleh revealed to a shocked Rachel that he could speak English. She was initially angry but agreed to proceed with his asylum case. During their meeting, she mentioned that she had tried to arrange for an interpreter, an “expert” on Zanzibar named Latif Mahmud. Saleh was stunned, recognizing the name as that of the real Rajab Shaaban Mahmud’s younger son. Now, he sits in the apartment that Rachel helped him secure, pondering the difficulties of telling his story.

The narrative perspective shifts to Latif Mahmud, an academic in London. He recalls being contacted by a refugee organization to translate for an asylum seeker named Rajab Shaaban, his own father’s name. The request was later canceled, but Latif, curious, eventually called back. Rachel Howard told him the man’s name, and Latif became convinced that the asylum seeker was Saleh Omar, a man from his family’s past. Latif remembers his childhood in Zanzibar, his beautiful but unfaithful mother, Asha; his quiet father, who drank heavily; and his charismatic older brother, Hassan. He recalls a Persian trader named Hussein who developed a scandalous relationship with the then-teenage Hassan, which Latif believes led to his family losing their house to Saleh Omar, with whom Hussein had business dealings.

Latif recounts the family’s decline. His mother’s affair with a government minister became public, his father retreated into piety, and Hassan disappeared, presumed to have left with Hussein. After Saleh Omar took possession of their house, which had become collateral in a loan Saleh extended to Hussein, Latif accepted a scholarship to study in East Germany (GDR). There, he befriended a fellow student named Ali and met his long-time pen pal “Elleke,” who turned out to be a young German man named Jan. Latif befriended Jan and his mother, and the two young men eventually escaped the GDR together. Latif made his way to England, was granted asylum, and severed all ties with his past, adopting “Latif” as his preferred name.

Months later, Latif visits Saleh, and they begin to untangle their shared history. Saleh recounts his side of the story, explaining the complex property disputes between the two families, which predated even their joint involvement with Hussein. His stepmother, Bi Maryam, who was also Rajab’s aunt, legally signed her house over to Saleh to prevent Rajab from inheriting it, as she mistrusted his drinking. Saleh had no real interest in taking possession of Rajab’s house, but this prior sore spot meant that his efforts to resolve the matter equitably with Rajab failed, as Rajab accused him of having stolen from his family before. After independence, Asha used her influence as a minister’s lover to have a loan called in, forcing Saleh to give up the house he had taken from her and her family. A party committee then charged Saleh with having obtained his own inherited home under false pretenses, resulting in his imprisonment.

Saleh describes his 11 years in brutal detention camps. Upon his release, he returned to Zanzibar and learned that his wife, Salha, and their young daughter, Ruqiya, had died of typhoid during his first year of imprisonment. He lived a quiet, impoverished life for years. Eventually, Rajab and Asha both died, and Hassan, Latif’s brother, returned to Zanzibar wealthy and powerful. Hassan claimed ownership of the disputed house and threatened Saleh with new legal action. Fearing further persecution, Saleh used Rajab’s old birth certificate, left in the house years before, to obtain a passport and flee the country.

Saleh and Latif continue to meet, sharing their stories and slowly piecing together the truth of their pasts. Rachel remains a supportive figure, encouraging their connection. Latif invites Saleh to visit him in London. The two men, bound by a history of family feuds, loss, and misunderstanding, begin to form a tentative friendship, finding a measure of companionship as exiles in England.