Published in 2025, Theft is a work of literary fiction and a bildungsroman from Abdulrazak Gurnah, the Tanzanian-born British author who was awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Literature. Gurnah, who left his native Zanzibar as a refugee following the 1964 revolution, frequently explores the legacies of colonialism, displacement, and the complexities of identity in his work, including his Booker Prize-shortlisted novel Paradise (1994) and Afterlives (2020). Theft continues this literary project, following the intertwined lives of two young men, Karim and Badar, in post-revolutionary Tanzania. As Karim pursues a prestigious career in global development and Badar is cast into a life of servitude, their stories examine the fractures caused by family secrets, ambition, and societal upheaval, exploring themes of The Harmful Edge of Dependency, Globalization as a Form of Neocolonialism, and The Burden of Fragmented History.

This guide refers to the 2025 Riverhead Books edition.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of gender discrimination, racism, physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual content, rape, illness, death, child death, pregnancy loss, mental illness, child abuse, sexual harassment, bullying, substance use, and cursing.

Plot Summary

The marriage of Raya, a 17-year-old Zanzibari woman, is arranged in a panic after her father sees her speaking with a revolutionary soldier. Fearing for the family’s honor, Raya’s father and her uncle, Hafidh, marry Raya to Bakari Abbas, a building contractor in his forties from the island of Pemba. The marriage is abusive. Bakari is relentless and cruel in his sexual demands, and Raya grows to hate him. Bakari’s rages worsen after the birth of their son, Karim. Three years into the marriage, Raya escapes with Karim to her parents’ two-room apartment in Unguja and refuses to return. There, she struggles to live with her domineering, complaining father. She recalls his former gift for storytelling, which vanished after the revolution and the presumed death of his nephew, Suleman, a young police recruit killed in the uprising.

Karim has an older half-brother, Ali, from Bakari’s first marriage. The brothers, 12 years apart, have little contact at first, but as Karim grows, Ali, now a customs police officer, becomes a protective figure. Bakari Abbas dies when Karim is in secondary school, leaving his business to Ali but nothing to Karim or Raya. Raya, who has been building a new life working in a clothing store, begins a relationship with Haji Othman, a pharmacy owner from Dar es Salaam. After Karim’s grandmother dies, Raya marries Haji and moves to Dar es Salaam, leaving nearly 25-year-old Karim with her father, Karim’s grandfather. The grandfather soon moves in with his brother’s family, and Karim is sent to live with Ali and his wife, Jalila, who welcome him warmly. After finishing school, Karim visits his mother and Haji for the first time, meeting Haji’s father. Karim earns a scholarship to the University of Dar es Salaam and lives in a campus dorm for his first year. He moves in with his mother and Haji for his second year but, tiring of the long commute, decides to return to campus for his final year.

The narrative shifts to Badar, a 13-year-old boy brought to town by his father and left at the house of a man called Uncle Othman—Haji’s father and Raya’s father-in-law. Badar understands that he is to be the household servant. He reflects on his past: His mother died of cholera, and his biological father, Ismail, abandoned him. He was raised by relatives who treated him as a burden and was sent away after his stepsister, Aysha, falsely accused him of spying on her.

Another narrative thread introduces Fauzia, a young girl who had the “falling sickness,” or epilepsy, in her childhood. Her mother, Khadija, is consumed by anxiety that the illness will return, a fear rooted in her own past hardships, including pregnancy losses and the loss of their farm during the post-revolution uprising. Fauzia’s father, Musa, is a calming presence. Fauzia learns that telling her mother about her school lessons helps to soothe her worries.

Badar settles into his new life. Raya shows him his duties, and Haji is cheerful and kind. Badar befriends the elderly gardener, Juma, who tells him stories of his past working for Uncle Othman on his farm. While Raya and Haji are kind, Uncle Othman remains cold and silent toward Badar. When Karim visits, he is surprised to find a servant in the house and becomes curious about him. Raya reveals a partial truth: Badar is the son of a relative whom Uncle Othman cast out, and Badar is unaware of his connection to the family. Karim is friendly toward Badar, establishing a bond between them.

Meanwhile, Fauzia attends secondary school and is inseparable from her friend Hawa. Fauzia is serious and studious, while Hawa is outgoing and fascinated by Western culture, a passion deepened by a trip to visit her aunt in Dar es Salaam. After school, Fauzia attends college to become a teacher, and Hawa begins working at a travel agency.

Years later, Karim, now working in a government development office, and Fauzia, now a teacher, meet at a music festival and start a relationship. They share their vulnerabilities: He tells her about his absent father, and she tells him about her childhood illness. Urged on by Jalila, Karim proposes marriage. Fauzia accepts and, against her parents’ wishes, refuses a dowry. Shortly after their small wedding, her father, Musa, has a mild stroke.

Two years later, Raya and Haji go on a trip and leave Uncle Othman in the care of Badar. Juma reveals more of Othman’s past, including the death of his young daughter, Saada, and the subsequent death of his wife, which left him bitter. Juma hints that he knew Badar’s father, Ismail, and knows why Othman dislikes Badar. Othman discovers inflated grocery bills and accuses Badar of theft, at which point it emerges that Ismail was Othman’s rebellious nephew who stole from him and was cast out. Years later, the Othmans learned that Ismail had abandoned a child, Badar. Haji secretly paid for the boy’s upkeep until he was brought to their house as a servant. When Karim arrives for a surprise visit, he learns of the situation and insists that Badar be told the truth. Haji explains his family history to Badar. Although Haji and Raya are convinced of Badar’s innocence, Karim sees that Othman will not relent and offers to take Badar to live with him and Fauzia in Zanzibar.

Badar moves in with the newlyweds. Karim secures a trainee position for him at the Tamarind Hotel. Badar trains under the cynical Assistant Manager Issa and eventually rents his own room. Meanwhile, Fauzia and Karim’s marriage becomes strained after the birth of their daughter, Nasra. The baby cries incessantly, and Fauzia develops what is implied to be postpartum depression. One night, following advice from a book, Karim insists that they let Nasra cry herself to sleep, and the baby nearly suffocates in her sheets. Fauzia fears it is a sign of epilepsy, and the incident creates a deep rift between them.

By Badar’s third year at the hotel, he is an experienced employee. A new volunteer for a relief agency, Geraldine “Jerry” Bruno, arrives at the hotel. She is a beautiful, charming, and confident young English woman, and Badar is captivated. Karim, miserable in his marriage, visits the hotel to see Badar and is immediately infatuated with Geraldine. They begin an affair around the same time that Karim receives a major promotion that includes a training course in Copenhagen and a transfer to Dar es Salaam.

Karim’s resentment toward his family life culminates in a moment of rage when he lifts a crying Nasra from her cot by her head, an act that terrifies Fauzia. Shortly after, Karim tells Fauzia that he is going to Dar es Salaam for the weekend with Geraldine, packs a bag, and leaves. Stunned, Fauzia moves with Nasra back to her parents’ house, with Badar’s help. Meanwhile, Karim is accused of stealing money from Geraldine’s roommate, though Geraldine later clarifies that she “borrowed” the money herself. Badar visits Karim, who is unrepentant. He launches into a cruel tirade, accusing Badar of being ungrateful and weak. Badar leaves, deeply hurt.

Four years pass. Badar is now the assistant manager of the Tamarind. Karim is a successful official in Dar es Salaam and has not returned to Zanzibar, though they saw each other once, briefly, at Uncle Othman’s funeral. Over the years, Badar’s feelings for Fauzia have deepened, and he has become a supportive presence for her and Nasra. The story closes as they walk on a beach, where Fauzia takes Badar’s hand and they embrace, signaling the start of their relationship.