A great novel about emigration and return. Also about colonialism and its complex threads. It is a classic novel expressing a classic idea, but with such power and mastery of style. It is in the tradition of European literature with big themes and big symbols. A real achievement for Salih as writer from a different culture and tradition. His manipulation of the symbolic language of western literature reminds me of Joseph Conrad, who was European, but who wrote similar rich novels in a language that was not his mother tongue.
The novel is an exploration of the tragedy of those émigrés who remain trapped between two cultures, never quite belonging in their new home, but also unable to return and be satisfied in their home.
Masterful use of the symbolism of the river with most of the story unfolding on the banks of the Nile.
A classic.
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