• Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2013 December #2
  Abbas has always lived a quiet life, believing that his own personal history was nobody's business but his own. When a stroke nearly paralyzes him at 63, however, he suddenly becomes eager to share everything from the tiniest details of his childhood in Zanzibar to the sweeping tales of his travels around the world. Abbas' wife, Maryam, decides to call their children, Jamal and Hannah, home to bear witness to their father's tales and aid in his recovery. Maryam, Jamal, and Hannah, all somewhat preoccupied with their own lives and memories, absorb Abbas' stories with a mixture of curiosity, disgust, and wonderment. Gurnah alternates Abbas' recollections and stories from his wife and children, blending themes of reconciliation, identity, belonging, and alienation. Gurnah's fluid, poetic prose contains striking turns of phrase that allow the reader to appreciate the beauty in even the most mundane memories. Fans of Half the Sky (2009) and The Kite Runner (2011) will appreciate the mixing of narratives in The Last Gift as the various perspectives blend to create a truly powerful novel. Copyright 2013 Booklist Reviews.

Abdulrazak Gurnah was born in 1948 in Zanzibar and lives in England, where he teaches at the University of Kent. He is the author of seven novels, which include Paradise, shortlisted for both the Booker and the Whitbread Prizes; By the Sea, longlisted for the Booker Prize and shortlisted for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize; and Desertion, shortlisted for the Commonwealth Prize.