History and narrative: a postcolonial study of MG Vassanjis fiction

Abstract

MG Vassanji is in the main preoccupied with the history of his community newlineKhoja Ismailis fictionalised as the Shamsis in his narratives aligned with his newlinepersonal history the history of his narrators and many issues that emerge out of the newlinepast which is shown murky eventually these issues remain mysterious and newlineunresolved Some of his characters have the urge to forget the past and to start anew newlinefor instance Ramji in Amriika Rita in The Book of Secrets and Nurdin in No New newlineLand but the point is how much of the past can be forgotten and how far will it let newlineone forget it Vassanji s characters do not mean anything unless they have a history newlineHe is not as much interested in the causes of historical phenomena in their effects on newlinehis characters newline newline