Beyond the Door of No Return
A story of love, colonialism, and the search for identity
David Diop author Sam Taylor translator
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Pushkin Press
Published:5th Oct '23
Should be back in stock very soon
This novel intricately explores themes of love, colonialism, and identity through the journey of Michel Adanson, revealing deep emotional truths.
In Beyond the Door of No Return, David Diop weaves a poignant narrative set in Paris in 1806, centered around the dying botanist Michel Adanson. As he breathes his last, the name of a woman, Maram, escapes his lips, igniting a quest for understanding and remembrance. His daughter, sifting through her father's belongings, uncovers a notebook that reveals a hidden past filled with both beauty and horror. Through this discovery, the reader is transported back to Adanson's youth in Senegal, where he became enmeshed in the tale of a noblewoman, abducted and sold into slavery, who defied the odds and returned to her homeland in secret.
The novel explores themes of colonialism and the profound impact of greed on both European and African lives. Diop's storytelling is rich and evocative, as he delves into the complexities of love and longing, illustrating how the past shapes our present. Adanson’s obsession with finding Maram leads him on a perilous journey, challenging the boundaries of human emotion and the quest for identity. The narrative is both tragic and tender, capturing the essence of adventure intertwined with the painful legacies of history.
Ultimately, Beyond the Door of No Return is a story that transcends time, prompting readers to reflect on the nature of desire and the haunting memories of those lost to the tide of history. Diop's masterful prose invites us to consider the intricate connections between love, loss, and the relentless pursuit of truth.
'I read Beyond the Door of No Return with pleasure and admiration. David Diop has opened up a new way of thinking about the eighteenth century and its hideous cruelties' - Abdulrazak Gurnah, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature and author of Afterlives
'Stunningly realized and written in exquisite prose, Beyond the Door of No Return is a love story, an adventure tale, and an unflinching examination of the unexpected ways that colonialism and greed ravaged everyone it touched, European and African. It is above all else, a spellbinding novel about the high price of betrayal-of others, and oneself' - Maaza Mengiste, Booker Prize-shortlisted author of The Shadow King
'With Beyond The Door of No Return, David Diop once again makes us re-examine and reimagine West African history and the wrongdoing that has been done there by Europeans. This book illustrates and raises questions about guilt, language, othering, treachery, adventure and love. It is a beautifully written, yet easy to read, novel, that will leave you thinking long after you finish it' - Sally Hayden, the award-winning author of My Fourth Time, We Drowned
'Less brutal than Diop's International Booker Prize-winning At Night All Blood is Black but no less powerful... With its sumptuous physical descriptions, shades of language, and smooth overlap of truth and invention, this is masterful storytelling. The ease with which the narratives unfold belies the emotional force they gather... A mesmerizing tale' - Kirkus, starred review
'A captivating intergenerational epic influenced by Senegalese oral tradition... A novel to devour quickly, but which will leave readers contemplating its story long after' - Publishers Weekly, starred review
ISBN: 9781782278399
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
256 pages