Narratives of Fugue: Memory, Exile, and Fragmented Identity in the Fiction of Abdulrazak Gurnah

Abstract

The study explores the fiction of Abdulrazak Gurnah through the concept of “fugue,” drawing on its psychological and musical meanings to analyze themes of exile, memory, and identity. Gurnah’s characters often experience displacement and fragmentation, which can be understood as a form of psychological fugue shaped by migration and postcolonial trauma. At the same time, his narrative style reflects a fugue-like structure, with recurring and overlapping memories that create a non-linear and layered storytelling pattern. Through selected novels, the study argues that Gurnah presents identity as fluid and unstable, where past and present continuously intersect. Ultimately, the paper highlights how the notion of fugue offers a nuanced framework for understanding diasporic identity in Gurnah’s work.