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Nowhere, Exactly

On Identity and Belonging

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Paperback
$17.00 US
5.18"W x 7.98"H x 0.72"D   (13.2 x 20.3 x 1.8 cm) | 8 oz (221 g) | 24 per carton
On sale Sep 02, 2025 | 272 Pages | 9780385697729
Sales rights: US, Canada, Open Mkt

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From one of Canada's most celebrated writers, two-time Giller Prize winner M.G. Vassanji, comes a thoughtful meditation on what it means to belong in the world.

Shortlisted for the Writers' Trust Balsillie Prize for Public Policy


Home is never a single place, entirely and unequivocally. It is contingent. The abstract "nowhere," then, is the true home.

M.G. Vassanji has been exploring identity and belonging for over three decades, drawing on his own eclectic upbringing and intimate understanding of the unique challenges and perspectives born from leaving one's home and settling in a new land. The question of how to configure and see oneself within this new land, and within the larger world that's opened up, is a constant, nagging challenge. In today's world, possessing multiple identities has become a commonplace concept. But what does it mean to truly belong—to a place, a community, a faith . . . a history? Can we ever belong in our new home? Did we ever belong in the home we left? Where exactly do we belong? For many, the answer is nowhere, exactly. 

Combining brilliant prose, thoughtful, candid observation, and a lifetime of exploring how we as individuals are shaped by the places and communities in which we have lived and the histories that haunt them, Nowhere, Exactly examines with exquisite sensitivity the space between identity and belonging, the immigrant or exile's experience of both loss and gain, and the weight of memory and nostalgia, and of guilt and hope felt by so many of those who leave their homes in search of new ones, for one reason or another.
  • SHORTLIST | 2024
    Writers' Trust of Canada - Balsille Prize for Public Policy
Shortlisted for the Balsillie Prize for Public Policy

"Nowhere, Exactly is a rich gift to Canadians—a thoughtful, meditative and nuanced exploration of identity. . . . In beautiful prose, Vassanji takes us back to first principles on mosaics and multiculturalism — on how people and place come together, forging the new from the old." —Balsillie Prize for Public Policy Jury
© Mark Reynes
M.G. Vassanji is the author of ten novels, three collections of short stories, a travel memoir about India, a memoir of East Africa, and a biography of Mordecai Richler. He is twice winner of the Giller Prize (1994, 2003) for best work of fiction in Canada; the Governor General's Prize (2009) for best work of nonfiction; the Harbourfront Festival Prize; the Commonwealth First Book Prize (Africa, 1990); and the Bressani Prize. The Assassin's Song was shortlisted for the Giller Prize, the Governor General’s Prize, the Writers Trust Award, and India's Crossword Prize. Nostalgia, his dystopian novel, was a finalist for CBC's Canada Reads. His work has been translated into Arabic, Dutch, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Latvian, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish, and Swahili. Vassanji has given lectures worldwide and written many essays, including introductions to the works of Robertson Davies, Anita Desai, and Mordecai Richler, and the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi. In June 2015, MG Vassanji was awarded the Canada Council Molson Prize for the Arts. View titles by M.G. Vassanji
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Not available for sale:
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•     Bahamas
•     Bangladesh
•     Barbados
•     Belize
•     Bermuda
•     Botswana
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•     Brit.Virgin Is.
•     Brunei
•     Cayman Islands
•     Christmas Islnd
•     Cocos Islands
•     Cyprus
•     Dominica
•     Falkland Islnds
•     Fiji
•     Gambia
•     Ghana
•     Gibraltar
•     Grenada
•     Guernsey
•     Guyana
•     India
•     Ireland
•     Isle of Man
•     Jamaica
•     Jersey
•     Kenya
•     Kiribati
•     Lesotho
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•     Malaysia
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About

From one of Canada's most celebrated writers, two-time Giller Prize winner M.G. Vassanji, comes a thoughtful meditation on what it means to belong in the world.

Shortlisted for the Writers' Trust Balsillie Prize for Public Policy


Home is never a single place, entirely and unequivocally. It is contingent. The abstract "nowhere," then, is the true home.

M.G. Vassanji has been exploring identity and belonging for over three decades, drawing on his own eclectic upbringing and intimate understanding of the unique challenges and perspectives born from leaving one's home and settling in a new land. The question of how to configure and see oneself within this new land, and within the larger world that's opened up, is a constant, nagging challenge. In today's world, possessing multiple identities has become a commonplace concept. But what does it mean to truly belong—to a place, a community, a faith . . . a history? Can we ever belong in our new home? Did we ever belong in the home we left? Where exactly do we belong? For many, the answer is nowhere, exactly. 

Combining brilliant prose, thoughtful, candid observation, and a lifetime of exploring how we as individuals are shaped by the places and communities in which we have lived and the histories that haunt them, Nowhere, Exactly examines with exquisite sensitivity the space between identity and belonging, the immigrant or exile's experience of both loss and gain, and the weight of memory and nostalgia, and of guilt and hope felt by so many of those who leave their homes in search of new ones, for one reason or another.

Awards

  • SHORTLIST | 2024
    Writers' Trust of Canada - Balsille Prize for Public Policy

Praise

Shortlisted for the Balsillie Prize for Public Policy

"Nowhere, Exactly is a rich gift to Canadians—a thoughtful, meditative and nuanced exploration of identity. . . . In beautiful prose, Vassanji takes us back to first principles on mosaics and multiculturalism — on how people and place come together, forging the new from the old." —Balsillie Prize for Public Policy Jury

Author

© Mark Reynes
M.G. Vassanji is the author of ten novels, three collections of short stories, a travel memoir about India, a memoir of East Africa, and a biography of Mordecai Richler. He is twice winner of the Giller Prize (1994, 2003) for best work of fiction in Canada; the Governor General's Prize (2009) for best work of nonfiction; the Harbourfront Festival Prize; the Commonwealth First Book Prize (Africa, 1990); and the Bressani Prize. The Assassin's Song was shortlisted for the Giller Prize, the Governor General’s Prize, the Writers Trust Award, and India's Crossword Prize. Nostalgia, his dystopian novel, was a finalist for CBC's Canada Reads. His work has been translated into Arabic, Dutch, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Latvian, Portuguese, Spanish, Turkish, and Swahili. Vassanji has given lectures worldwide and written many essays, including introductions to the works of Robertson Davies, Anita Desai, and Mordecai Richler, and the autobiography of Mahatma Gandhi. In June 2015, MG Vassanji was awarded the Canada Council Molson Prize for the Arts. View titles by M.G. Vassanji

Rights

Available for sale exclusive:
•     Canada
•     Guam
•     Minor Outl.Ins.
•     North Mariana
•     Philippines
•     Puerto Rico
•     Samoa,American
•     US Virgin Is.
•     USA

Available for sale non-exclusive:
•     Afghanistan
•     Aland Islands
•     Albania
•     Algeria
•     Andorra
•     Angola
•     Anguilla
•     Antarctica
•     Argentina
•     Armenia
•     Aruba
•     Austria
•     Azerbaijan
•     Bahrain
•     Belarus
•     Belgium
•     Benin
•     Bhutan
•     Bolivia
•     Bonaire, Saba
•     Bosnia Herzeg.
•     Bouvet Island
•     Brazil
•     Bulgaria
•     Burkina Faso
•     Burundi
•     Cambodia
•     Cameroon
•     Cape Verde
•     Centr.Afr.Rep.
•     Chad
•     Chile
•     China
•     Colombia
•     Comoro Is.
•     Congo
•     Cook Islands
•     Costa Rica
•     Croatia
•     Cuba
•     Curacao
•     Czech Republic
•     Dem. Rep. Congo
•     Denmark
•     Djibouti
•     Dominican Rep.
•     Ecuador
•     Egypt
•     El Salvador
•     Equatorial Gui.
•     Eritrea
•     Estonia
•     Ethiopia
•     Faroe Islands
•     Finland
•     France
•     Fren.Polynesia
•     French Guinea
•     Gabon
•     Georgia
•     Germany
•     Greece
•     Greenland
•     Guadeloupe
•     Guatemala
•     Guinea Republic
•     Guinea-Bissau
•     Haiti
•     Heard/McDon.Isl
•     Honduras
•     Hong Kong
•     Hungary
•     Iceland
•     Indonesia
•     Iran
•     Iraq
•     Israel
•     Italy
•     Ivory Coast
•     Japan
•     Jordan
•     Kazakhstan
•     Kuwait
•     Kyrgyzstan
•     Laos
•     Latvia
•     Lebanon
•     Liberia
•     Libya
•     Liechtenstein
•     Lithuania
•     Luxembourg
•     Macau
•     Macedonia
•     Madagascar
•     Maldives
•     Mali
•     Marshall island
•     Martinique
•     Mauritania
•     Mayotte
•     Mexico
•     Micronesia
•     Moldavia
•     Monaco
•     Mongolia
•     Montenegro
•     Morocco
•     Myanmar
•     Nepal
•     Netherlands
•     New Caledonia
•     Nicaragua
•     Niger
•     Niue
•     Norfolk Island
•     North Korea
•     Norway
•     Oman
•     Palau
•     Palestinian Ter
•     Panama
•     Paraguay
•     Peru
•     Poland
•     Portugal
•     Qatar
•     Reunion Island
•     Romania
•     Russian Fed.
•     Rwanda
•     Saint Martin
•     San Marino
•     SaoTome Princip
•     Saudi Arabia
•     Senegal
•     Serbia
•     Singapore
•     Sint Maarten
•     Slovakia
•     Slovenia
•     South Korea
•     South Sudan
•     Spain
•     St Barthelemy
•     St.Pier,Miquel.
•     Sth Terr. Franc
•     Sudan
•     Suriname
•     Svalbard
•     Sweden
•     Switzerland
•     Syria
•     Tadschikistan
•     Taiwan
•     Thailand
•     Timor-Leste
•     Togo
•     Tokelau Islands
•     Tunisia
•     Turkey
•     Turkmenistan
•     Ukraine
•     Unit.Arab Emir.
•     Uruguay
•     Uzbekistan
•     Vatican City
•     Venezuela
•     Vietnam
•     Wallis,Futuna
•     West Saharan
•     Western Samoa
•     Yemen

Not available for sale:
•     Antigua/Barbuda
•     Australia
•     Bahamas
•     Bangladesh
•     Barbados
•     Belize
•     Bermuda
•     Botswana
•     Brit.Ind.Oc.Ter
•     Brit.Virgin Is.
•     Brunei
•     Cayman Islands
•     Christmas Islnd
•     Cocos Islands
•     Cyprus
•     Dominica
•     Falkland Islnds
•     Fiji
•     Gambia
•     Ghana
•     Gibraltar
•     Grenada
•     Guernsey
•     Guyana
•     India
•     Ireland
•     Isle of Man
•     Jamaica
•     Jersey
•     Kenya
•     Kiribati
•     Lesotho
•     Malawi
•     Malaysia
•     Malta
•     Mauritius
•     Montserrat
•     Mozambique
•     Namibia
•     Nauru
•     New Zealand
•     Nigeria
•     Pakistan
•     PapuaNewGuinea
•     Pitcairn Islnds
•     S. Sandwich Ins
•     Seychelles
•     Sierra Leone
•     Solomon Islands
•     Somalia
•     South Africa
•     Sri Lanka
•     St. Helena
•     St. Lucia
•     St. Vincent
•     St.Chr.,Nevis
•     Swaziland
•     Tanzania
•     Tonga
•     Trinidad,Tobago
•     Turks&Caicos Is
•     Tuvalu
•     Uganda
•     United Kingdom
•     Vanuatu
•     Zambia
•     Zimbabwe