John Nagenda's vivid and entertaining novel is an insider's view of
Uganda. It tells the story of Thomas Tebo, an enchanted, magical youth
who becomes dangerously involved in politics, and is eventually forced
into a depressing exile. This account of how a precocious, sensuous child
lost his innocence is a compelling allegorical portrait of the Ugandan
people, struggling to cope with the horror of violence, but never losing
hope. Top of Form | African Literature
Index | African Writers Index | E-mail us!
Ngugi wa Thiong'o is world-famous for his novels from Weep Not, Child
to Matigari and for the political impact of his plays, which led to his
detention in Kenya. He is presently Professor of Comparative Literature
and Performance Studies at New York University. "An accomplished book, remarkably free from rancor." This collection of early stories displays Ngugi's immense skill as a
storyteller. He vividly portrays a world of magic and superstition which
has not yet been erased by the "white strangers" and their new
religion. In "The Village Priest" the rainmaker still exerts
deep-rooted power, while the priest cannot deal in certainties, nor work
miracles to end the drought; and "A Meeting in the Dark" sees
the central character caught in moral dilemma. Christian ideals and ancient tribal customs are shown in conflict, causing
tragedy. His later stories reveal an increased political disillusionment
and foreshadow the novels which have made him one of Africa's leading commentators.
Top of Form | African Literature
Index | African Writers Index | E-mail us! A moral fable, the novel centres on the character of Matigari,
a freedom fighter, who emerges from the forest in the political dawn of
post-independence Kenya. Searching for his family and a new future, he
finds little has changed in the country: his house is not his house; his
land is still being worked by peasants for other masters. His search for
his wife and children becomes a quest for Truth and Justice. In this highly
charged historical, political allegory, Ngugi has written a novel which
makes compelling reading. Top of Form | African Literature
Index | African Writers Index | E-mail us! The tragic story of two lovers, separated by the different beliefs and
backgrounds of their families. "...that rarity, an almost wordless love story that avoids pseudo-nobility
while remaining proudly and distinctively African." Top of Form | African Literature
Index | African Writers Index | E-mail us! Mugo is asked to deliver the speech at the Uhuru celebrations. What
people do not know is that during Mau Mau he was a traitor. The most ambitious
and densely worked of Ngugi's novels. Top of Form | African Literature
Index | African Writers Index | E-mail us! A play. Should Remi, the first of his tribe to go to university, return
to his people? Or should he continue to be a black hermit in the town?
Top of Form | African Literature
Index | African Writers Index | E-mail us! This is now the best established novel from East Africa. It is set before
and during the Mau Mau emergency in Kenya. Njoroge finds himself relentlessly
drawn into the tragedy. Top of Form | African Literature
Index | African Writers Index | E-mail us! The international outcry over the detention of Ngugi without a trial
by the Kenyan authorities even reached him in the prison. With great accomplishment
he describes the purposeful degradation and humiliation. He builds up vivid
portraits of his fellow political prisoners. An artfully integrated series
of reflections enable him to reflect on his writing, the nature of imprisonment,
and the way forward for the people of Kenya. There are moments of tension
and drama, as when a warden discovers the almost completed manuscript of
his new novel. Top of Form | African Literature
Index | African Writers Index | E-mail us! This remarkable and symbolic novel centers around Wariinga's tragedy
and uses it to tell a story of contemporary Kenya faced with the "satan
of capitalism." Ngugi has directed his writing even more firmly towards
the commitment that he shows in Writers in Politics and Detained: A Writer's
Prison Diary. The novel was written secretly in prison on the only available
material -- lavatory paper. It was discovered when almost complete but
unexpectedly returned to him on his release. Such was the demand for the
original Gikuyu edition that it reprinted on publication. Top of Form | African Literature
Index | African Writers Index | E-mail us! This is the renowned play which was developed with Kikuyu actors at
the Kamiriithu Cultural Centre at Limuru. It proved so powerful, especially
in its use of song, that it was banned and was probably one of the factors
leading to Ngugi's detention without trial. The original Gikuyu edition
went to three printings in the first three months of publication. Top of Form | African Literature
Index | African Writers Index | E-mail us! "The opening night of The Trial could well be described as a gala
occasion with the house packed and a degree of audience participation and
appreciation which one seldom sees in Nairobi ...culminating in many of
the audience joining in the final triumphant dance down the central aisle
and spilling out into the street." Ngugi and Micere Mugo have built a powerful and challenging play out
of the circumstances surrounding the trial of one of the celebrated leaders
of the Mau Mau revolution. Top of Form | African Literature
Index | African Writers Index | E-mail us! Né en 1959 au Tchad
Top of Form | African Literature
Index | African Writers Index | E-mail us! Flora Nwapa's first novel plants her story firmly in the world of women,
where Efuru, beautiful and respected, is loved and deserted by two ordinary,
undistinguished husbands. Top of Form | African Literature
Index | African Writers Index | E-mail us!
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John NAGENDA The Seasons of Thomas Tebo
NGUGI WA THIONG'O Secret Lives
-- The Sunday Times Matigari
Translated from Kikuyu by Wangui wa Goro
The River Between
-- The Guardian 
A
Grain of Wheat The Black Hermit
Weep Not, Child
Detained: A Writer's Prison Diary
Devil
on the Cross
NGUGI WA THIONG'O and NGUGI WA MIRII Ngaahika Ndeenda:
I Will Marry When I Want
NGUGI WA THIONG'O and Micere MUGO The Trial of Dedan Kimathi
--The Sunday Nation, Nairobi
NIMROD
Flora NWAPA Efuru
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