Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'oReseñas

Ngugi wa Thiong’o (1938) is een Keniaanse schrijver die vaak als inspiratiebron genoemd wordt door de jongere generatie Afrikaanse schrijvers. Hij schrijft al sinds eind jaren '60 romans en toneelstukken en heeft zich daarin regelmatig kritisch uitgelaten over de Keniaanse overheid. Zo kritisch dat hij ervoor in de gevangenis heeft gezeten en hij uiteindelijk zijn eigen land is ontvlucht. Hij woont nu in Californië.

Zijn kritische mening over de Keniaanse leiders vind je zeker ook terug in 'Petals of blood' uit 1977 (in het Nederlands vertaald als ‘Bloesems van bloed’). Het boek gaat over de teleurstelling van Kenianen na de onafhankelijkheid in 1963. Er was een bloedige strijd geleverd, mensen hadden hun leven gegeven en de Britse kolonisator was verdreven. Maar over de vraag “hoe nu verder?” was blijkbaar niet iedereen het eens. Wie had gedacht dat er sprake zou zijn van een terugkeer naar de prekoloniale tijd, de oude tradities, kwam bedrogen uit. Want het proces van verstedelijking was al ingezet, veel mensen werkten in loondienst in steden en verlangden naar luxe-goederen, zoals auto’s. Op de machtsposities die de Britten achterlieten kwamen Keniaanse machthebbers te zitten - maar de verschillen tussen arm en rijk bleven groot.

Thiong'o beschrijft deze situatie aan de hand van de lotgevallen van 4 jonge mensen die - los van elkaar - zijn komen aanwaaien in het fictieve dorpje Ilmorog. Meteen al in het eerste hoofdstuk van het boek worden ze opgepakt vanwege de moord op drie industriëlen. Daarna duikt het verhaal het verleden in en beschrijft het de gebeurtenissen van de afgelopen 12 jaar, die mogelijk hebben geleid tot de moord. Motieven voor de moord zijn er genoeg, maar of de vier ook werkelijk schuldig zijn blijft een open vraag tot laat in het boek.

In de loop van het verhaal verandert Ilmorog van een slaperig traditioneel dorpje waar niet al teveel gebeurt in een soort kapitalistische hel, met een snelweg, gokhuizen en bordelen. De oorspronkelijke bewoners raken door leenconstructies hun land kwijt en kwijnen weg in armoede. Het is een boek met een behoorlijk marxistische ondertoon (of soms ook gewoon boventoon), wat goed past bij de tijdgeest van de jaren ‘70. Hoewel het door de politieke insteek en het trage verteltempo soms een taai boek is om te lezen, is het zeker de moeite waard, vooral voor wie geïnteresseerd is in de geschiedenis van Kenia en verder wil kijken dan het romantische cliché-plaatje van de wildparken en Karen Blixen’s Out of Africa.

3.5, I did like the book and I learned a lot from it but you can tell its the author's first novel. The first half of the novel is a classic coming-of-age tale with a practical realism meeting the magical memory of the Kenyan hilllands. It plays out important issues for Africans under colonialism, dealing very directly with the complex issue of female circumcision. But the second half of the book is too burdened by repetitive exposition, and morality play style allusions for it to really shine, although certainly, the potential is there. The book is worth reading and I look forward to reading other of Thiong'o's works.

First-hand engrossing memoir of life during the years of the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya, and the often brutal British colonial responses.

Reasons read: ROOT, ANC,
I received this as part of AudioSync File summer program for young people. This is a work of verse telling the creation myth. It is a blend of folklore, myth, adventure and allegory. It is my first book by this author.

This is well known enough on this board that no summary is needed. I will say only that I had the same reaction to this as to the last book of his that I read (The River Between): good, but no more. Although I find his settings and themes of great interest, he just doesn’t engage me. I don’t find the writing particularly moving and the characters—the protagonist(s) as well as the lesser characters—strike me too often as just a step up from stick figures. I will persist and try A Grain of Wheat next since that seems well-regarded here. But I will confess to being disappointed. Again.½

I am happy to say that I have finally found the first book by Ngugi that I liked and that impressed me as a literary work. It is either the third or fourth book of his that I have read and I have always found his novels problematic, not only because the narratives seem strained or simplistic and his characters under- (or even un-) developed. He has always had an important message to convey but this is really the first novel of his that I have read that succeeds as a novel instead of a vehicle for his thoughts. The story concerns a group of villagers caught up in the Mau Mau rebellion and the British Emergency of 1952-60 in Kenya. Though he criticizes the British, Ngugi’s focus is Mugo, alone and alienated after returning to the village following his imprisonment and maltreatment by the British for his role in the uprising. Considered by nearly everyone to be a role model, he has a secret which is at the heart of the book. As Ngugi relates his story, other narratives about other villagers—none of whom is blameless—are unfolding. The story centers around a proverb: “That which bites you is in your own clothing.” No one is a hero, no one can escape his (or her) past or his acts—both on a personal level and on the larger political stage. Mugo is beautifully drawn, as are most of the other major characters and, for the first time in my experience of Ngugi’s book, I found myself believing that these were real people.

This is such a powerful novel. It explores the complexities and nuances of human struggle for survival, contemplates morality in a world corrupted by colonialism, and asks, “What does it mean to be free?” A book which does not seek to provide easy answers. I took many notes and underlined a lot. Destined to be a top read of the year for me.

Unlike a novel where historic events provide a backdrop for the characters’ lives, here we are invited to understand Kenyan Uhuru, already in crisis three years later, as the product of the flawed human beings, (not the specific historical characters, but any human beings), that have brought it to birth. Biblical ideas around Original Sin, as suggested by the book’s title, and notions of generational conflict/sexual rivalry popularised by Freud seem to dictate the author’s focus on the lives of a few members of a rural community, mostly told in flashback. Given the author’s premise we cannot expect any real resolution. I enjoyed this mostly as a glimpse into events I’m afraid I knew only by a reference in Beyond the Fringe.

This was a shockingly quick read! A modern retelling of the origin of the Gĩkũyũ people in epic verse. Listen, I am sure that there were references and themes I missed her, but overall I found this very accessible and enjoyable.

In the original, ten suitors (nine plus one, the perfect nine?) showed up just in time to marry the nine (ten?) daughters and found the ten clans. But where did the ten suitors come from? In this tale, Thiong'o imagines hundreds of men setting out from their homes, inspired by tales of the legendary beauty of the girls. Ninety-nine make it to the mountain that is their home. This is the story of the tests and the quests that prove the worth of the suitors. But of course, the daughters are more beautiful, more just, more capable, more talented, more brave... in fact, by the end we only know the name of one of the suitors, until the rest are named as a part of their marriage rites.

An intriguing read! Thiong'o is a prolific writer, I will have to look up some of his other books!

This play depicts the circumstances surrounding the trial of one of the leaders of the Mau Mau revolution, Dedan Kimathi.

The international outcry over the detention of Ngugi Wa Thiong'o without trial by the Kenyan authorities even reached him in prison. In this book he describes the purposeful degradation and humiliation of prison life.

OK, learnt something about the Mau Mau and colonialism. He's a proficient writer but I really didnt find it very interesting.

A book about the devil and his followers on Earth: the capitalists who oppress and exploit the workers.

"The Beautitudes of the rich and the imperialist go like this:
Blessed is he who bites and soothes, because he will never be found out.
Blessed is the man who burns down another man's house and in the morning joins him in grief, for he shall be called merciful.
Blessed is the man who robs another of five shillings and then gives him back half a shilling for salt, for he shall be called generous. As for the man who bites and doesn't know how to soothe,
And the one who steals from the masses and does not attempt to deceive them with honeyed words,
Woe unto him!
For should the masses ever awaken,
Such people will see through their arses,
And may even pass on their disease to us,
Who have been able to disguise our wicked deeds
With the religious robes of hypocrisy."
Page 238

Excellent memoir of the author's Kenyan youth, focusing on his education at a Christian boarding school during the colonial British repression of the Mau Mau rebellion.½

The River Between by Ngugi wa Thiong’o is about the Gikuyu people of Kenya who lived in a remote area of ridges and valleys. The time is during the early days of white settlement, some of the people were lured by the new religion and “magical” customs and so they followed Joshua, a Gikuyu convert who preached Christianity. Others wanted to keep to the tribal customs and old ways. Battle lines over female circumcision have been drawn as the Christians try to outlaw the pagan practice while the traditionalists feel it is an important part of their culture.

Firmly in the middle stands Waiyaki a young man who has been educated by the missionaries but belongs to a family of visionaries who foresaw the coming of the white man and the turmoil, changes and confusion that would arise with their arrival. To make matters more complicated he falls in love with Nyambura, the Christian daughter of the fiery pastor, Joshua. Waiyaki believes that education is the answer but he also wants to honour his father’s wishes without really understanding what his father was trying to say.

[The River Between] stands as a social critique as there is, of course, no answer to the problems that the Gikuyu were facing. The two factions were both doomed as once colonialism and Christianity get a firm hold and white settlers arrive in their numbers, the rift will continue to grow and tribal independence along with their customs and culture will disappear.

What a hard book to review. Almost fable-like, it describes a black savior trying to protect his people from the invading white people. It’s beautiful in its telling. Conversely, it praises female circumcision as an important rite signifying the tribe’s independence from the “evil” Christians. At once I want to love and hate this book. It was written by a Kenyan man in the early 1960s before circumcision was decried for its brutality. But the author was considered a “progressive.” Ha! I think he portrayed the gross outcome of the practice in the story but I can’t get past this statement supporting its continuation: “Circumcision of women was not important as a physical operation. It was what it did inside a person. It could not be stopped overnight. Patience and, above all, education, were needed.” I still give the book a pick; it’s an authentic viewpoint told well even if I find parts of it despicable.½

Zsenánt vagy sem, én már annyira hozzánőttem a nyugati típusú szépirodalomhoz, hogy szükségem van a cselekmény komplexitására a mű élvezetéhez – vagy ha az nincs, legalább a stílus vagy a gondolat újszerűségére. Nos, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o könyvét igazából ezek közül egyik sem jellemzi – ami például a stílus újszerűségének tűnik, az egyszerűen helyrajzi következmény, és abból fakad, hogy az író kenyai, és Kenyáról ír*. Amúgy ez egy szimpla vonalvezetésű Rómeó és Júlia-sztori, Waiyaki és Nyambura szerelmének története, akiknek igazából találkozniuk sem szabadott volna, hiszen annyi minden választja el őket. Az író két csoportkonfliktust hoz játékba: egyrészt ütközik a kereszténység és az ősi vallás, másrészt pedig egymásnak feszül a haladó és a maradó (vagy haladi és maradi?) gondolkodás. No most a shakespear-i alaptörténet fő tanulsága számomra (azon túl, hogy nem tanácsos elsietni egy öngyilkosságot sem) az, hogy két ellenséges közösség közül nem feltétlenül van valamelyiknek igaza, Jóra és Rosszra való felosztásuk önkényes, és nézőpont kérdése. Mi több: nem is beszélhetünk igazságról abban az esetben, ha ezek az ideológiák elválasztanak egymástól két egymáshoz vonzódó lényt – helyesebb ilyenkor talán a fanatizmus szót használni. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o szépen, rutinosan, helyenként megrázóan viszi végig ezt az ívet a végkifejletig, szavunk se lehet rá. Csak éppen végig ott motoszkált a fejemben, hogy ha ez a történet nem Kenyában, hanem mondjuk Iowában játszódik, Nyambura és Waiyaki helyet pedig mondjuk Mary és James a két főszereplő, akkor egy ügyes, de nem egyedülálló young adults lenne a végeredmény. Ha van benne vérfarkas, akkor ki is adja a Könyvmolyképző.

* Paradox módon az a tény, hogy egy kenyai ír Kenyáról, oda vezet, hogy evidensnek vesz és nem részletez olyan dolgokat, amik neki kenyaiként (gikujuként) nyilván természetesek, ugyanakkor én szívesen tudnék meg róluk többet.

Poetic origin story of the Gikuyu people of Kenya. This mythical tale, rendered in musical verse, defies genre. Onyango inhabits Ngugi, the chronicler of the story of Gikuyu and Mumbi, who become the mothers of the 10 Gikuyu clans. This tale of adventure and creation depicts clashes with ogres and epic challenges involving physical danger and love.

I do like the solemn tone with which classic epics begin, such as in the Iliad, the Odyssey, or even the older Gilgamesh epic. Thiong'o was also clearly inspired by these models. What he offers is nothing less than an African version of such a mythical story: equally solemn and elaborate, with continuous repetitive elements, references to higher powers, poetic effects, and a beautiful epic ending. So you can safely call this book a kind of African 'origin' epic, built around the patriarchs Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi who want to select a suitable man for their 10 daughters. But then things go wrong in my opinion: the more than 100 'suiters' who present themselves (a clear nod to the Odyssey) rather predictably have to undergo all kinds of tests, in this case with terrible ogres. This middle piece is more like a children's adventure story. Also, the very clear moralistic undertone (100% woke) reminds of a children's book. Only at the end does Thiong'o resumes the epic-mythical tone. So, this book certainly has some appeal, but I don't think it's completely successful. On a side note, I was surprised by the author’s adherence to the myth of Bantu-origin in Ancient Egypt.½

free audiosync title, summer 2022 (2.5 hrs)

Kenyan mythology - the award-winning author's retelling of one version of the Kenyan origin story, in which the 9 (clever, self-sufficient, beautiful) daughters of the mother and father figures find husbands with whom they will head the 9 clans of Kenya.

Strong and memorable book on post-colonial Kenya, but with dimensions familiar across the modern world and particularly in the former Soviet republics. It is an account of how capitalist drive and individual greed drowned earlier cultural traditions and collective goals. The allegory is in-your-face and didactic, and the magical realism isn't a style that I would normally read, but Ngugi's novels are always powerful.½

A moving and insightful account of the adaptation of individuals and whole communities in colonial Kenya to the imposed culture of the occupiers. A wonderful book with a potent conclusion.

Ngugi wa Thiong’o recounts the year he spent imprisoned at Kenya’s Kamiti Maximum Security Prison, all for writing a play that empowered the community but challenged the regime. Powerful, insightful, humorous at times, and a good history lesson on White colonialism in Black communities.½

Retelling creation myths can be tricky - trying to retell them for local audience needs to find a way not to offend, trying to retell them for global audience can fall flat when the story is not well known. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o chose to retell the Gĩkũyũ people of Kenya's myths in the form of an epic poem and then to translate it himself into English. And somewhere between the format and the translation, something got lost.

The poem was written and initially published in the Kikuyu/Gikuyu language. It was written for a local audience - for people who grew up with the language and the shared culture and knew the original legends (and probably had heard at least a few versions of it). Translating this kinds of works is extremely hard and sometimes the writer is the best person to translate when they know the second language well enough - as is the case here. But that can backfire a bit - because Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o knows his language and culture, he never stops to think if something needs a culture-translation as well. Novels and stories are easier in that regard - there is enough space to explain and create the needed bridges. Poetry, even free verse one, is different. Especially when it heavily relies on allusions and other literary devices. The way to solve that is usually to add translator notes or author notes - explain the legend, explain some of the culture. Especially in the case when the culture is as different from the Western ones and when, even in our very technological 21st century, finding information online about this culture is not that easy.

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o adds a 2 pages introduction which tells the base of the legend... and that's it. If there was a book written in the last years that needed notes, that was it.

Not that it does not work as a poem - you do not need to understand every single thing to understand what is happening. Once upon a time, there were a man and a woman. They went through some challenges and made a family - and had 10 daughters. When they came of age, men came to ask for their hands and they had to proof how serious they are so they are allowed to marry a girl and become the patriarch of one of the peoples' tribes. There is a play on the numbers here - the original legend has 9 sisters, the perfect nine here are actually 10 because one of the sister's history is a bit different. 9 will remain important across the poem (and 7 seems to be showing up in bad situations - I would have a note on the numbers and their meaning in the culture). Some of the challenges for the grooms-to-be are mundane, some are supernatural (there are a lot of ogres in this mythology). Men die, men give up, men behave badly. Until 10 remain. Cue weddings, children, more heartbreak and the end of the story, mirroring the beginning. Some of the parts work better as poetry than others; some sound almost like prose which had been spaced weirdly (but then a lot of modern poetry feels like that to me).

The story is straight forward but its beauty is in the details. And that's where the English translation fails a bit. Most of the daughters have more 2 different names (one has 3 - one used only once when she is listed and another 2 used any other time she is mentioned, including when she is introduced) and it is never clear why or what the names really mean - we learn some of the backstory of some names but I cannot stop thinking that these make a LOT more sense in their own language. And I am sure a lot of the story details pinged on something in the soul of a person who had grown up in the culture - the way my culture's local legends can do it for me when I listen to them. I hope that one day there will be annotated version of this book (or that someone will add some notes on a later edition) - maybe some of the failures of the book will actually clear out when the background is there.

The book was part of the 2021 Man Booker International Prize Longlist and I can see why - it is different and it kinda works. But I suspect that who wrote it also played a role. It was my introduction to Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o and as it was his first foray into epic poetry, it was probably not the best possible one. I plan to read more of him - he had been on my radar for awhile. And despite its problems, I am glad to have read this one.½

This book demonstrates the imperfections of humanity with elegance. At first, I found it a little tricky to follow whose point of view was being written, and I admit confusing a couple of characters due to similar names, but the characters were written with such gentle, unjudging empathy that you couldn't help but feel for them, deeply.