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The Girl of Red Beauty
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Heineken in Africa: A Multinational Unleashed by Olivier van Beemen
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The Forbidden Fruit
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Devolution of governance and management of public services came as a blessing to many at the grassroots. It generated hope and raised expectations for the many that wallowed in poverty for years on end. With twists and turns, Tumbocracy etches out Democracy and, inevitably, things take the wrong-turn! Is doom the ultimate destination for the many a citizen at the grassroots? Forbidden Fruit is a fast-paced drama that raises important questions about the legitimacy of the many flagship initiatives of devolved units!
What Others Say
“The play captures happenings in devolved units in Kenya. Poor governance, mass corruption, and leaders’ amassing of wealth for themselves, is evident. The playwright creates the content anew and makes it sensitive to the society again as these issues have been taken as obvious and normal.” – Rose Keya Kong’ani, Editor
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Sakagwa Ng’iti: A Kisii Prophet
Sakagwa Ng'iti exerted substantial influence on Gusii society and beyond in the latter part of the 1800s. He was many things: a medicine man, rainmaker, an unelected community strategist in dealing with raids from the warring Maasai and Kipsigis, and a prophet whose many prophecies have come to pass, according to those that keenly follow his story.
His death was mysterious, leaving many wondering what really happened. Did he, as some accounts claim, eventually settle among the Kipsigis? Was he carried away by chisokoro (ancestors) to join them in the netherworld as happened with Jesus of Nazareth? How come that his spiritual roles (seer, medicine man, and rainmaker) that ran in the family, waned and eventually died off?
Peter Okari Nyambasora's Sakagwa Ngi'ti, a Kisii Prophet provides some answers to these questions. It traces the emergence of Sakagwa as a prominent player in Gusii of his time, even as he had no formal power accorded by clan, tribe or lineage. Compiled from oral tales, one on one interviews with family members, and written works, the book provides the most authoritative account of Sakagwa yet written.
The Armageddon and Other Stories
The unpredictable weather patterns in Africa, the rise of earth's surface temperature, the melting of polar ice caps, rising of sea levels and the blazing wildfires in the Americas and Australia call for urgent action to conserve Mother Nature or risk Armageddon, the final destruction of the planet. This is the subject that runs through this compilation of stories to reiterate Wangari Maathai's assertion that the future of the planet concerns all of us and we should do what we can to protect it. It is the intention of debut and established authors of this anthology to perpetuate Maathai's legacy to avert Mother
Natures' vengeance against humanity. The Armageddon and Other Stories, therefore, breaks away from conventional social and political themes on the African literary scene to depict the demerits of deforestation, pollution, logging, the relegation of climate change, and other concerns of ecocriticism. At the crux of the anthology is the argument that the tendency to use financial profits to measure the success of commercial institutions without considering their role in environmental conservation is misleading. - Andrew Nyongesa.
Air, water, and earth are the basic amenities of life. Humans have constantly tampered with nature. Cyclical processes that nature has designed for resource conservation are fragrantly interfered with. As a result, the threat to life has been increased due to human activities in the environment. Some of these are air, water, and noise pollution; deforestation, blind industrialization, over-population; waste disposal, climate change, global warming, the greenhouse effect, and the imbalance established in the biosphere. The stories herein serve to spread environmental awareness in our society as well as in our daily routine life. It is necessary to save and protect our environment. - John Mugubi.
The Unforgotten
Imali Abala’s The Unforgotten is a memorial work of fiction that captures the fate of Desi Makhungu in the face of tragedy and cultural gender disparities. When her son Jordan Ūmbisi leaves home in search of greener pastures, following the footsteps of his older brother, it is a moment of hope for better days ahead. He leaves behind his pregnant wife and aging parents who all remain optimistic that he will be successful and help them along! That is never to be! He completely loses ties with his family even when tragedy strikes back home. Now widowed, Desi faces the full gravity of living as a woman with no male figure in the home! What would be her fate in the days to come with neither husband nor son present? Who would build her a home when the old one falls apart? Would cultural practices ‘bend’ enable her to inherit her husband’s land?
The Girl of Red Beauty
In these thirteen chapters of verse, titled The Girl of Red Beauty, Alfred Nyagaka Nyamwange captures voices of the people of Gusii, AbaGusii, through their songs, proverbs and play games. The voices pronounce AbaGusii philosophies, fears, moods, and tempo as they work and traverse the hills and the valleys that constitute the Gusii Highlands. The element of the poetry here emanates from the beliefs, norms, proverbs, sayings, wisdom, songs, stories, and the environment, all of which combine to produce a presence of living souls. The personas fully manifest in an active environment, whereby, at every strum of the lyre and roll of the drum, the verse comes alive. Welcome, sing and dance along.
What Others Say
Nyamwange writes in the trend of African oral tradition with his poetry using local imagery and idioms, and of simple and direct language. "It affirms valuable continuity with pre-colonial African culture synthesized with other cultures to create something unique.” – Dr. Chris Okemwa, Author, Poet and Lecturer in Literary Studies.
“The uniqueness of the anthology of this poetry lies in the thorough depiction of the culture of AbaGusii from different facets such as marriage, circumcision, religion, environment through poetry. The work resembles great poetry such as Song of Lawino and Song of Ocol.” – Dr. Andrew Nyongesa, Editor and Literary Scholar
Cast the First Stone
Driven by acquisitive greed, corrupt individuals lobby the government for favourable policies for their businesses. In cutthroat competition, the high and mighty engages in deadly selfish games of land and property acquisition regardless of cost. The poor are equally determined! They use every imaginable trick to have their piece of the pie.
Cast the first stone is an intriguing story on lives in an African country. Kalamu, an investigative journalist, embarks on a truth-seeking assignment at the Alfajiri Scheme, not aware that his expose’ will rattle the establishment. He discovers rot whose tentacles run deep, presenting unprecedented risk to his life and the lives of his sources! Will he unravel the tangled maze?
What Others Say
“Cast the First Stone is moving story about the pivotal role of the press in the fight for positive change in corruption-ridden societies. It is an indictment of the press and government in the perpetuation of corruption, particularly in developing countries. The novelist has demonstrated great command of the English language and written the story with a powerful message in a style that is easy and interesting to read. The issues addressed are very relevant to the African society today.” – Dr. Andrew Nyongesa, Scholar of Literature.
“From cutting deals, playing the deadly and selfish games of trampling on the poor to get ahead, to the never-say-die spirit of the poor to get a piece of the cake, Cast the First Stone is a riveting story that illuminates the realities of a corrupt, unjust society!” – Anonymous.
Facing the World from Gusii: A Memoir
Facing the World from Gusii: A Memoir, is a personal account of growing up in Gusii, specifically living along the common border between Abagusii and the Maasai. The author captures information and events as he saw them happen as an observer and participant. These include ethnic clashes with the Maasai, tracking stolen livestock, hunting and gathering expeditions, and activities of growing up with others in community spaces. Of
interest is the community security group, termed chinkororo that was once proscribed by the government. The author’s life at home captures the realities of the times! The
challenges of schooling are of historical significance as they speak to educational issues of the time, be it in primary or secondary schools, or at university. The task of teaching and managing rural community schools offers insights that may not be obvious to the naked eye. The rare opportunity to travel overseas proffers good contrast between life in economically advanced countries and that in less economically advanced countries such as Kenya.
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One Day I Will Write About This Place by Binyavanga Wainaina
Binyavanga Wainaina tumbled through his middle-class Kenyan childhood out of kilter with the world around him.This world came to him as a chaos of loud and colourful sounds: the hair dryers at his mother's beauty parlour, black mamba bicycle bells, mechanics in Nairobi, the music of Michael Jackson - all punctuated by the infectious laughter of his brother and sister. He could fall in with their patterns, but it would take him a while to carve out his own.
In this vivid and compelling debut, Wainaina takes us through his school days, his failed attempt to study in South Africa, a moving family reunion in Uganda, and his travels around Kenya.
The landscape in front of him always claims his main attention, but he also evokes the shifting political scene that unsettles his views on family, tribe, and nationhood. Throughout, reading is his refuge and his solace. And when, in 2002, a writing prize comes through, the door is opened for him to pursue the career that perhaps had been beckoning all along. Resolutely avoiding stereotype and cliche, Wainaina paints every scene in One Day I Will Write About This Place with a highly distinctive and hugely memorable brush.
Wizard of the Crow by Ngugi wa Thiongo
Brief Summary
From the exiled Kenyan novelist, playwright, poet, and literary critic--a magisterial comic novel that is certain to take its place as a landmark of postcolonial African literature. In exile now for more than twenty years, Ngugi wa Thiongo has become one of the most widely read African writers of our time, the power and scope of his work garnering him international attention and praise.
His aim in Wizard of the Crow is, in his own words, nothing less than "to sum up Africa of the twentieth century in the context of two thousand years of world history.” Commencing in "our times” and set in the "Free Republic of Aburiria,” the novel dramatizes with corrosive humor and keenness of observation a battle for control of the souls of the Aburirian people. Among the contenders: His High Mighty Excellency; the eponymous Wizard, an avatar of folklore and wisdom; the corrupt Christian Ministry; and the nefarious Global Bank.
Fashioning the stories of the powerful and the ordinary into a dazzling mosaic, Wizard of the Crow reveals humanity in all its endlessly surprising complexity. Informed by richly enigmatic traditional African storytelling, Wizard of the Crow is a masterpiece, the crowning achievement in Ngugl wa Thiongo’s career thus far.
The Havoc of Choice by Wanjiru Koinange
Long held captive by her father’s shadow of corruption, Kavata has spent her life suffocated by political machinations. When her husband decides to run in the next election, these shadows threaten to consume her home. Unable to bear this darkness, Kavata plots to escape.
As her family falls apart, so too does her country. In the wake of Kenya‘s post-election turmoil, Kavata and her family must find their way back to each other across a landscape of nation-wide confusion, desperation, and heart-rending loss.
Koinange explores the long reach and effects of colonization and corruption within the context of a singular household and the disparate experiences of class and clan they encapsulate.
"The Havoc of Choice is a delicate and deeply personal attempt to understand the root of this spontaneous yet organized conflict and to figure out what healing looks like for the people of Kenya" - Champaca Bookstore Library & Cafe
My Life in Prison by John Kiriamiti
Brief summary
This is a thriller novel set in Kenya, Nairobi. It rolls through a forest of crime of a gang led by John Kiriamiti alias Jack Zollo.
Their main set is robbery, with violence. Jack the wanted criminal is in love with an innocent girl, Milly- who lives in a fool’s paradise not knowing exactly what her handsome man does for a living.
Jack must harbor secrets, nurture his love and yet evade the deadly police at the same time. Will he continue being lucky?
Who Will Catch Us As We Fall by Iman Verjee
Haunted by a past that has kept her from Nairobi for over three years, Leena returns home to discover her family unchanged: her father is still a staunch patriot dreaming of a better country; her mother is still unwilling or unable to let go of the past; and her brother spends his days provoking the establishment as a political activist.
When Leena meets a local Kikuyu artist whose past is linked to her own, the two begin a secret affair—one that forces Leena to again question her place in a country she once called home.
Interlinked with Leena’s story is that of Jeffery: a corrupt policeman burdened with his own angers and regrets, and whose questionable actions have unexpected and catastrophic consequences for those closest to him. Who Will Catch Us as We Fall is an epic look at the politics and people of Kenya.
Memories we lost and other stories by Pauline Kea
This anthology brings together a variety of short stories from Africa and parts of the world. A rigorous and informed selection has ensured that it combines the confidence of The classic's with the freshness that contemporary writers bring to their craft.
This collection is a grain-store of memories that seek to entertain, provoke, empower and educate. The themes are s wide ranging as the authors' backgrounds but they share a common belief — enhancing values and integrity in today's society in an effort to preserve human and social dignity.'
The short story is probably the world's secret weapon in the way that the oral culture is interwoven into the written text, to be enjoyed for education as well as a good read.
Travelling While Black By Nanjala Nyabola
Travelling While Black: Essays Inspired by a Life on the Move.
What does it feel like to move through a world designed to limit and exclude you? What are the joys and pains of holidays for people of colour, when guidebooks are never written with them in mind? How are black lives today impacted by the othering legacy of colonial cultures and policies? What can travel tell us about our sense of self, of home, of belonging and identity? Why has the world order become hostile to human mobility, as old as humanity itself, when more people are on the move than ever?
Nanjala Nyabola is constantly exploring the world, working with migrants and confronting complex realities challenging common assumptions - both hers and others'. From Nepal to Botswana, Sicily to Haiti, New York to Nairobi, her sharp, humane essays ask tough questions and offer surprising, deeply shocking and sometimes funny answers. It is time we saw the world through her eyes.
Author: Nanjala Nyabola
The Ogre An Anthology of Short Stories by Samwel Odhiambo Ochandah
Brief Summary
From deception in leadership and relationships to the space of traditional cultural practices in independent Africa, the Ogre is a collection of short stories inspired by experiences in a modern Africa struggling to hold on to the age-old culture and traditions amidst the disruptions of modernity.
It chronicles the everyday challenges, conflicts, aspirations, happiness and failures in a quintessentially 21st-century African society.
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
From the award-winning author of Half of a Yellow Sun, a dazzling new novel: a story of love and race centered around a young man and woman from Nigeria who face difficult choices and challenges in the countries they come to call home.As teenagers in a Lagos secondary school, Ifemelu and Obinze fall in love.
Their Nigeria is under military dictatorship, and people are leaving the country if they can. Ifemelu—beautiful, self-assured—departs for America to study. She suffers defeats and triumphs, finds and loses relationships and friendships, all the while feeling the weight of something she never thought of back home: race. Obinze—the quiet, thoughtful son of a professor—had hoped to join her, but post-9/11 America will not let him in, and he plunges into a dangerous, undocumented life in London.Years later, Obinze is a wealthy man in a newly democratic Nigeria, while Ifemelu has achieved success as a writer of an eye-opening blog about race in America.
But when Ifemelu returns to Nigeria, and she and Obinze reignite their shared passion—for their homeland and for each other—they will face the toughest decisions of their lives.Fearless, gripping, at once darkly funny and tender, spanning three continents and numerous lives, Americanah is a richly told story set in today’s globalized world: Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s most powerful and astonishing novel yet.
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