Books from Kenya
36 popular kenyan books
Travel the world without leaving your chair.
The target of the Read Around The World Challenge is to read at least one book written by an author from each and every country in the world.
All books that are listed here as part of the "Read Around Africa Challenge" were written by authors from Kenya.
Find a great book for the next part of your reading journey around the world from this book list. The following popular books have been recommended so far.
1.
A Grain of Wheat by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o EN
Description:
A masterly story of myth, rebellion, love, friendship and betrayal from one of Africa's great writers, Ngugi wa Thiong'o's A Grain of Wheat includes an introduction by Abdulrazak Gurnah, author of By the Sea, in Penguin Modern Classics. It is 1963 and Kenya is on the verge of Uhuru - Independence Day. The mighty british government has been toppled, and in the lull between the fighting and the new world, colonized and colonizer alike reflect on what they have gained and lost. In the village of Thabai, the men and women who live there have been transformed irrevocably by the uprising. Kihika, le... continue
2.
A Month and a Day : A Detention Diary by Ken Saro-Wiwa EN
Description:
The moving last memoir of the outspoken critic of the Nigerian regime and international oil companies he held responsible for the destruction of his homeland-who lost his life in the campaign for the basic rights fo the Ogoni people of Nigeria.
3.
Betrayal in the City by Francis Imbuga EN
Description:
Betrayal in the City, first published in 1976 and 1977, was Kenya's national entry to the Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture in Lagos, Nigeria. The play is an incisive, thought-provoking examination of the problems of independence and freedom in post-colonial African states, where a sizeable number of people feel that their future is either blank or bleak. In the words of Mosese, one of the characters: "It was better while we waited. Now we have nothing to look forward to. We have killed our past and are busy killing our future."--Page 4 of cover
4.
Birth of a Dream Weaver : A Writer's Awakening by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o EN
Description:
From one of the world's greatest writers, the story of how the author found his voice as a novelist at Makerere University in Uganda as a student In this acclaimed memoir, Kenyan writer Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o recounts the four years he spent at Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda--crucial years during which he found his voice as a journalist, short story writer, playwright, and novelist just as colonial empires were crumbling and new nations were being born--under the shadow of the rivalries, intrigues, and assassinations of the Cold War. Haunted by the memories of the carnage and mass incarcera... continue
6.
Devil on the Cross by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o EN
Description:
This remarkable and symbolic novel centers on Wariinga's tragedy and uses it to tell a story of contemporary Kenya.
7.
Dreams in a Time of War : A Childhood Memoir by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o EN
Description:
Recounts the story of the author's childhood, covering his early years in World War II-era Kenya as the fifth child of a third wife, his thirst for learning that singled him out, and the political struggles that shaped his life.
8.
Dust by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor EN
Description:
An audacious and beautiful novel that is both a unique family saga and a spellbinding story of the country of Kenya
9.
Facing Mount Kenya by Jomo Kenyatta EN
Description:
Facing Mount Kenya, first published in 1938, is a monograph on the life and customs of the Gikuyu people of central Kenya prior to their contact with Europeans. It is unique in anthropological literature for it gives an account of the social institutions and religious rites of an African people, permeated by the emotions that give to customs and observances their meaning. It is characterised by both insight and a tinge of romanticism. The author, proud of his African blood and ways of thought, takes the reader through a thorough and clear picture of Gikuyu life and customs, painting an almost ... continue
10.
Herr der Krähen by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o DE
Description:
Ngugi wa Thiong'o wurde 1938 als Sohn einer Bauernfamilie in Kamirithu/Limuru in Kenia geboren. 1967 wurde er Dozent für Literatur an der University of Nairobi, wo er bis 1977 lehrte. Wegen seiner kritischen Auseinandersetzung mit dem postkolonialen Kenia und eines regierungskritischen Theaterstücks wurde er 1977 ohne Anklage inhaftiert und erst nach einer Kampagne von Amnesty International ein Jahr später aus dem Gefängnis entlassen. Nachdem sein Leben unter dem Regime von Daniel arap Moi bedroht wurde, ging er 1982 ins Exil nach London. 1989 übersiedelte er in die USA, wo er heute an der Uni... continue