Memoir books set in Kenya (7)
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1.
One Day I Will Write about This Place by Binyavanga Wainaina EN
KenyaDescription:
A groundbreaking memoir by the acclaimed Kenyan Caine Prize winner.
2.
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.
3.
Unbowed: A Memoir by Wangari Maathai EN
Description:
Born in a rural Kenyan village in 1940, Wangari Maathai was already an iconoclast as a child, determined to get an education even though most African girls then were uneducated.
4.
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
5.
Une histoire d'amour africaine by Daphné Sheldrick, Johan Frédérik Hel-Guedj FR
Description:
Daphné Sheldrick, celle qu’on surnommera « la mère des éléphants », voit le jour en juin 1934 dans une ferme de colons britanniques, au Kenya. Tout la prédestine à vivre au plus près de la nature, surtout son extraordinaire empathie envers les animaux. Mais rien n’annonce qu’elle se lancera à corps perdu dans la guerre contre les chasseurs d’ivoire, ni qu’elle consacrera sa vie aux bébés orphelins victimes du braconnage. Le récit de cette femme d’exception traverse le XXe siècle et rend compte des soubresauts de l’histoire : les guerres mondiales, la révolte mau-mau, l’indépendance kényane... ... continue
6.
Through the Leopard's Gaze by Njambi McGrath EN
Description:
In her captivating memoir Through the Leopard's Gaze, Njambi McGrath details the harrowing circumstances of her life as a young girl in Kenya, who one fateful night was beaten to a pulp and left for dead. Thirteen-year-old Njambi, fearing her assailant would return to finish her, courageously escaped, walking through the night in the Kenyan countryside, risking wild animals, robbers and murderers, before being picked up by two shabbily dressed but safe men. She buries the memories of that fateful day and night, and years later ends up in London with a British husband and children. Then one day... continue
7.
The Girls in the Wild Fig Tree: How I Fought to Save Myself, My Sister, and Thousands of Girls Worldwide by Nice Leng'ete EN
Description:
An "elegant and inspiring memoir" by the human rights activist who changed the minds of her elders, reformed traditions from the inside, and is creating a better future for girls and women throughout Africa (Sonia Faleiro, New York Times). Nice Leng`ete was raised in a Maasai village in Kenya. In 1998, when Nice was six, her parents fell sick and died, and Nice and her sister Soila were taken in by their father’s brother, who had little interest in the girls beyond what their dowries might fetch. Fearing “the cut” (female genital mutilation, a painful and sometimes deadly ritualistic surgery),... continue