A grain of Wheat

NGUGI WA THIONG’O is undoubtedly Kenya’s most prolific writer. From the time he launched himself as a pioneer African writer with Weep Not, Child (1964), there was no stopping Ngugi. Weep Not, Child was quickly followed up by The River Between (1965) and A Grain of Wheat (1967), both of which confirmed Ngugi as a writer of great ambition. The publication of Petals of Blood (1977) and the pre-publication staging of the Gikuyu version of I Will Marry When I Want (a play), swiftly led to his detention without trial by Kenya’s authorities. After detention, Ngugi issued Caaitani Mutharaba-ini, (Devil on the Cross —1982) and Matigari ma Njirungi (1986), a novel in Gikuyu. Ngugi is also a renowned playwright which such works as The Black Hermit (1968) and The Trial of Dedan Kimathi (1976), co-authored with Micere Githae Mugo. Besides novels and plays, he has also written volumes of essays and has published an anthology of short stories — Secret Lives (1963). All Ngugi’s novels are published in the Peak Library.

“A Grain of Wheat is about Kenya on the verge of independence. Africans and Europeans alike pause, in the lull between the fighting and the new world, to see what they have gained and lost. They examine their motives, and find them dubious, and their achievements, which often amount to very little. Mr. Ngugi writes well and has a real talent for portraying the African background!’