A Grain of WheatBarack Obama, via Facebook: “A compelling story of how the transformative events of history weigh on individual lives and relationships.” The Nobel Prize–nominated Kenyan writer’s best-known novel, featuring an introduction by Nobel Prize winner Abdulrazak Gurnah Set in the wake of the Mau Mau rebellion and on the cusp of Kenya's independence from Britain, A Grain of Wheat follows a group of villagers whose lives have been transformed by the 1952–1960 Emergency. At the center of it all is the reticent Mugo, the village's chosen hero and a man haunted by a terrible secret. As we learn of the villagers' tangled histories in a narrative interwoven with myth and peppered with allusions to real-life leaders, including Jomo Kenyatta, a masterly story unfolds in which compromises are forced, friendships are betrayed, and loves are tested. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators. |
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A Grain of Wheat Ngugi wa Thiong'o,Ngũgĩ wa Thiongʼo,Abdulrazak Gurnah No preview available - 2002 |
Common terms and phrases
African asked blood child confession cried crowd dances dark detainees detention camps door Dr Lynd eyes face fear feel felt forest freedom Gatu Gikonyo Gikuyu Githima Githua gone Grain of Wheat hands happened head heard heart homeguards husband jembe John Thompson Jomo Jomo Kenyatta Karanja Kariuki Kenya Kenyatta Kihika Kisumu knew Koina land Land and Freedom laughed live looked Mahee maize man’s Margery Mau Mau meeting mind mother mouth Mugo Mugo’s Mumbi Mwaura Nairobi never Ngũgĩ night Njeri Nyeri oath panga rain remembered ridges Rift Valley Province Rira round Rung’ei seemed shamba shouted silence soon stared started stood stopped story suddenly talk tell Thabai things thought told took touch trench Uhuru village voice waited walked walls Wambui Wambuku Wangari Wanjiku wanted Warui what’s whiteman woman women wood words Yala