A Grain of Wheat by Ngugi wa Thiong'o

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Ngugi wa Thiong'o

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A Grain of Wheat

» Ngugi wa Thiong'o

Introduction by - Abdulrazak Gurnah

Penguin Classics
Paperback : 07 Feb 2002

£9.99

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Synopsis

Originally published in 1967, Ngugi's third novel is his best known and most ambitious work. A Grain of Wheat portrays several characters in a village whose intertwined lives are transformed by the 1952-1960 Emergency in Kenya. As the action follows the village's arrangements for Uhuru (independence) Day, this is a novel of stories within stories, a narrative interwoven with myth as well as allusions to real-life leaders of the nationalist struggle, including Jomo Kenyatta. At the centre of it all is the reticent Mugo, the village's chosen hero and a man haunted by a terrible secret. As events unfold, compromises are forced, friendships are betrayed and loves are tested.