A Grain of Wheat

by Ngugi wa Thiong'o

Paperback, 2002

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Available

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Description

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.

User reviews

LibraryThing member GlebtheDancer

Set in Kenya on the eve of Uhuru (independence from Britain) in 1963, ‘A Grain of Wheat’ follows the lives of some of the men who had fought in the Mau Mau insurrections. Although the men should all be heroes, they have all been scarred by the battles and the detentions that followed, and each

has his own cross to bear. Naranja turned against his comrades to work for the British District Officer, Gikonyo emerged from detention to find his wife pregnant by another man and Mugo, a survivor of the most brutal camps, is left an empty shell of a man by the violence he has seen. As independence approaches, each of these brilliantly drawn characters must come to terms with what he has seen and done.
Ngugi’s wonderful and saddening book is really a psychological portrait of the effects of captivity and violence on young men’s lives. From being fugitives and heroes, these young men are suddenly thrust into the role of nation builders. Ngugi captured the ambiguity of the moment of independence beautifully, with vicious, brutal colonialists replaced by scared and scarred young men. For those of you who like more traditional narratives, there is even a whodunit thrown in, with one of the central characters being responsible for the betrayal and murder of a hero of the independence struggle, years before. This is a sobering but wonderful read.

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LibraryThing member kidzdoc

This stunning and searing novel, which was written by Mr Thiong'o in 1967, is set in a village in Kenya just prior to the country's independence from Britain in 1963. However, much of the story takes place during the Emergency (referred to by the British as the Mau Mau Uprising) that took place

from 1952-1960, which led to the deaths of a few dozen settlers and tens of thousands of Kenyans, and caused the destruction of numerous villages and the breakdown of Kenyan social and economic society. The main characters in this story were all caught up in the retribution that took place after a freedom fighter from the village kills a particularly violent District Officer, and each of them betrays someone dear to them or to the movement, with devastating results. I was unaware of how horrible the Emergency was, but Mr Thiong'o gives us an unforgettable view of colonial Kenya.

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LibraryThing member deebee1

It is the eve of Uhuru (Independence Day) and in the village of Thabai somewhere in Kenya, preparations are being made for the big celebration, the successful end of many years of struggle under British domination. We meet the local leaders who were previous rebel fighters. We learn about their

scarred lives and their bitter sacrifices. We learn about individual heroism, but we also learn about acts of betrayal on the pretext of more noble goals. There is the quiet and mysterious Mugo, prompted by the villagers to become leader, but who has his own dark past to conceal. Gikonyo, the most prosperous man in the village, is himself a tortured soul. There are others like them, who felt that Uhuru was also a day of reckoning with their own demons, unleashed during the dark days of the Emergency. We thus feel their confusion amidst the transition process, but also their hope for a future all their own.

The plot is non-linear, with flashbacks and several storylines interspersed but woven nicely together. Beyond being a captivating read, it is a meditation on the themes of oppression, betrayal, disillusionment, and love and despair.

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LibraryThing member akeela

A Grain of Wheat by Ngugi. This novel is set on the eve of independence from British rule in Kenya, in the early 60s. The protagonists are a handful of men, including Gikonyo and Mugo who each face their own demons after time spent in prison and detention camps, as political prisoners. This is a

country on the brink of change, so there is a fair amount of hope as the resistance plots and plans for the new, free nation they envisage.

The story unfolds from a number of varying perspectives, and a picture emerges of an entire community in turmoil. Amongst the male protagonists there is, of course, a beautiful woman in the form of the desirable Mumbi, who has stolen the imagination of more than one of the men, which leads to all sorts of interesting events.

Ngugi is a supreme storyteller with the amazing ability to build up tension in the plot. He literally had me on the edge of my seat a few times during the telling! There’s intrigue as the whole community rallies to find the person responsible for the betrayal and murder of their struggle hero. Furthermore there’s a compelling blend of joy, hope, tragedy, fear and disillusionment that makes for an informative but great read!

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LibraryThing member awils1

No doubt a beautiful book for its time, I couldn't handle the sexism of the story, and as such, had to give up on the read.

LibraryThing member SeriousGrace

A Grain of Wheat takes place during Kenya's struggle for independence from British rule in the 1950s. It centers around four central African characters and one British administrator. The central theme of the story is deceit both on a national and personal level. Two examples:
Ngugi's main character

is Mugo, a quiet Kenyan who is sent to the concentration camps. He is a complex, yet human character in that he is seen as a hero in the concentration camps but once released he sides with the British as a traitor. Another strong character of A Grain of Wheat is Gikonya, another detainee from the concentration camp who is released early only to find that his wife has been unfaithful and has a child with another man.

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LibraryThing member roblong

Novel set at the moment of Kenyan independence from the British, where the victorious Kenyans are not united but divided by their experience of colonial rule and the fight to be free. Tries to provide a panoramic view through the eyes of several characters, but Thiong'o clearly cares about some

more than others, so it's all a bit uneven. The good bits are good though, and one of the characters (Mugo) is put in a desperate situation it would have been intriguing to read more about (if the whole book had been about him, I'd have been happy). The book lacked a bit of humour and vibrancy, but he has a good eye for the complexities present even at the liberation movement's moment of triumph. A book I liked more sitting and thinking about it afterward rather than in the process of reading.

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LibraryThing member starbox

OK, learnt something about the Mau Mau and colonialism. He's a proficient writer but I really didnt find it very interesting.

LibraryThing member booksaplenty1949

Unlike a novel where historic events provide a backdrop for the characters’ lives, here we are invited to understand Kenyan Uhuru, already in crisis three years later, as the product of the flawed human beings, (not the specific historical characters, but any human beings), that have brought it

to birth. Biblical ideas around Original Sin, as suggested by the book’s title, and notions of generational conflict/sexual rivalry popularised by Freud seem to dictate the author’s focus on the lives of a few members of a rural community, mostly told in flashback. Given the author’s premise we cannot expect any real resolution. I enjoyed this mostly as a glimpse into events I’m afraid I knew only by a reference in Beyond the Fringe.

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LibraryThing member psalva

This is such a powerful novel. It explores the complexities and nuances of human struggle for survival, contemplates morality in a world corrupted by colonialism, and asks, “What does it mean to be free?” A book which does not seek to provide easy answers. I took many notes and underlined a

lot. Destined to be a top read of the year for me.

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LibraryThing member Gypsy_Boy

I am happy to say that I have finally found the first book by Ngugi that I liked and that impressed me as a literary work. It is either the third or fourth book of his that I have read and I have always found his novels problematic, not only because the narratives seem strained or simplistic and

his characters under- (or even un-) developed. He has always had an important message to convey but this is really the first novel of his that I have read that succeeds as a novel instead of a vehicle for his thoughts. The story concerns a group of villagers caught up in the Mau Mau rebellion and the British Emergency of 1952-60 in Kenya. Though he criticizes the British, Ngugi’s focus is Mugo, alone and alienated after returning to the village following his imprisonment and maltreatment by the British for his role in the uprising. Considered by nearly everyone to be a role model, he has a secret which is at the heart of the book. As Ngugi relates his story, other narratives about other villagers—none of whom is blameless—are unfolding. The story centers around a proverb: “That which bites you is in your own clothing.” No one is a hero, no one can escape his (or her) past or his acts—both on a personal level and on the larger political stage. Mugo is beautifully drawn, as are most of the other major characters and, for the first time in my experience of Ngugi’s book, I found myself believing that these were real people.

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