A Grain of Wheat: Penguin Modern Classics

by Abdulrazak Gurnah (Introduction), Abdulrazak Gurnah (Introduction), Ngugi wa Thiong'o (Author)

• New

  Paperback
  2002

  $11.59

  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.

• Used

  Paperback
  1986

  $19.80

  In the days immediately preceeding Kenyan independence, Mugo, a local farmer and hero of the villagers, is asked to make a speech honouring the memory of his friend Kihika, who was hanged by the colonial administrators.