Thirteen years after his last novel Wizard of the Crow, Ngugi wa Thiong’o, who turned 81 on 5 January, has a new one forthcoming. Kenda Muiyuru: Rugano Rwa Gikuyu na Mumbi, published in Gikuyu by East African Educational Publishers, is, according to Kenya’s The Standard, “a ground-breaking epic that subverts patriarchy and roots for social equity.” The […]
Tag Archives: Peter Kimani
How Contemporary African Novelists Have Embraced Historical Fiction
Most of the best-known Africa-set African novels of the last five years are works of historical fiction: from Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor’s Dust (2013), from Kenya, and Jennifer Makumbi’s Kintu (2014), from Uganda, to Chinelo Okparanta’s Under the Udala Trees (2015), from Nigeria, Yaa Gyasi’s Homegoing (2016), from Ghana, Peter Kimani’s Dance of the Jakaranda (2016), […]
Review | Hybridising Histories in Peter Kimani’s Dance Of The Jakaranda | Matthew Lecznar
Peter Kimani’s novel Dance of the Jakaranda—published in the UK by Saqi Books—makes for an enlightening and beguiling read. At one level, it is the story of Kenya’s transition from British colonial rule to independence in 1963, told from the perspectives of a diverse range of protagonists. But as the narrative proceeds, Kimani gradually adds […]
Book Excerpt | Peter Kimani’s “Dance of the Jakaranda”
Saqi Books is releasing the UK edition of Peter Kimani’s Dance of the Jakaranda, originally published last year by Akashic Books. Set in 1960s Kenya, “the novel traces the lives and loves of three men—preacher Richard Turnbull, the colonial administrator Ian McDonald, and Indian technician Babu Salim—whose lives intersect when they are implicated in the […]
EVENT | An Evening with Peter Kimani and Fiammetta Rocco in London
Hey there London-based Brittlepaperians, here is an event we’d love you to attend. Kenyan Novelist Peter Kimani will be in London in about a week to talk about his critically acclaimed debut novel, Dance of the Jakaranda. He will be in conversation with Fiamemetta Rocco, Culture Correspondent at The Economist. Kimani has a distinctly beautiful writing style, which […]
The New York Times’ 100 Notable Books of 2017: Ayobami Adebayo, Peter Kimani and Trevor Noah Included
The New York Times Book Review‘s prestigious 100 Notable Books of 2017 list has been released, and it includes Ayobami Adebayo’s novel Stay with Me, Peter Kimani’s novel Dance of the Jakaranda, and Trevor Noah’s autobiography Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood. Ayobami Adebayo’s Stay with Me is described as “a portrait of a marriage […]
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