sl4u's review against another edition
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
bookishtory2665's review against another edition
3.0
Missionaries, fortold as people with clothes like butterflies, come to Kenya and set up a missionary school at Siriana. Chege, a tribal seer, sends his son, Waiyaki, to learn at the school but warns him not to adopt their ways, to be true to the tribe. When he returns to the tribe, because his father is ill, Waiyaki determines to open a school and teach everyone who wants to learn. Opposing his efforts is Joshua, who preaches Christianity and an end to tribal customs, specifically the practice of circumcision, and Kabonyi, who fights for tribal purity and an end to the encroachment by settlers on their ancestral territory.
This is a story of star-crossed lovers set against the backdrop of the colonization effort in Kenya. As a woman, reading this book, I can't help but notice that women have (literally) no voice in the life of the tribe; in fact, they have little to say throughout the book. Instead, the women of the tribe accept this horrific practice of female circumcision as a rite that initiates them into womanhood.
The writing is simplistic and the dialog is ... wooden at best. And yet, I was drawn into the story and the struggles of the Gikuyu people against the forces that are tearing apart their peaceful life. And I worried for them and isn't that what makes a book successful -- it opened my eyes to their struggles and engaged me emotionally.
For the record, I checked: The Gikuyu eventually became the driving force of Kenyan nationalism and the anti-colonial movement in the mid-20th century, particularly the Mau Mau uprising. Today, the Gikuyu make up some 20% of the population of Kenya where they are the largest ethnic group.
This is a story of star-crossed lovers set against the backdrop of the colonization effort in Kenya. As a woman, reading this book, I can't help but notice that women have (literally) no voice in the life of the tribe; in fact, they have little to say throughout the book. Instead, the women of the tribe accept this horrific practice of female circumcision as a rite that initiates them into womanhood.
The writing is simplistic and the dialog is ... wooden at best. And yet, I was drawn into the story and the struggles of the Gikuyu people against the forces that are tearing apart their peaceful life. And I worried for them and isn't that what makes a book successful -- it opened my eyes to their struggles and engaged me emotionally.
For the record, I checked: The Gikuyu eventually became the driving force of Kenyan nationalism and the anti-colonial movement in the mid-20th century, particularly the Mau Mau uprising. Today, the Gikuyu make up some 20% of the population of Kenya where they are the largest ethnic group.
nett's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
ayannadarling's review against another edition
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
sarah_dietrich's review against another edition
1.0
Poorly written and very heavy-handed. This is a story of traditional culture vs. colonial Christianity, from the male perspective. Female genital mutilation is presented as a source of conflict - some see it as a valuable cultural practice, and others see it as anti-Christian. There is no examination of the violence it forces upon young women, of the lack of bodily autonomy it creates. The book firmly, unquestioningly places women as second class citizens. An unpleasant read.
eastside's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.75
belwau's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
misspalah's review against another edition
4.0
Long ago women used to rule this land and its men. They were harsh and men began to resent their hard hand. So when all the women were pregnant, men come together and overthrew them.
- Chege, The river between by Ngugi Wa Thiongo.
.
.
Circumcision is the main topic for this book. It is a part of tribal practice of Gikuyu community in a remote region of Kenya. All girls and boys in the tribe went through the circumcision as part of their initiation to the adulthood. They were not real women and men if they didn’t pass this passage-hood. Then come the white men. These christian missionaries tried to intervene and impose their values on Gikuyu community. They wanted people to abandon the practices and embraced their teaching and religion. In this book, we explored the colonisation impact has divided the Gikuyu Community to be divided into 2 which is Kameno and Makuyu, one side of the river follow christianity and the other side of the river, the traditional values and customs remains strongly practiced. Hence why the title is called the river between to show the strife between these 2 due to the differences of faith and belief. Muthoni’s decision on wanting to be circumcised despite being a christian is truly shocking. This is because after the conversion, Muthoni’s father, Joshua forbidding both of her daughters (Muthoni and Nyambura) from going through such practice. Muthoni decided to ran to her aunt’s house on the other side of the river so that she can be part of the initiation. The novel has many patriarchal elements that was not easy to go to through if i can be frank with you - given that Muthoni cannot make her own choice for her own body as her father will object it and Waiyaki own monologue when he evaluated why her mother didn’t inherit anything as tradition dictates.
.
.
I felt the story is easy to follow if you can focus. There’s a lot of introspection of the main characters in this book from Chege to Nyambura but the major part of it came from Waiyaki. Waiyaki saw that uniting the Gikuyu tribe back is far more important. His attempt to reconcile what white settlers brought to their land which is education versus what they Gikuyu community might lose due to their imposition which is the customs and tradition. The book themes is very obvious as it mainly focuses on the struggle of individuals vs community, imperialism and conflict of ideas. Overall, i enjoyed it despite the heavy topic presented in the book. This definitely will not be the last Ngugi’s book that i will read, i will hunt for more books from him.
- Chege, The river between by Ngugi Wa Thiongo.
.
.
Circumcision is the main topic for this book. It is a part of tribal practice of Gikuyu community in a remote region of Kenya. All girls and boys in the tribe went through the circumcision as part of their initiation to the adulthood. They were not real women and men if they didn’t pass this passage-hood. Then come the white men. These christian missionaries tried to intervene and impose their values on Gikuyu community. They wanted people to abandon the practices and embraced their teaching and religion. In this book, we explored the colonisation impact has divided the Gikuyu Community to be divided into 2 which is Kameno and Makuyu, one side of the river follow christianity and the other side of the river, the traditional values and customs remains strongly practiced. Hence why the title is called the river between to show the strife between these 2 due to the differences of faith and belief. Muthoni’s decision on wanting to be circumcised despite being a christian is truly shocking. This is because after the conversion, Muthoni’s father, Joshua forbidding both of her daughters (Muthoni and Nyambura) from going through such practice. Muthoni decided to ran to her aunt’s house on the other side of the river so that she can be part of the initiation. The novel has many patriarchal elements that was not easy to go to through if i can be frank with you - given that Muthoni cannot make her own choice for her own body as her father will object it and Waiyaki own monologue when he evaluated why her mother didn’t inherit anything as tradition dictates.
.
.
I felt the story is easy to follow if you can focus. There’s a lot of introspection of the main characters in this book from Chege to Nyambura but the major part of it came from Waiyaki. Waiyaki saw that uniting the Gikuyu tribe back is far more important. His attempt to reconcile what white settlers brought to their land which is education versus what they Gikuyu community might lose due to their imposition which is the customs and tradition. The book themes is very obvious as it mainly focuses on the struggle of individuals vs community, imperialism and conflict of ideas. Overall, i enjoyed it despite the heavy topic presented in the book. This definitely will not be the last Ngugi’s book that i will read, i will hunt for more books from him.
platform13's review against another edition
challenging
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.0
jureader's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25