Petals of Blood

This novel is amazing. It just gets better each time I read it. It is a skillful blend of humor, irony, emotion, drama, politics and theory. "The railroad ate the trees, which called upon the rains." This is a critique of the colonial effect on the environment, which at the same time offers a cause and solution for the drought and crop failures contributing to poverty and disease in our beloved Africa. All in one simple line! This book is a rich treasure chest, each page holds jewels!

Ngugi takes you through an emotional journey of pre and post colonial journey. This book moved me and educated me on some Kikuyu cultures - He references Theng'eta a potent alcoholic drink that I still have yet to find any Kikuyu who has heard of it. non the less the book is very much worth the time and more so the money - enjoy

Set in Kenya but could be a prototype for a native culture anywhere colonized, breaking free, then globalized which is an extension of colonialism. It is easy to understand why the author was imprisoned after the book's publication in 1977 as he presents a bleak view of what the Kenyans got in the way of leaders after independence from the white rulers. The viewpoint here seems to be anyone "for the people" is assassinated, those that stay in power are stinking rich doing business with the former white rulers and selling out their own people. The story opens with a brief introduction of the four main characters - Munira, Abdulla, Wanja and Karega - a triple murder has just taken place, 3 leading millionaire government officials of the city of Ilmorog were burned to death in their beds. We are then taken back twelve years in time to when Munira arrived in the sleepy, dusty village of Ilmorog to teach school, The four friends meet and we hear their individual stories, how they change over the years but more so how the place called Ilmorog changes, from a dusty village to a modern urban centre, and the effect on people who lived there for generations. I found the book very dense reading at first, there so many African names introduced, also the style of writing with many flashback is challenging, but before page 100 I was sailing along and could hardly put the book down. There are many layers to this novel, it is a book about Africa, about the world history of black people in general, globalization, colonialism, and a murder mystery as well, the arsonist responsible for the triple murder is revealed to us by the end.

This is a multilayered and fascinating book that addresses various problems in post-independence Kenya.What starts as a murder investigation with the detention of 4 people Munira,Abdullah,Karega and Wanja goes on to reveal issues such as corruption,politics,Urbanisation,social dislocation,colonialism,the emergency period and the African elite.As the novel unfolds the lives of the 3 people murdered entwines that of the detainees in numerous ways.It is also a who dunnit.The detainees are Munira- a teacher,Abdullah-an intinerant trader,Karega- a trade unionist and Wanja a scarlet lady..It is set mainly in the rustic village of Ilmorog in Kenya that later becomes a boomtown.Ngugi tells not only the story of Kenya but that of Africa and other colonised peoples worldwide.It is indeed as relevant today as it was in 1977 when published.

The intervention of capitalism in postcolonial condition; the community consciousness and above all, his complicated affection toward the government after "Uhuru." In spite of all these disappointment, Ngugi still hold the aspiration for a New Jerusalem amid this filthy world. A brilliant and touching narrative.