The top 100 Bestsellers in Kenya of 2018 2018 has been a good year for Kenyan readers and writers. With new local works like Biko Zulu’s “Drunk,” and Sunny Bindra’s “The Bigger Deal” and new international works like Michelle Obama’s long coveted Becoming and Robert Green’s Laws of Human nature, the list below shares Kenyan’s
The Man-Booker 2018 An award that celebrates the finest fiction has to offer. The Oscars for literature if you may. Tuxedos, fancy venue, and royalty make up the Man Booker Prize evening each year. This award has the power to set the spotlight on astonishingly underrated authors. I probably would not have found authors like
Title: This Mournable Body Author: Tsitsi Dangarembga Publisher: Graywolf Press Reviewed by: Zukiswa Wanner Pages: 284 Cost: 1,650 In the early hours of Sunday morning, at 0246hrs to be precise, I sent a WhatsApp text to a bookish friend who often shares the same taste with me in literature: I’m on p57 of This
A Nation’s Open Secret Told in Fiction Title: House of Stone Author: Novuyo Rosa Tshuma Publisher: Atlantic Books Cost: 1850/ I am a man on a mission. A vocation, call it, to remake the past, and a wish to fashion all that has been into being and becoming. So says Novuyo Rosa Tshuma’s protagonist
Rush hour traffic can be an annoying inconvenience after a long day. Can you imagine how long we spend in a matatu in a week? Six to ten whole Hours! However, a good book can go a long way in easing your impatience and help you catch up on your reading. We have compiled ten
In the past decade, African writing has gone through a Renaissance. More than ever, African literary voices are being read all over the world. This growth has been spurred in part by readers across the continent who want stories about themselves reflected in fiction that is current while not ignoring history. Prestige Bookshop in Nairobi
Dec 27Kenya’s Top 2017 Reads
1. The Secret Lives of Baba Segi’s Wives by Lola Shoneyin (KES 1,350) To the dismay of her ambitious mother, Bolanle marries into a polygamous family, where she is the fourth wife of a rich, rotund patriarch, Baba Segi. She is a graduate and therefore a great prize, but even graduates must produce children and her
Title: Turtles All the Way Down Author: John Green ISBN: 9780241335437 Page count: 304 Pages Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers John Green‘s 2012 novel ‘The Fault in Our Stars’ was a runaway bestseller that spawned a critically acclaimed movie of the same name. His books have resonated with young readers worldwide not
Title: I’m Judging You: The Do-Better Manual Author: Luvvie Ajayi ISBN: 9781627796064 Page count: 256 Pages Publisher: Holt Paperbacks Luvvie Ajayi has been a popular blogger writing about topical issues in society. Her latest book is a commentary on the plethora of social issues that confound almost everyone that has to navigate both social
Dec 26Soft Magic: A Review
Title: Soft Magic Author: Upile Chisala ISBN: 9781516967889 Page count: 122 Pages Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform Upile Chisala is a Malawian poet whose debut collection although slim, covers expansive issues in new and innovative ways. Her poetry explores self, her black identity, womanhood, the experience of the black immigrant, coming to terms with
Dec 26Stay With Me: A Review
Title: Stay With Me Author: Ayòbámi Adébáyò ISBN: 9781782119586 Page count: 304 Pages Publisher: Canongate Books It was much easier to be a father after three bottles of beer. Ayobami Adebayo’s debut novel, Stay With Me is a story full of poignant contradictions.Yejide and Akin are married in 1980s Nigeria, an educated couple
A Review of David Branch’s Kenya: Between Hope And Despair, 1963-2011 Democracy is really a complex phenomenon. It involves the right of people to criticise freely without being detained in prison. It involves the people’s right to know how the wealth is produced in the country, who controls the wealth, and for whose benefit