Some of the best times from Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s childhood were evenings spent around the fireside in the hut of his oldest step-mother, listening to stories, inspiring him to a life-long love of storytelling, as recounted in his book Dreams in a Time of War. Sometimes the stories touched on events happening in the real world, such as the political efforts of Harry Thuku to end colonial rule in Kenya, and the strange story of a white man, Hitler, in a far-away country who refused to shake the hand of the fastest man in the world, Jesse Owens, because he was black.
The stories of the struggle to end colonialism blended into reality in the author’s life with the advent of the Mau Mau rebellion and the increasing approach of violence and repression. His older brother narrowly escaped custody and then went to join the rebels in the hills, leaving his mother and siblings in an awkward position with the authorities. The book tells the story of Ngugi’s early life as one of many children in a polygamous household, his alienation from his father, his mother’s efforts to send him to school, and his eventual triumph in winning a place against the odds in a highly regarded secondary school.
This is a beautifully written book. Stories from the author’s childhood are told in a wistful and lyrical manner, while at the same time the author provides a personal perspective on the political climate in Kenya as the events leading to independence took place. The optimism with which Kenyans looked forward to controlling their own political destiny must have been sorely dashed by the country’s subsequent troubled history; nevertheless, the book finishes when the author is still a child and his dreams for the future are intact.