A good story is a good story because as humans it is in our DNA to be emotive – to react. Ngugi wa Thiong’o’s ‘Secret Lives and Other Short Stories’ is a prime example of this. It is an intricate display of the Kenyan identity and the effects of colonisation on it, a historical-fiction set of short stories stretched and dated across a whole century of Kenyan society. The novel is a rabbit hole that illuminates stories of Kenyans trapped in a colonial world, trapped in a colonial mindset. Thiong’o explores topics on the effect of colonisation on our society through complex themes such as ‘ancestral disconnection’ in terms of culture and traditions to ‘spirituality’ and ‘moral guidelines’ in a Kenyan society wherein the inhabitants deal with the complexity of fighting against sticking by their own culture or the one that’s being forced down their throats and painted as acceptable by the white man.
As a reader, you must marvel at the history – the realisation of what people had to endure simply on account of them owning land wanted by those in power. You are amazed as Wa Thiong’o’s narrative prowess transcends mere storytelling, where he debates the weight of language and how the colonialists made individuals question their own beliefs, as their ideals were constantly demoted and abhorred, as means of mental and spiritual subjugation by the white man. However, his intricate use of prose allows for something unheard of at the time of his composition of the book – the perspective of an unheard voice. A voice, an opinion, an angle of a people whose cry had always been overlooked, always been muted. Wa Thiong’o confronts Eurocentric viewpoints and presents a compelling reinterpretation of history through an African lens. The marginalised individuals are placed in a position of power, as it is them who narrate each story. Through this, the reader is given a chance to hear them out and feel sympathy or anger towards their situation, the reader through their position feels helpless and said reactions and emotions that come up prove the significance of and [debatably more importantly] the power of the story. Thiong’o uses his talent to reverse the binary opposition, and gives these marginalised individuals a platform to showcase the worth of their culture.
For the avid reader with a profound interest in Afrocentric ideals, an appetite for history, and a desire to delve deep into the narratives of the marginalised, “Secret Lives” emerges as the perfect literary companion. Within its pages, the profound insights of Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o captivate and seize, as he crafts beautifully intricate prose that defies conventional boundaries.
About the Reviewer
Ngīma Mūragūri is a Kenyan student. She loves books, music, her friends from across East Africa and diving into unknown and unexplored worlds through stories. She is fascinated by where narratives can take anyone who is interested in the art of discovery.