Scan barcode
floomp375's review
5.0
"Our family would have been perfect if brute history had not been the defective gene embedded into our being, rendering us incapable of normal functionality."
I could not stop reading this amazing memoir by [a:Njambi McGrath|19950734|Njambi McGrath|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png]! She beautifully represents her childhood and relationship with her family. There were moments I audibly gasped (the wedding) and felt every moment as I read. This book is important not only for its story but for the history it reveals that many of us are unaware of. You learn with the author about her family's history and the legacy of the Gikuyu who could have easily been lost to history and memory.
I recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn more bout global history and how white colonization shaped the world around it and is still impacting families generations after it "ended".
I initially rated it four stars because of some typos missed by the editors and some phrases were repetitive but four stars would not do this story justice.
half_book_and_co's review
4.0
3,5
When Njambi McGrath is invited to her brother's wedding, she is forced to confront the violence and trauma she experienced in her childhood. In this memoir, she lets the reader in on this journey as she shares what happened while she was growing up, recounts the wedding and the trials and failures with regards to reconciliation, and then dives into her family's (and thus Kenyan and specifically Gikuyu) history in order to gain more understanding for her parents. McGrath shows the rippling effects of colonial violence through generations and the depth of intergenerational trauma.
While this is a memoir I felt in parts reminded of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's debut novel Purple Hibiscus. (In a comment conversation @introvertinterrupted brought up Buchi Emecheta's Second Class Citizen as another fiction comparison.) But in the end, this here is non-fiction and has to deal with the messiness of life in very different ways. McGrath wrote a gripping book from these first pages of which I quoted here and which reminded me of an exposition in a symphony in which all the themes and melodies come up in the beginning. At some points, I wished for a bit deeper analysis and less clear cut conclusions. But this is, of course, someone's actual life and attempt to make sense of their experiences. So to be allowed to witness that is a privilege in itself.
Our family would have been perfect if brute history had not been the defective gene embedded into our being, rendering us incapable of normal functionality. We would have been fine if we were not Gikuyu and if the Gikuyu had not been farmers. It would have been fine if the white man had not coveted our land and thrown my tribe into concentration camps. My family would have been perfect if Cucu Hernia had picked a side: either support the white man like her brother Guka Robinson or fight the white man like her other brother Guka Mwaura. If she had picked a side Cucu Hernia and her three daughters would not have been amongst the women held on open fields that slowly became concentration camps which they built with their bare hands.
[...]
Of course, I would never have dared look into the dark well of my past; rousing ghosts from within. A journey that would leave me on the verge of a nervous breakdown, threatening to ruin my marriage and everything I ever worked for. The genie would have remained firmly trapped in the bottle, if Wainaina had not disturbed my peace by inviting me to his wedding
Me and everyone else.
When Njambi McGrath is invited to her brother's wedding, she is forced to confront the violence and trauma she experienced in her childhood. In this memoir, she lets the reader in on this journey as she shares what happened while she was growing up, recounts the wedding and the trials and failures with regards to reconciliation, and then dives into her family's (and thus Kenyan and specifically Gikuyu) history in order to gain more understanding for her parents. McGrath shows the rippling effects of colonial violence through generations and the depth of intergenerational trauma.
While this is a memoir I felt in parts reminded of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's debut novel Purple Hibiscus. (In a comment conversation @introvertinterrupted brought up Buchi Emecheta's Second Class Citizen as another fiction comparison.) But in the end, this here is non-fiction and has to deal with the messiness of life in very different ways. McGrath wrote a gripping book from these first pages of which I quoted here and which reminded me of an exposition in a symphony in which all the themes and melodies come up in the beginning. At some points, I wished for a bit deeper analysis and less clear cut conclusions. But this is, of course, someone's actual life and attempt to make sense of their experiences. So to be allowed to witness that is a privilege in itself.
munjiru's review
4.0
It’s been an age since I read any Kenyan books (…shame on me) but we’re here now. I found this very randomly when I was browsing Audible and decided that it sounded like some stuff I’d like to get into. This book had me leaking tears right off the bat.
It’s a memoir of the author’s childhood growing up in a difficult domestic situation and how she overcame all that and emigrated to London where in the present day, she’s married with kids. The book starts off on a difficult note with Njambi running away after having been assaulted and finding some good samaritans who help her get to safety and then follows her life as she grows up with flashbacks woven through the narrative that give us insights into her early life as well as her parents’ and grandparents’ lives.
The thing that really got me were the passages that delved into what it was like to live through the colonial era in Kenya. I mean, we know objectively that things were bad but it’s always so much more harrowing to hear actual accounts from people who were there and survived it...it is once again made clear to me that human beings can be terrible creatures. And the thing is, these atrocities have lasting effects not only on those that experienced them but on their kids and grandkids and so on. These actions shaped generations of people who may not even be aware why their lives are the way they are. I got so steamed...f*ck these colonizers, man.
Anyway, I’m glad that if nothing else, Njambi’s life got better after all she went through.
It’s a memoir of the author’s childhood growing up in a difficult domestic situation and how she overcame all that and emigrated to London where in the present day, she’s married with kids. The book starts off on a difficult note with Njambi running away after having been assaulted and finding some good samaritans who help her get to safety and then follows her life as she grows up with flashbacks woven through the narrative that give us insights into her early life as well as her parents’ and grandparents’ lives.
The thing that really got me were the passages that delved into what it was like to live through the colonial era in Kenya. I mean, we know objectively that things were bad but it’s always so much more harrowing to hear actual accounts from people who were there and survived it...it is once again made clear to me that human beings can be terrible creatures. And the thing is, these atrocities have lasting effects not only on those that experienced them but on their kids and grandkids and so on. These actions shaped generations of people who may not even be aware why their lives are the way they are. I got so steamed...f*ck these colonizers, man.
Anyway, I’m glad that if nothing else, Njambi’s life got better after all she went through.
abbie_'s review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
the_literarylinguist's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, and Violence
effy's review against another edition
3.25
I don't think the audiobook format worked for me as I found this book very difficult to follow and felt as though the narrative jumped around a lot.