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A review by munjiru
Through the Leopard's Gaze by Njambi McGrath
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.