A review by tea_and_starstuff
One Day I Will Write About This Place by Binyavanga Wainaina

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced

4.0

A look into Kenya from a personal point of view. Language is something the author dwells on start to end - the meanings of words, the methods of communication. English, Kiswahili , the languages of tribes. In-groups and out-groups, otherness and belonging, the ways we relate to each other. Watching a country thrive and fall apart in turns. Beautiful and heartbreaking in turns. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent

Moderate: War, Death, Alcohol, and Violence

Minor: Child abuse, Torture, and Drug use

The story looks at the history of Kenya, which includes political upheaval and war. The author doesn't experience violence himself but describes the fear and worry of watching political unrest lead to war, riots and death. The author's mother's family fled nearby Uganda due to war. The author loses his mother while he is away from home and mourns her. The author does not specifically say he struggles with addiction, but tells stories of alcohol and mentions drug use