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A review by skitch41
Wrestling with the Devil: A Prison Memoir by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
3.0
Colonialism has cast a long shadow over the history of modern Africa. The injustice many Africans endured under colonial oppression is hard to imagine or stomach. And the legacy that it left behind is one that Africans still struggle with into the present. In this edited reprint of his prison memoirs from the 1980s, Mr. Thiong’o not only retells his political imprisonments, but reflects on how British colonialism and its legacy played a major role in his and others’ political imprisonment.
Ngugi Wa Thiong’o is one of the most famous East African authors writing today. In the late 1970s. His plays, written in a local language about the people, landed him in political prison. During that time, he wrote his novel, Devil on the Cross, on toilet paper during his time in jail. The first chapters and the second half of this book deal with his time in prison, how he hid his writings from his jailers, and the constant struggles he and the other political prisoners faced to keep hope alive. This part of the book is fascinating and for anyone interested in freedom, you’ll enjoy it.
However, after the first chapters, most of the first half of the book is Thiong’o’s reflections on Kenya’s colonial and post-colonial past, drawing the connection between British imperialism and the repressive political tactics Kenya’s leader at the time engaged in. As someone who is rather unfamiliar with the history of colonialism in Africa and its legacy, this book was a bit of a slog. While he made the connections pretty clearly, my unfamiliarity with what he was talking about made it difficult to understand what he was saying. Perhaps, after learning more about European colonialism in Africa, I will better understand and appreciate what Mr. Thiong’o is saying.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, but I will need to learn more about Africa’s colonial past to truly appreciate this book.
Ngugi Wa Thiong’o is one of the most famous East African authors writing today. In the late 1970s. His plays, written in a local language about the people, landed him in political prison. During that time, he wrote his novel, Devil on the Cross, on toilet paper during his time in jail. The first chapters and the second half of this book deal with his time in prison, how he hid his writings from his jailers, and the constant struggles he and the other political prisoners faced to keep hope alive. This part of the book is fascinating and for anyone interested in freedom, you’ll enjoy it.
However, after the first chapters, most of the first half of the book is Thiong’o’s reflections on Kenya’s colonial and post-colonial past, drawing the connection between British imperialism and the repressive political tactics Kenya’s leader at the time engaged in. As someone who is rather unfamiliar with the history of colonialism in Africa and its legacy, this book was a bit of a slog. While he made the connections pretty clearly, my unfamiliarity with what he was talking about made it difficult to understand what he was saying. Perhaps, after learning more about European colonialism in Africa, I will better understand and appreciate what Mr. Thiong’o is saying.
Overall, I enjoyed this book, but I will need to learn more about Africa’s colonial past to truly appreciate this book.