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A review by jerryw
Weep Not, Child by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
4.0
"Weep not, child
Weep not, my darling
With these kisses let me remove your tears,
The ravening clouds shall not be long victorious,
They shall not long possess the sky..."
- Walt Whitman On the Beach at Night
This book tells of a story during the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya, through the lens of an ordinary Black family. This book has touched me so many ways considering how bitter the lives of the Black people in Kenya were. The Mau Mau rebellion is a largely unsuccessful rebellion against the British colonists because of their tactic of he tactic of manipulating the Mau Maus into rival gangs and pitting them against one another. Despite many attempts to unify the Mau Maus, they were largely unsuccessful and the divisions among the Kikuyu tribes stole lives, broke relationships and destroyed dreams. It is so heartbreaking to see even innocent people who were not part of the Mau Maus getting threatened for life.
"It's strange how you do fear something because your heart is already prepared to fear because maybe you were brought up to fear that something, or simply because you found other fearing...."
This being uttered by the innocent young student Njoroge speaks volumes of how racism and hatred divided people and how needlessly divisive everything was.
"Sunshine always follows a dark night. We sleep knowing and trusting that the sun will rise tomorrow."
Seeing the gradual loss of optimism in the protagonist because of a series of truly disastrous events really shows that even the strongest people can and will be vulnerable.
Reflecting on recent events (not the exact reason why I read this book however), it leaves me to ponder how deeply harmful racism is, and if optimism is even justified, knowing what kinds of unthinkable hardships the Black community has gone through. But if there is one thing I know for sure, it's that we all should not judge anyone based on who they are or what they look like, because if you don't even know them, NOTHING is justified.
What a masterful piece of art, Thiong'o.
P.S. Why are books all so sad.
Weep not, my darling
With these kisses let me remove your tears,
The ravening clouds shall not be long victorious,
They shall not long possess the sky..."
- Walt Whitman On the Beach at Night
This book tells of a story during the Mau Mau rebellion in Kenya, through the lens of an ordinary Black family. This book has touched me so many ways considering how bitter the lives of the Black people in Kenya were. The Mau Mau rebellion is a largely unsuccessful rebellion against the British colonists because of their tactic of he tactic of manipulating the Mau Maus into rival gangs and pitting them against one another. Despite many attempts to unify the Mau Maus, they were largely unsuccessful and the divisions among the Kikuyu tribes stole lives, broke relationships and destroyed dreams. It is so heartbreaking to see even innocent people who were not part of the Mau Maus getting threatened for life.
"It's strange how you do fear something because your heart is already prepared to fear because maybe you were brought up to fear that something, or simply because you found other fearing...."
This being uttered by the innocent young student Njoroge speaks volumes of how racism and hatred divided people and how needlessly divisive everything was.
"Sunshine always follows a dark night. We sleep knowing and trusting that the sun will rise tomorrow."
Seeing the gradual loss of optimism in the protagonist because of a series of truly disastrous events really shows that even the strongest people can and will be vulnerable.
Reflecting on recent events (not the exact reason why I read this book however), it leaves me to ponder how deeply harmful racism is, and if optimism is even justified, knowing what kinds of unthinkable hardships the Black community has gone through. But if there is one thing I know for sure, it's that we all should not judge anyone based on who they are or what they look like, because if you don't even know them, NOTHING is justified.
What a masterful piece of art, Thiong'o.
P.S. Why are books all so sad.