Harare Review of Books

315 pages. Published May 9, 2020 by Bon Esprit Books. Fiction.

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This is the wholesome story of Wambũi, a girl growing up on the slopes of Mount Kenya in the 1950s, a time of tremendous change. Wambũi contends with, among other things, the whispers around the village about the guerrilla fighters in the area, and her move to a prestigious boarding school where she excels at mathematics and gradually forms an attachment with a missionary teacher from England, Eileen. The novel follows Wambũi’s progress through these years and into adulthood, her eventual settling into a career as a shopkeeper, and then her children’s own progress through the world. We also learn about how Eileen came to settle in Kenya and how it became her home, so much so that she is heartbroken at being forced to leave and return to the land of her birth, where she’s a stranger.

So this is a love song for Kenya and (the idea of) home, exploring a slice of time through various characters: missionaries, freedom fighters, villagers, colonial police, and all the links between them. It’s a pleasant read, never dwelling deeply or for long on contentious issues; even when Wambũi’s son comes face to face with racism at work at a US hospital, he is non-confrontational, brushing it aside. In other words, this is a feel-good novel with a few sadnesses but ultimately happy endings for everyone. A pleasant way to pass the time, and a well-written book. Recommended for #ReadAroundTheWorld lists.

Thanks to Bon Esprit Books and NetGalley for DRC access.

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