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Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

Born

in Kamiriithu, Colony and Protectorate of Kenya

January 05, 1938

Died

May 28, 2025

Website

http://www.ngugiwathiongo.com/

Genre

Literature & Fiction

Influences

George Lamming, Peter Abrahams, Es’kia Mphahlele, Jomo Kenyatta, Kwame ...more

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Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o was a Kenyan author and academic, who was described as East Africa's leading novelist.
He began writing in English before later switching to write primarily in Gikuyu, becoming a strong advocate for literature written in native African languages. His works include the celebrated novel The River Between, plays, short stories, and essays, ranging from literary and social criticism to children's literature. He was the founder and editor of the Gikuyu-language journal Mũtĩiri. His short story The Upright Revolution: Or Why Humans Walk Upright was translated into more than 100 languages.
In 1977, Ngũgĩ embarked upon a novel form of theatre in Kenya that sought to liberate the theatrical process from what he held to be "the genera ...more

Combine Editions
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o’s books

Average rating: 3.95 · 39,253 ratings · 4,588 reviews · 116 distinct works • Similar authors

	A Grain of Wheat 3.88 avg rating — 7,326 ratings — published 1967 — 87 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The River Between 3.80 avg rating — 5,704 ratings — published 1965 — 68 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Weep Not Child 3.92 avg rating — 4,563 ratings — published 1964 — 61 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Wizard of the Crow 4.23 avg rating — 3,944 ratings — published 2004 — 33 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Decolonising the Mind: The Politics of Language in African Literature 4.36 avg rating — 3,195 ratings — published 1981 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Petals of Blood by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Chinua Achebe (Series Editor), Moses Isegawa (Introduction) 3.90 avg rating — 2,861 ratings — published 1977 — 56 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Devil on the Cross 3.93 avg rating — 2,269 ratings — published 1980 — 31 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Dreams in a Time of War 3.93 avg rating — 1,848 ratings — published 2005 — 40 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Perfect Nine: The Epic of Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi 3.68 avg rating — 1,482 ratings — published 2018 — 18 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Matigari by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Wangui wa Goro (Translator) 3.83 avg rating — 863 ratings — published 1986 — 27 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o…

Series by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

Memoirs (4 books)
by

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

3.97 avg rating — 3,136 ratings

Quotes by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o (?)

“Written words can also sing.”
― Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, Dreams in a Time of War

tags: inspirational, writing

403 likes

“Our lives are a battlefield on which is fought a continuous war between the forces that are pledged to confirm our humanity and those determined to dismantle it; those who strive to build a protective wall around it, and those who wish to pull it down; those who seek to mould it and those committed to breaking it up; those who aim to open our eyes, to make us see the light and look to tomorrow [...] and those who wish to lull us into closing our eyes”
― Ngugi wa Thiong'o

89 likes

“Why did Africa let Europe cart away millions of Africa's souls from the continent to the four corners of the wind? How could Europe lord it over a continent ten times its size? Why does needy Africa continue to let its wealth meet the needs of those outside its borders and then follow behind with hands outstretched for a loan of the very wealth it let go? How did we arrive at this, that the best leader is the one that knows how to beg for a share of what he has already given away at the price of a broken tool? Where is the future of Africa?”
― Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Wizard of the Crow

tags: africa, african-authors, colonialism, leadership

63 likes

See all Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's quotes »

Polls

Ağustos 2022 - Modern Klasik Okuması
Ağustos ayında aşağıdaki kitaplardan hangisini grupla birlikte okumak istersiniz?

Aradaki Nehir - Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, 1965, 208 sayfa

15 votes 34.9%

Bir Numaralı Kadınlar Dedektiflik Bürosu - Alexander McCall Smith, 1998, 246 sayfa

14 votes 32.6%

Halk Adamı - Chinua Achebe, 1966, 176 sayfa

7 votes 16.3%

Saray Gezisi - Naguib Mahfouz, 1956, 527 sayfa

7 votes 16.3%

43 total votes

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