5 Books by Kenyan authors every Ghanaian must read

Kenyan Literature is one of the richest on the African continent, and Kenyan writers, both novelists and poets, have played a decisive role in the promotion of African writing.

However, these five books show the depth of Kenyan fiction writing, Ghanaians who adore African Literature would love these books.

1. A Grain of Wheat by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

ProfessorNgũgĩ wa Thiong'o needs no introduction, he is an icon of not only Kenyan but African literature, his forthright opinions about language, publishing and writing make him a vital presence within the African literary world.

A Grain of Wheat, one of his most celebrated work focuses on the Kenyan struggle for independence, and weaves a complex web of betrayal, deceit and bitter rivalry beneath the seemingly celebratory occasion of Kenya’s independence.

2. Halfway Between Nairobi and Dundori by Muthoni Garland

Shortlisted for the Caine Prize in 2006, Muthoni Garland is also the founding member of StoryMoja, a writer’s collective and publishing house based in Nairobi. Halfway Between Nairobi and Dundori documents a troubled marriage against the backdrop of a rapidly modernising Kenya.

3. One Day I Will Write About This Place by Binyavanga Wainaina

Binyavanga Wainaina has developed a reputation for satirising Western perceptions of Africa, particularly in literature, Binyavanga Wainaina is a unique and interesting presence in Kenyan literature. (and my fav)

Wainaina’s debut One Day I Will Write About This Place was a memoir of his youth which has been described as ‘A Kenyan Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man’ and which instantly thrust him into the literary limelight after it was chosen by Oprah Winfrey as a part of her book club.

In this vivid and compelling debut memoir, Wainaina takes us through his school days, his mother's religious period, his failed attempt to study in South Africa as a computer programmer, a moving family reunion in Uganda, and his travels around Kenya. Resolutely avoiding stereotype and cliché, Wainaina paints every scene in this book with a highly distinctive and hugely memorable brush.

4. How Shall We Kill the Bishop and Other Stories by Lily Mabura

Lily Mabura's How Shall We Kill the Bishop and Other Stories, was shortlisted for the 2010 Caine Fiction Prize. This varied collection contains a selection of brief, resonant tales which take the reader from Kenya, to Bosnia, Namibia, the Congo and the USA, and reveal Mabura’s ability to portray the human stories behind the narrative of globalisation.

5. Coming to Birth by Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye

Born in England in 1928, Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye travelled to Kenya in 1954 to work as a missionary, and settled there for the rest of her life, developing a career as a writer and as a proponent of Kenyan literature. Coming to Birth tells the story of a young woman coming of age against the backdrop of a nation attaining independence from colonialism.

It was awarded the Sinclair Prize upon release in 1986, and remains a potent interpretation of the mixture of hope and fear that accompanied Kenya’s independence.