Browse Items (57 total)

With the conquest of East African peoples by Germany in Tanganyika and by the British in Kenya, the realities of colonial politics led to further secularization and, along with it, indigenization of thematic material in utenzi poetry. Utenzi wa…

This novel deals with the question of African identity in a rapidly changing world. Babu, the grandfather, who is both dead and alive, tries to point the way by transporting the main character into the past, yet pointing him to the future.

Call…

A novel by a Tanzanian author dealing with the FRELIMO freedom fighters of Mozambique prior to the liberation of that country from the Portuguese.

Call Number: PZ90 .S94 M29

Set in Zanzibar in 1961, shortly before the revolution of 1964 that put an end to the wealth and privilege of the upper class. Written by a noted Zanzibari novelist whose family perished in the revolution. He later moved to Nairobi where he resumed…

Set on Ukerewe Island in Lake Victoria, this story relates the harsh and disillusioning aspects of the ujamaa villagization scheme. While the author acknowledges the positive aspects of the scheme, he nevertheless criticizes its abuses and…

A story with a clear realistic slant of a poor family forced to live in grinding poverty by the social inequalities of present-day Tanzania. The main character is a child who, not knowing his father, struggles for identity and respect.

Call…

This recently published novel deals with the problematic life of youth in the city and the negative consequences of forced marriages.

Call Number: PL8704.K258 H35 2002

A historical novel that takes place during the Mau Mau insurgency in Kenya during the early 1950’s. Relates the suffering of a Kikuyu girl, Mumbi, whose boyfriend is killed in the struggle. She is raped by a collaborationist chief and dies in…

A historical novel dealing with ethnic violence in Kenya in the early 1990’s. Two friends of different ethnic groups find themselves involved in a tribal conflict against their will and struggle to preserve their friendship.

Call Number:…

This is a “local color” novelette that is another very early work of Kiswahili prose. In its depiction of life in a typical Zanzibari village, it is perhaps more informative of local customs than of notable literary value. The two main characters,…