Petals of Blood (Penguin Classics)

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Ngugi Wa Thiong'o, Ngguggi

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Pages: 432 (Paperback)

ISBN: 0143039172

Pub: Penguin Books

Pub date: 2005-02

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 178412

Reader Reviews:

Not as good as Grain of Wheat (2/3 people found this helpful)

This offering by Ngugi is not as powerful as his earlier work "A Grain of Wheat" but nevertheless it is still a passable read. The book tells of the story of four people who arrive at a village for different reasons, their actions and decisions leave the village transformed. Munira, a teacher is the character that is given the most voice and he is he is also the one that is most real. Haunted by the fact he did little to gain Uhuru for his native land he now takes up teaching in the village of Ilmorog in a bid to do his part. We witness his struggle to start the school and most of his struggle to possess Wanja, one of the other four protagonists and the only notable female character in the book, though as if to make of for this lack of females Wanja's promiscuity is present with almost monotonous regularity. The story is about their struggle for justice, how they are exploited by the capitalists and how ultimately they get their revenge.

Here a very unsubtle political message is on display and Marxist tendencies constantly litter the text. So too worryingly is the nationalism that is very overt and almost lauded by Nugugi, at one point a half Indian half black man is writing a letter to his Indian father telling him to get out the country. Unfortunately the story sometimes gets lost in the politics he tries to put across, though for most part it is still an enjoyable read.

Petals of Blood is an immensely powerful book (1/2 people found this helpful)

I lived in the world of this book for some time and was often on the point of tears.

Kenya not Nigeria (1/2 people found this helpful)

Yes this book is set in Kenya! It's a classic on many university reading lists when studying imperialism, as it is about Mau mau. But don't let that put you off... It's a damn good book...

correction (1/1 people found this helpful)

I believe this book to be set in Kenya, rather than Nigeria as above stated, as Nugugi is an author of Kenyan descent.

Powerful and political (6/11 people found this helpful)

Petals of Blood is a metaphor of the violence suffered by the Nigerians when colonisation took place. It is a matrix of past and present, intwined around murder, corruption and exploitation. This book is very political but don't let that put you off, as its issues are very important for us to understand the effects of colonialism. The story itself is very intelligently put together, Ngugi paces it slowly towards its dramatic conclusion with some very well developed characters.

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