Novel
A Good Day
Siku Njema
Ken Walibora · 1996
Synopsis
In Tanga, in Tanzania, Msanifu Kombo grows up alone with his mother; a child born out of wedlock, he suffers the mockery of his classmates, in a society that judges such a birth harshly. Under the nickname Kongowea Mswahili, the narrative traces his life up to his departure for Kenya, where he goes in search of a father he has never known.
Context
The author's first novel, written when he was a probation officer, the book appeared in 1996 in Nairobi from Longhorn. Hailed on publication, it was chosen the following year among the set books of the Kenyan secondary-school leaving examination and remained there until 2003. Elena Bertoncini-Zúbková points out a heavy morality, inherited from Shaaban Robert, in a language close to that of the writers of Zanzibar. An English translation by Dorothy Kweyu and Fortunatus Kawegere appeared from the same publisher.
Who it is for
For discovering a school classic of the Swahili literature of Kenya, readable also in English.
Prizes and reception
Elena Bertoncini-Zúbková finds its hero too perfect to be true, compared with the author's more ambiguous characters.
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