Overview
Region
East Africa
Kenya
Era
Post-colonial
Language
Gikuyu
Genre
Fiction
About This Work
Written in secret on toilet paper while Ngũgĩ was imprisoned without trial, and originally published in Gikuyu as Caitaani Mutharaba-Ini. A satirical allegory about neo-colonial Kenya where thieves and robbers hold a competition.
Literary Significance
First major novel written in Gikuyu; Ngũgĩ's act of defiance against cultural imperialism while imprisoned