Dreams in a Time of War: A Childhood Memoir by Ngugi wa Thiong'o


Dreams in a Time of War: A Childhood Memoir
Title : Dreams in a Time of War: A Childhood Memoir
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 1846553776
ISBN-10 : 978-1846553776
Language : English
Format Type : Kindle, Hardcover, Paperback
Number of Pages : 272 pages
Publication : Anchor

Born in 1938 in rural Kenya, Ngg wa Thiongo came of age in the shadow of World War II, amidst the terrible bloodshed in the war between the Mau Mau and the British. The son of a man whose four wives bore him than a score of children, young Ngg displayed what was then considered a bizarre thirst for learning, yet it was unimaginable that he would grow up to become a world renowned novelist, playwright, and critic.

In Dreams in a Time of War, Ngg deftly etches a bygone era, bearing witness to the social and political vicissitudes of life under colonialism and war. Speaking to the human right to dream even in the worst of times, this rich memoir of an African childhood abounds in delicate and powerful subtleties and complexities that are movingly told.

Dreams in a Time of War: A Childhood Memoir Reviews

  • David Evans

    Ngugi wa Thiong’o is one of Kenya's most famous writers. Over the years, I've read a few of his novels The River Between (1965), Petals of Blood (1977), and the masterful Wizard of the Crow (2006). Both of the earlier two novels are set against the backdrop of the Mau

  • booknblueslady

    Dreams in a Time of War: A Childhood Memoir by Ngugi wa'Thiong'o describes his childhood and coming of age in Kenya in the 1940's and 1950's. It is a really touching story of a young boy's thirst for knowledge and clearly provides the perspective of a native of Kenya.

  • Squeak

    Thiong’o is a reputable scholar in postcolonial studies and a writer who knows first hand what it’s like being imprisoned for one’s writing. But that doesn’t necessarily result in a critically minded, nor particularly well written memoir. In fact, he seems to laud his

  • DG

    Ngugi grows up rural Kenya in the years 1934 1950. He lives in a family where his mom, one of the five wives of his dad, is at some point rejected by his dad. Ngugi loves reading and learning; despite all the difficulties of the situation poverty,

  • Blikker

    This is an interesting book if you want to know about Kikuyu family structure seventy years ago. Since Ngugi Wa Thiong'O was mentioned as a possible Nobel recipient, I expected good writing, but was disappointed. Perhaps explaining and repeating names and lineage is

  • JMccaffrey

    Wonderful book. I have always like his writing and the ease at which he meshes words together. I highly recommend this to any of Ngugi's readers.

  • Kate Mcgee

    Mesmerizing my first exposure to Ngugi we Thiong'o

  • edlib

    Another amazing piece by wa Thiong'o that kicks off a remarkable trilogy read especially if you are interested in schooling and childhood in the context of colonialism. As with all wa Thiong'o's thinking / writing, this is not a story about victimry nor good/evil binaries.