Thread by @jnyairo

Ngugi wa Thiong’o had a talent for kicking off a story.

“Nyokabi called him.” - Weep Not, Child.

“The two ridges lay side by side.” The River Between”

“Mugo felt nervous.”- A Grain of Wheat.

“They came for him that Sunday.” - Petals of Blood.

“The thing one remembers most about prison is the smell: the smell of shit and urine, the smell of human sweat and breath.” - The Mubenzi Tribesman (Secret Lives).

“Her name was Wanjiru.” - Minutes of Glory (Secret Lives).

“Nobody really knew him.” - The Black Bird (Secret)

“What do you want to do with the title deed? - I Will Marry When I Want.

“Waringa, ngatha ya wira…Waringa, heroine of the soil …there she walks haughtily her freedom in her hands.” - Detained: A Writer’s Prison Diary.

“Certain people in Ilmorog, our Ilmorog, told me that this story was too disgraceful, too shameful, that it should be concealed in the
depths of everlasting darkness.” - Devil on the Cross

“He held an AK 47 in his right hand.” - Matigari.
…
(And so on. You get the drift).

A Ngugi chokehold in Line 1 is inevitable. It bears a remarkable force that hooks you and propels you.

Ngugi does not allow his reader to linger, or hesitate, unsure of his tone or needing a dictionary.
He throws you directly into the action, the characters, and their world.

Each one of his openers sticks; unforgettable. You don’t even realize when you memorize them!

Farewell Ngugi🕊️, and thank you.
You did your bit with unfailing dedication and some excellence.🙏🏿

May we continue to tell stories in ways that captivate, provoke, propel, liberate.

(My disagreements with some of Ngugi’s ideas on so-called mothertongue and identity are documented in many elsewheres.
If you are interested, start here).

nation.africa/kenya/life-and…

See also my Ngugi wa Thiong’o essay in The Encyclopedia of Postcolonial Studies - it treads a little more gently😜



🔚onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.100…