Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
Loading... The Perfect Nine: The Epic of Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi (2018)by Ngugi wa'Thiong'o
Loading...
Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. This was a shockingly quick read! A modern retelling of the origin of the Gĩkũyũ people in epic verse. Listen, I am sure that there were references and themes I missed her, but overall I found this very accessible and enjoyable. In the original, ten suitors (nine plus one, the perfect nine?) showed up just in time to marry the nine (ten?) daughters and found the ten clans. But where did the ten suitors come from? In this tale, Thiong'o imagines hundreds of men setting out from their homes, inspired by tales of the legendary beauty of the girls. Ninety-nine make it to the mountain that is their home. This is the story of the tests and the quests that prove the worth of the suitors. But of course, the daughters are more beautiful, more just, more capable, more talented, more brave... in fact, by the end we only know the name of one of the suitors, until the rest are named as a part of their marriage rites. An intriguing read! Thiong'o is a prolific writer, I will have to look up some of his other books! Poetic origin story of the Gikuyu people of Kenya. This mythical tale, rendered in musical verse, defies genre. Onyango inhabits Ngugi, the chronicler of the story of Gikuyu and Mumbi, who become the mothers of the 10 Gikuyu clans. This tale of adventure and creation depicts clashes with ogres and epic challenges involving physical danger and love. I do like the solemn tone with which classic epics begin, such as in the Iliad, the Odyssey, or even the older Gilgamesh epic. Thiong'o was also clearly inspired by these models. What he offers is nothing less than an African version of such a mythical story: equally solemn and elaborate, with continuous repetitive elements, references to higher powers, poetic effects, and a beautiful epic ending. So you can safely call this book a kind of African 'origin' epic, built around the patriarchs Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi who want to select a suitable man for their 10 daughters. But then things go wrong in my opinion: the more than 100 'suiters' who present themselves (a clear nod to the Odyssey) rather predictably have to undergo all kinds of tests, in this case with terrible ogres. This middle piece is more like a children's adventure story. Also, the very clear moralistic undertone (100% woke) reminds of a children's book. Only at the end does Thiong'o resumes the epic-mythical tone. So, this book certainly has some appeal, but I don't think it's completely successful. On a side note, I was surprised by the author’s adherence to the myth of Bantu-origin in Ancient Egypt. no reviews | add a review
Awards
Longlisted for the 2021 International Booker Prize A dazzling, genre-defying novel in verse from the author Delia Owens says "tackles the absurdities, injustices, and corruption of a continent" Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's novels and memoirs have received glowing praise from the likes of President Barack Obama, the New Yorker, the New York Times Book Review, The Guardian, and NPR; he has been a finalist for the Man International Booker Prize and is annually tipped to win the Nobel Prize for Literature; and his books have sold tens of thousands of copies around the world. In his first attempt at the epic form, Ngũgĩ tells the story of the founding of the Gĩkũyũ people of Kenya, from a strongly feminist perspective. A verse narrative, blending folklore, mythology, adventure, and allegory, The Perfect Nine chronicles the efforts the Gĩkũyũ founders make to find partners for their ten beautiful daughters--called "The Perfect Nine" --and the challenges they set for the 99 suitors who seek their hands in marriage. The epic has all the elements of adventure, with suspense, danger, humor, and sacrifice. Ngũgĩ's epic is a quest for the beautiful as an ideal of living, as the motive force behind migrations of African peoples. He notes, "The epic came to me one night as a revelation of ideals of quest, courage, perseverance, unity, family; and the sense of the divine, in human struggles with nature and nurture." No library descriptions found. |
Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
Google Books — Loading... GenresNo genres Melvil Decimal System (DDC)305.8963954Social sciences Social Sciences; Sociology and anthropology Groups of people Ethnic and national groups ; racism, multiculturalism Other Groups African Origin Bantu Peoples Nguni PeoplesLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |
I received this as part of AudioSync File summer program for young people. This is a work of verse telling the creation myth. It is a blend of folklore, myth, adventure and allegory. It is my first book by this author. ( )