The River Between by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o

[Diane]

Rating: 4 stars
Read: July 2016

The River Between tells the story of a conflict between two neighboring Kenyan communities as a result of the impact of Colonialism and the introduction of Christianity. A lot of symbolism was used throughout the story, and the reader was given an inside look at the culture and history of the region. The story is a great depiction of old traditions clashing with new beliefs. It is reminiscent of Things Fall Apart and Cry, the Beloved Country, two other list books. This is my second list book by this author. I look forward to reading more of his books.

[John]

I gave this 5 stars - I thought it was extraordinary. I've also read his Matigari. I look forward to eventually reading Petals of Blood.

[Gail]

I have read Matigari and Petals of Blood. I thought Petals of Blood to be an amazing book and many of the themes that Thiong'o cultivates in that book began in The River Between.
The book sets up a tension filled dynamic between the Traditional Purists who wish to go back to the way it was and the Christian converts who also are extremely conservative but only in their adherence to a white man's religion. Neither side wants the white men in their land but they can not unify under a common cause to evict them. Waiyaki, our Main Character, plays almost a Christ like figure. He has inherited leadership traits from his father's people and he strongly believes in moving forward with education being the foundation to Africans taking back their country. Waiyaki however is full of doubts as to his own abilities and where he should be leading his people if he did step up and lead beyond the securing of schools for the children. This uncertainty reflects a lot of what is happening in the minds of many throughout the book. The rival sides are lead by zealots with no doubts who are leading because of ambition and a deep faith in the absolute rightness of their cause.
One of the ways in which Thiong'o makes clear the unsolvable nature of the dynamics is female circumcision. The customs and beliefs of the people require a girl to be circumcised in order to even become a woman in the eyes of any marriageable man. Those Christians in the book who believe this custom to be barbaric can not see that you can not just announce something as barbaric without understanding what purpose it serves in the culture. Conversely, the purists can not look at an age old custom and see what physical harm it is doing to their girls and bring new thinking into play.
Well written but heavy on symbolism in such a way that some of the secondary characters are painted in broad strokes (the jealous one, the faithful one etc.).
I almost wish I had read this before I read Petals for Blood.

[Judith]

Thanks for your review. Well written.