Magical realism drives this mammoth novel set in the imaginary African country of Aburiria. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o roots this fantasy in the brutal horror of neocolonialism. His ridicule of the powerful knows no bounds as the novel chronicles the primary aspects of neocolonialism which include greed, coups, countercoups, flattery and betrayal in Aburiria and in the West. The story revolves around the intimate story of one couple. Quiet secretary Nyawira, secret leader of the people’s resistance movement, persuades her intellectual lover, Kamĩtĩ, to give up his search for himself in the wild, and they embark on a plan to change the world, with Kamĩtĩ disguised as a sorcerer. This unforgettable love story reveals the power of ordinary people to triumph over neocolonialism.
