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ilovemangoes 's review for:
The River Between
by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The book is a social commentary on colonialism and it does it so well. The last 10 pages had me gasping for breaths as I speed-read through them.
First let's adress the elephant in the room, Ngugi chose Female Circumcision because it is as we all know harmful. He tries to show you why people at the time went through with it through the character of Muthoni. One thing people mistake for is that Ngugi does not consider how the practice is torture, and I think he did that perfectly through the character of Waiyaki, a man also undergoing Circumcision. Waiyaki’s pain is described, and at one point he even shows hesitance, but still goes on with it. That's what culture does, if you are sorrounded with people that accept pain you will be blind to it no matter how harmful it is and sadly that is what most women at the time and some even now go through.
First let's adress the elephant in the room, Ngugi chose Female Circumcision because it is as we all know harmful. He tries to show you why people at the time went through with it through the character of Muthoni. One thing people mistake for is that Ngugi does not consider how the practice is torture, and I think he did that perfectly through the character of Waiyaki, a man also undergoing Circumcision. Waiyaki’s pain is described, and at one point he even shows hesitance, but still goes on with it. That's what culture does, if you are sorrounded with people that accept pain you will be blind to it no matter how harmful it is and sadly that is what most women at the time and some even now go through.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Colonisation