Minutes of Glory: And Other Stories
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, although renowned for his novels, memoirs, and plays, honed his craft as a short story writer. From "The Fig Tree, " written in 1960, his first year as an undergraduate at Makerere University College in Uganda, to the playful "The Ghost of Michael Jackson," written as a professor at the University of California, Irvine, these collected stories reveal a master of the short form.
Covering the period of British colonial rule and resistance in Kenya to the bittersweet experience of independence--and including two stories that have never before been published in the United States-- Ngũgĩ's collection features women fighting for their space in a patriarchal society, big men in their Bentleys who have inherited power from the British, and rebels who still embody the fighting spirit of the downtrodden. One of Ngũgĩ's most beloved stories, "Minutes of Glory," tells of Beatrice, a sad but ambitious waitress who fantasizes about being feted and lauded over by the middle-class clientele in the city's beer halls. Her dream leads her on a witty and heartbreaking adventure.
Published for the first time in America, Minutes of Glory and Other Stories is a major literary event that celebrates the storytelling might of one of Africa's best-loved writers.
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Praise for Minutes of Glory:
"With Minutes of Glory and Other Stories, Ngũgĩ assembles the quintessential collection of short stories spanning the length of his literary career."
--World Literature Today
"[Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o] has collected his best . . . these stories affirm the wide range of a global sensation."
--The Millions
"Thiong'o weaves together disparate stories of people attempting to deal with change in their lives, either chosen or forced upon them, showing his understanding of human nature, its frequent resistance to change, and its ability to surprise. This is a masterful collection."
--Publisher Weekly (starred review)
"Subversive and insightful, this masterful, long-overdue, yet timely collection introduces Ngugi's fiction to American readers."
--Booklist (starred review)
"A valuable literary view of African lives in a pivotal, turbulent era."
--Kirkus Reviews
Praise for Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o's Birth of a Dream Weaver:
One of Oprah.com's "17 Must-Read Books for the New Year" and O Magazine's "10 Titles to Pick up Now."
"Exquisite in its honesty and truth and resilience, and a necessary chronicle from one of the greatest writers of our time."
--Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Guardian, Best Books of 2016.
"It's hard to think of another living writer today -- Orhan Pamuk, perhaps -- who speaks so inspiringly and convincingly about the value of literature. No serious reader will want to miss this riveting story."
--The Washington Post
