Going Down River Road

by Meja Mwangi

Ben, cashiered as a lieutenant in the army, now works as a building labourer in Nairobi. By the author of Kill Me Quick and Striving for the Wind.

Genres: Africa, Kenya, Fiction, African Literature, Novels, Contemporary, Eastern Africa

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Meja Mwangi began his writing career in the 1970s, a decade after his more well-known compatriots such as Ngugi wa Thiong'o and Grace Ogot had been publishing their works. When he burst onto the scene with the award-winning Kill Me Quick in 1973, Mwangi was hailed in various quarters as a rising star in the East African literary constellation who was helping to disprove Taban lo Liyong's oft-cited claim that East Africa was a literary desert (Taban 1965, Nazareth 1976). Since then, Meja Mwangi has gone on to establish himself as one of the most prolific of Kenyan writers, publishing eleven novels in seventeen years in addition to short stories, children's books and working with a variety of projects in film. Mwangi's works have received awards in Kenya and abroad, they have been translated into six languages, and there are film versions of two of his novels.

For many Kenyan writers, the armed resistance to British colonialism in Kenya, which came to be known as the Mau Mau revolt and reached its height in the 1950s, was a far-reaching experience. [Meja Mwangi' Mau Mau novel] Weapon of Hunger is perhaps [his] best book yet. The picture he paints of the relentless quest for modern Africa is grim. What is most depressing, is that there seem to be no solutions. Western philanthropists, such as Jack Rivers, are portrayed in a favourable light as sincere people. All their energies, however, are expended on trying to understand Africa's problems and once they understand them they realise that the problems are beyond them. As for the Africans themselves, they could have provided solutions, but since they are lined up in warring factions, that is impossible. While the two sides fight on to the finish, will million of ordinary people continue to starve to dead? That is the questions which Meja Mwangi asks himself and which he asks the readers of Weapon.
(Excerpt from: Lynn Mansure, Weekly Review)

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hated Nairobi. The pollution-choked air, the dusty lanes and angry matatu drivers, unhappy frenzy that sapped my body of its health each time I passed through. I've been down River Road, and I didn't like it. Meja Mwangi, you devil, how did you make me miss that city?

This novel is gritty, and very male. The men cuss and fight and the women are all bitches.

He passes a few drunks on the way up the dimly lit dustcovered stairs. A drunk old man sits on the first landing and sends a river of beer vomit down the stairs. A half full bottle of beer stands faithfully by his side. He pauses between retches to talk to the beer bottle and swallow back whatever he has left in his mouth; one cannot afford to waste good food.

Alcohol, that refuge from the constant struggle for survival. The poverty in this book is of a shape so jagged and heavy that it needs that balance of cold-blooded hell-raising. We have homeless people in Canada, but they are not so naked. We have brothels, but there are no crying babies in the corner. No one shits on the path.

Going Down River Road is crusty like The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born but without the politics and moralizing. This isn't highfalutin literature. It's the lowest of the fucking low, and those bastards can plug their arses with God's grass if they don't like it. This pen is loaded with fire.

[aria ✧ · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Germs don't kill Africans’, that is Ocholla's long time philosophy. Ben tilts his head thoughtfully. Ocholla has a point there. If germs did kill Africans, Development House would never have got off the ground. What with all those green latrine flies swimming in the pot, shitting in the porridge and dying all over, even drowning in the tea. Ocholla has a point. Germs cannot kill Africans, never will. He looks round at the eating workers. Only hunger will kill an African - tough beast.

“Going Down River Road” is not what I expected. My experience with Kenyan literature is limited to the books we read as set books in secondary school and John Kiriamit’s book that I read last year. I decided to change that this year by reading two of the most popular Kenyan authors. Meja Mwangi and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o. While Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o has international popularity with his books also being among the Penguin Classic catalogue, I’ve met a lot of people who claim he’s overrated. Regardless, I decided to give him a try as well. But this was a wonderful experience.

Ben is just trying to survive. Having lost his job, he now has to live with his girlfriend Wini and her son Baby as he struggles to make ends meet while working on a construction site. The little money he earns goes to food, transport and alcohol but luckily Wini has plans on getting him a job at her office. But when Wini runs away with her white boss, Ben now finds himself left with her child. He could do as suggested and abandon him but he can’t seem to leave Baby behind. This book follows Ben as he simply lives day by day.

Nairobi is not for the weak and this book displays that perfectly. From the most random places you’d find someone used as a toilet, the fights between civilians and government officials, the normalised misogyny to the simple fact that a majority of Kenyans have no idea what jaywalking is. (I learned that term when I was like 19. Here you’re just crossing the road). Though set in the 70s, the representation still holds up (and is somehow worse). One specific scene describing the clash between pedestrians and road users was hilarious. Nairobi roads require you to pay attention or else you will die. Check both sides of the road before crossing a one-way street.

Still, I can't help but love my city only sometimes though. i absolutely hate walking downtown

[Kairo Kimende · Rating 5 out of 5]

After hearing so much about Meja Mwangi and how he changed the literary scene in Kenya I embarked on understanding his works hoping they would all be wrong. Well, I found nothing less than the promise. You thoroughly enjoy reading Going Down River Road. This is a book you would definitely reread. His way of writing even over a draggy scene blows your mind.
Meja writes so real he captures events like scenes out of a movie. He paints very strong characters. You definitely want to meet Ben, Ocholla, Baby and Yussuf right from the first page. Makes other Kenyan writers look like boys with a pen. Whoever said it is right, no one else could paint Nairobi streets like he does. In this book he is a Grisham of sorts minus the suspense.

[Achieng Onguru · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hahahaaaa Damn! I absolutely loved this one. You can almost smell the irritation of the writer as he penned this book. His irritation with the dump streets, unethical-beer-drinking-hip-shaking-man-hunting women of the late 70's and early 80's.

[Norah Alba · Rating 4 out of 5]

good African story

[Kobe Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cool atmosphere and I like how things just sort of dont work out for him

[George Ciuri · Rating 5 out of 5]

a very nice book

[Emily Kosnow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book at a yard sale in a college town. I don't think I ended up being charged for it. I must say that this book was the best yard sale find of my life. Rarely does a book really take me far, far out of my element to the point that the world around me (outside of the book) feels strange. I was completely taken in to this Kenyan's gritty life. I finished this wanting more... I would love to get my hands on more books from this author.

I forced my husband to read it and he felt the same way.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny, sad story of two down and out ne'er do wells in 1960s Nairobi. A Kenyan classic.

[Fred · Rating 3 out of 5]

Laughs on River Road, But Where’s the Plot?
⭐ 3.5/5

Meja Mwangi is such a funny nyang’au! I really enjoyed the humor in this book. Back in high school I didn’t like most Kenyan novels, but this one reminded me that local literature can be fresh and captivating. The storytelling is engaging, the characters are lovable, and the scenes feel very relatable to everyday Kenyan life.

So why 3.5 stars? The pacing dragged for me, and I’m not a fan of shorter books (under 300 pages) that feel more like novellas. It also didn’t always have a concrete plot to follow. Still, it’s a refreshing read that shows just how much Kenyan literature has to offer.

[David Mbiyu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I recall 'seeing' River Road in a different perspective after reading this book.

[Karen Ashmore · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just could not get into this tale of a beer swilling cad who favors prostitutes. Not my cup of tea. Couldn't finish the book.

[Brenda Frenjo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was quite a fun read.

My absolute favorite scene was when Ocholla’s wives showed up in the city. 💀💀 So messy, so juicy 🤭💀.

The book painted such a vivid picture of Nairobi in the 1970s, capturing not only the lively streets and neighborhoods but also the heavy socio-economic struggles of post-independence life. I loved the way Meja sprinkled in those street names and how River Road doubled up as a residential area. You could literally trace the characters’ footsteps from the construction site through Harambee Avenue, Kenya Cinema, even the interaction with the matatus, up to the location of little escape from reality at Karara Center

Meja Mwangi is a brilliant writer. His descriptions are so vivid and layered, yet he delivers them with humor that makes the heaviness of the story easier to digest. His narration really brought the city and its people to life.

I enjoyed the twist like Wini disappearing. Ocholla's wives coming to Nairobi, and Onesmus making it his personal mission to make Ben’s life miserable. Honestly, I wish Onesmus’s obsession with destroying Ben was explored even more. It was sort of wild! Especially when he started recruiting other people.

I wondered how much the incident with Ben had damaged his reputation, so much that he could no longer secure a decent job, despite the quality of life he once had.

I wish the writer showed us the letter Wini left for Ben. I was so curious to read it. And her disappearance gave me flashbacks to the classic Kenyan song Stella Wangu (“Stella, who came back from Japan on May 17th” 👀). But did Wini ever come back? And how was she comfortable leaving her son behind like that? I get that she was chasing a better life, but whew. That was cold.

Ben thought Wini was merely an agreeable lady, yet Wini was calculating her own things. And Ben really! You didn't know the name of the woman you apparently called your wife. You didn't even know her full first name. That office scene got me howling. He’s asked Wini’s second name, and he keeps saying, “Just Wini,” only to learn she went all the way to Australia 😂😂. Too funny!

[Lisa Poggiali · Rating 4 out of 5]

very surreal to have read this while going down river road. a slice of life novel that makes place (in both a political and phenomenological sense) paramount.

[Anne Kedi · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a nice discovery. More thoughts to read here...https://labiblioafronebrulepas.com/20...

[Martin Omedo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written in 1976, forty-five years down the memory lane, very little, if any, has changed ever since about the traps and travails of utter poverty described by Maja Mwangi's literal piece Going Down the River Road. If you like your fiction raw and gasoline-powerful, Going Down River Road is the book for you.

Mwangi's prose is like the home-made brew Karara, liquor of choice for the down and out in Nairobi, which is the book's setting. From the cockroach-infested rooms on Grogan Road where Ben, a former soldier, lives with his secretary(prostitute girlfriend Wini) and her son Baby, to the ironically titled under-construction 'Development House' where Ben earns his living as a 'hand', and on to the lowlife-ridden Karara Centre on River Road which Ben and his friend Ocholla frequent in search of Karara and prostitutes, Mwangi maps the landscape of urban poor life in Nairobi. Going Down River Road delivers an experience that is as unforgettable as it is unrelenting.

There is also a political element to the book, as Ben watches people try to solve problems around him and address the political situation of Kenya. The book does not offer much hope here, as in this excerpt in the last pages of the book:

"There are many things Ben knows that Bhai will never understand. Machore can never raise the necessary deposit to register as a candidate. And even if he could raise the money, he would have to find a constituency to contest and convince the constituents to vote. And who would listen to him? Only the labourers, and only at lunchtime when there is nothing else to do. And he would still have a certain amount of trouble. The labourers are a tired, hungry people. They don't believe in anybody or anything anymore. They do not even believe in the building anymore. Now they know. Just as a man will turn his back to you, a building gets completed and leaves you unoccupied. The hands just do not believe. If he bought them beer, Machore might convince the hands to listen to his promises. But they would still not vote if they got up with a terrible hangover or the weather became lousy on polling day or the queue got too long or something. To the hands, it makes little difference: just another name in the newspapers, another face in the headlines, a voice on the radio, more promises... "

We are left to decide for ourselves what such feelings amount to. Ben, clearly, has not been helped by politicians, and his growth, such as it is, is from leave-me-alone individualism to a recognition of his need for something other than himself, even if everything else -the government, Baby, his friends, his employers -seems to be an impediment or a threat. 

[Mwalimu Oduol · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up Going Down River Road only because it was required reading for my book club, and unfortunately, it didn’t leave much of an impression. The novel starts off promisingly, with an inciting incident that I assumed would play a crucial role in the story’s progression. However, that moment is never really revisited, and as the book unfolds, it becomes clear that not much actually changes for the main characters—which I suppose might be the point.

The novel follows Ben, a former soldier, and Ocholla, his friend and fellow laborer, as they navigate the gritty realities of life in Nairobi’s underbelly. Mwangi paints a vivid picture of urban poverty, filled with hardship, fleeting pleasures, and a sense of inescapable stagnation. While I can appreciate the realism in his storytelling, I struggled to find a compelling narrative thread. The book lacks a clear plot, feeling more like an extended journal entry rather than a structured story.

Mwangi’s prose is straightforward and effective in capturing the atmosphere of Nairobi’s streets, but the novel’s repetitive cycle of drinking, working, and barely scraping by made it difficult for me to stay engaged. Perhaps the intent was to depict the monotony and hopelessness of life for the working poor, but as a reader, I found it frustrating rather than thought-provoking.

Overall, I didn’t find Going Down River Road particularly interesting or memorable. While some may appreciate its raw, unfiltered portrayal of Nairobi’s underclass, I personally wouldn’t recommend it unless you have a strong preference for slice-of-life narratives with little in the way of plot or character development.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

A soft wind caressed the hard and rugged face of River Road. Trash and dust danced with the wind coaxing them down the deserted street and the smell of desperation was everywhere.

Mwangi is a brilliant writer. His dialogue is so realistic in building the heart of his down and out characters, it feels he has heavily borrowed from real life bar conversations. Juxtaposition of objects and nature, grit and lowly backstreet existence brings to life the story of Ben and his harsh day to day grind. Circles of bars, prostitution, alcohol covered in layers of dust he picks up at his local job as a construction worker, turning Nairobi into a city of skyscrapers, are Ben's daily companions.

Hints of a better past are scattered throughout the book, his downfall from a well paid job and a higher status brushed in a few quick strokes. Ben's life now revolves around work, bars and baby at the house, a boy he was left to look after and care for after his partner runs off with someone else and leaves him with her child. Heartbroken, his refuge is drink, grime and daily oblivion.

Here lies a man living in squalor, and yet what the reader is left with is a deep sense of loss, the desperate refuge of a man seeking comfort in something and finding it only at the bottom of the social ladder, in bars prostitutes and drinking buddies. His friendship with a coworker is what saves him, as well as his love of a boy who is not his blood, but that gives him after all his grief, a sense of belonging and a reason to go on despite himself.

[Kingsley Okechukwu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, Going Down River Road, is one of the most powerful African books of all time. Mwangi is not, not surprisingly, Kenya's most famous writer, but he has written Kenya's most influential book. Phew!
This novel is an indictment of government failure (nay, absence), the extent of imported capitalist and the rot of humanity. Mwangi wrote with the skills of a reporter, satirizes the society without judging them. He is painfully non-partisan which makes his story powerful.
The character of Ben is the father of modern African disillusioned character. Ben Okri, Festus Iyayi and Helon Habila heavily borrowed from the character of Ben. Ben is the perfect angry African that Ngugi in the Devil on the Cross, Soyinka in The Interpreters and Achebe in No Longer at Ease attempted but failed to paint.
The novel is not just open to be read, it is a television in HD. The glory of the book is that the reader is a participant in the movie.
I recommend this book to every lover of true, sincere, beautiful art.

[N. Jr. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Welcome to the hellish underground of a Nairobi slum. Mwangi probably ranks as the most hard-boiled Kenyan writer of his time, though he does at times go over the top. I have personally lived in a few slums in Nairobi back in the 1980's, and despite the impoverishment and harsh living conditions, there were positive elements as well - decent people trying to do the best they could under the oppression of poverty. So, there is some sensationalism in the story, but still not far from the truth.

[Nyaguthii · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really thought Wini was coming back in the end! Definitely did not expect it to go like that.
I feel though that the story took too long to pick up after the synopsis given on the back cover. It took so long for Wini to leave Ben, yet we all knew it was going to happen, so I feel robbed of time which we could have spent seeing more details about Ben's life.

[Daisy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting plot but the potrayal of women was sooo off puting not to mention how he wrote about rape so casually. 🤢

[Ademi Odari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Benjamin Wachira a former leutenant in the army is sacked for being over ambitious.In a capitalist country he has to make ends meet and finds himself working as a labourer on a construction site,it's here where he meets Ochalla who inturn becomes his confidant and their friendship is tinged together by booze "Karara"Mutual exploitation.
Ocholla on the other hand is haunted by two abandoned wives back in the village and enough.ENOUGH.Children to screw one for basic nessecities and with the meangre earnings on the construction site and exploitation by what Karl max would term as bogeousies Ochalla finds himself in a dilemma.
Indeed most families fracture at the concrete weight of squalor.That;you work all day,eat on credit and go home "shanty" to a crowd of strangers.Nowhere to be at peace.
Ben finds himself entangled in an affair with Wini,the day he was sacked and decided to go and drink his last pay.Wini is a single mum who juggles between childcare,exams fee,house rent and a secretarial job at risk.She finally elopes with her white boyfriend leaving Baby with Ben.
The Nairobi's shanty life is well portrayed through the neighbours who blast music at odd hours,engage in midnight fistfights within the perimeters of those paper thin walls,the whoring life of the city girls.and in every gutter or alleyway that one imagines of their is disease,crawling menace of crime or grifting violent reprisal.
A pervasive sense of alienation!
This is a masterpiece to any bibliophile who resonates with Shanty life.

[Reet · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a riot of a book; a wild ride. Mwangi's story is as long as it takes to build Development Centre. Ben is a labouring hand; Ocholla is a crane operator, and they are best buddies. Ben lives with Wini and her Baby, but Wini disappears. Then, one day the landlord locks his room, so he and Baby move into Ocholla's shack by the stinking Nairobi River. On payday they go to Karara Centre and drink... what else, Karara. Sex workers browse, drunks drink, fight, dance, sleep, smoke, everybody smokes. They lean on each other, living one day at a time, hand to mouth, never looking far enough ahead except to next payday. A laugh and a cry all at once, Mwangi's characters are way too human. I'm going back for more.

On the bus: "the fat buttocks sway into Ben's mouth. Her perfume catches in his throat. He taps the woman's fine rump.
'Keep your arse off me, woman.'
'It is the bus,' she cries.
'Try and hang on to the bloody rail,' he advises.

[Svetlana Karuskina-Drivdale · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Going Down River Road, I believe Meja Mwangi is one of the best authors I have ever read. The novel, which details the daily life of a construction worker and his buddy in Nairobi, is gritty and tough. There is no beauty and almost no respite from suffocating poverty, besides in drinking. However, we are saved from despair by humor and by ties of friendship. We follow Ben at his construction workplace run by constantly high Indian foreman; at the eating joint across the road where labourers get lunch on credit and try not to die while crossing the traffic; at his home where he raises a boy whose mother ran away; and at his friend’s place, a shanty shack where he moves after being evicted. There is a lot of social commentary but it’s so grounded in the story that it comes across as obvious truth. Even though written in 1976, it is a must-read book for those trying to think deeply about urban poverty.

[John Benson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel is about a young man named Ben who worked as a laborer in Nairobi. He moved in with his girlfriend, Wini, into her shanty place near River Road, where she lives with her son, Baby. The story takes place in the mid-1970s when I went to high school in Kenya and often wandered the streets of Nairobi on Saturdays when we could go into Nairobi from our school. I was on River Road a number of times during those years. Eventually, Wini moves out and leaves Ben with Baby. The book reads well, but there are few signs of hope and even less at the end.

[Luke Eure · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good empathy machine book on life of a manual laborer in Nairobi in the 70s. One scene in particular really puts you in the mindset of being resignedly helpless in the face of authoritarianism + little economic opportunity.

Good for learning lots of Kenyan slang too, though it's 70s slang so probably not so relevant anymore.

[Tom Jalio]

Timeless classic

An intimate look into the lives of the downtrodden akin to Meja's other classic, Kill me quick, and with similar longevity. Love the descriptive writing and the humour. Pity the hopelessness that seems unending. The more things change, the more they remain the same.

[John Ulferts · Rating 5 out of 5]

An African classic. Great read.

[Esther · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nyc book