The Present Moment

by Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye, Valerie Kibera (Afterword)

This contemporary African classic tells the story of seven unforgettable Kenyan women as it traces more than sixty years of turbulent national history. Like their country, this group of old women is divided by ethnicity, language, class, and religion. But around the charcoal fire at the Refuge, the old-age home they share in Nairobi, they uncover the hidden personal histories that connect them as stories of their struggles for self-determination; of conflict, violence, and loss, but also of survival.

Each woman has found her way to the Refuge because of a devastating life experience—the loss of family and security to revolution, emigration, or poverty. But as they reflect upon their tragedies, they also become aware of the community they have formed—a community of collective history, strength, humor, and affection. And they learn that they are more connected than they know, as the murder of a student in the neighborhood reveals how their lives have intersected across generations, how securely the past is tied to the present—and to the future—of their young nation.

Genres: Kenya, Fiction, Africa

192 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2000

About the author

Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye (1928 – 30 November 2015) was an English/Kenyan novelist, essayist and poet.

Born Marjorie King in 1928 in Southampton, England, and died on 1st December 2015 in Kenya[.] Marjorie travelled to Kenya to work as a missionary in 1954. She worked at the S.J. Moore Bookshop on Government Road, now Moi Avenue in Nairobi, for some years. There she organised readings which were attended by, among others, Okot P'Bitek, the author of Song of Lawino, and Jonathan Kariara, a Kenyan poet. She met Macgoye, a medical doctor, and the two were married in 1960. In 1971, an anthology entitled Poems from East Africa included the acclaimed poem "A Freedom Song". Her 1986 novel Coming to Birth won the Sinclair Prize and has been used as a set book in Kenyan high schools. She has been called the "mother of Kenyan literature". Marjorie Oludhe Macgoye died on December 1, 2015, at her home in Nairobi.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Dora Okeyo · Rating 3 out of 5]

What do you get when you sit around a fireplace in an old age home with seven women from different ethnic backgrounds?

A compelling story of trials and victories.

I got a lot more about Kenyan history through the tales of the women. Their lives go back sixty or thereabouts years back before and after independence.

Marjorie weaves her tales such that she reels you in through the character's voice. When a character reminisces you are pulled into their world and you find yourself laughing when they laugh and crying when they cry.
It's a moving story of strength and determination.

[Dennis · Rating 4 out of 5]

ICONIC WRITTER