We, the Scarred

by Mũkoma wa Ngũgĩ

Mukoma Wa Ngugi’s novel We, The Scarred, formerly known as Mrs Shaw, has today been revealed by its publisher Paivapo Publishers.

Genres: Africa

287 pages, Paperback

First published June 15, 2015

Reviews

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please read my review here:
https://lindasyearlybookchallenge.wor...

[World Literature Today]

"The first chapters introduce Kalumba and his close friends from the movement, Ogum and the less-privileged Sukena. Moreover, they relate the brutal repression—including the murder of Ogum’s father, a preacher—leading to Kalumba’s clandestine escape. Kalumba’s journal, the diary of an exiled activist writing his dissertation in Madison, constitutes the second section. The final chapters of the novel, whose settings make manifest its structure, relate Kalumba’s return, doctorate in hand, from his ten-year exile. " - Robert H. McCormick

This book was reviewed in the March 2016 issue of World Literature Today magazine. Read the full review by visiting our website: http://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/2...

[Gautam Bhatia · Rating 5 out of 5]

[The African edition of this book is called "We, the Scarred", but it appears not to have a Goodreads page just yet.]

--

We, the Scarred is set in a fictional East African country in the 1990s (it is a clear allegory of Kenya). It begins with one of the protagonists, Kalumba, fleeing into exile when he finds that his name is on a List of opposition activists to be massacred. While Kalumba escapes the massacre, his best friend, Ogum, loses his father in the killings. Ten years later, the Dictator is finally removed from power by the Movement to which Kalumba and Ogum both belonged, and Kalumba prepares to return home. In the meantime, Kalumba’s former lover, Sukena - herself a movement activist - and Ogum have fallen in love, and are preparing to marry. There are also ugly rumours that “the List” was originally given to the police by one of the Movement activists, and that it might have been Kalumba himself. Kalumba’s arrival back home - just as the nation is on the cusp of moving on from its traumatic past - is like a match in a tinderbox, with its potential to shatter the fragile consensus upon which everyone has agreed to move forward.

I read We, the Scarred in one feverish sitting, tearing up at many points. This novel is all the more poignant if you know something about Kenyan history - the parallels to the “First” and “Second” Liberations are stark, and some of the historical references make sense with the context - but even if you don’t, this novel about failed revolutions, national myth-making, exile and return, and how a person’s fate is entwined with a history and a present beyond their control, will linger in your mind long, long after you’ve put the book down.