After 4.30

by David G Maillu, Michael Soi (Cover Art), Lucy Ade (Cover Art)

Meet Emili Katango, a commercial sex worker in the bustling city of Nairobi. When the father of her children violently kicks her out, the dialogues she has with her sister Lili, a well-educated secretary to a government official of indeterminate docket, Nikolas Mukoko, unfold her longings for love, security, respect, and the disenfranchisement she feels for being regarded as less than human.



Set in 1974 Nairobi, After 4.30 explores the dynamics of people in relationships, the workplace, and the home, exposing the hypocrisies of religion and the lingering aftershocks of colonisation just eleven years after Kenya's independence. As women flooded the workforce in greater numbers, the balance of power in homes and offices began to shift, sparking profound societal changes and discourse.

250 pages, Paperback

Published May 13, 2025

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

[4.75/5] Introspective, poignant and ahead of its time. The only comparison that comes to mind is Clarice Lispector. I have to admit that this book challenged so many unconscious biases of mine: I did not think that on of the most thought-provoking, honest and crude explorations of gender, society and religion would hit me from a 1970s book by a male author from East Africa but here we are. Truly singular in his writing style and brutally piercing in observations. This still feels modern/progressive and (most importantly) true 50 years later.