Tracking the Scent of My Mother

by Muthoni Garland

'My father wooed my mother in a 1200 Datsun pick-up sold so soon afterwards that it must have felt to her like a false promise. But she did not complain about that, or the fact that he was already married. Senior-mother, a stout and loudly religious woman, had borne him five daughters – Mercy, Charity, Faith, Hope and Grace.' Startling phrases and dark humour in tale about an incest survivor. Shortlisted for the Caine Prize.

Genres: Kenya

First published February 17, 2011

About the author

Muthoni Garland is a founder member of Storymoja, a writer’s collective based in Nairobi, Kenya. She is an African author and storyteller who regularly speaks in schools and at events. She has performed in both Kenya and the UK. Her stories have been published in literary journals in Kenya, S Africa, UK and USA. She is the author of two novellas published by Storymoja – Halfway Between Nairobi and Dundori, and Tracking the Scent of My Mother, which was short-listed for the Caine Prize. Muthoni has also written six children books, published by Storymoja. Her story, Kamau’s Finish is used as a world literature text in UK and American schools. In the latter, it is published in a critically acclaimed anthology compiled by Jane Kurtz - Memories of Sun.

Reviews

[Felista Wangari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very quick read. I'm a slow reader and it took me an hour or so to finish. One sitting. Grim story with themes of child marriage, sexual abuse, and others.

[Daisie Jemuu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I need this book pliz,,it's urgent

[Kathryn TOURE · Rating 5 out of 5]

A novella full of life and hardship

The story of a young girl. And the bends in her life. Draws the reader in. Well delivered. Sad yet not entirely so.

[Neenu · Rating 4 out of 5]

'The world speaks in proverbs, as my father used to say, and anyone who is intelligent will understand'
Muthoni Garland has created a literary whirlwind with this short read. It is disturbing and humorous and completely unpretentious. I jumped from sentences that made me chuckle to myself, to ones that immediately made me stare in shock. We watch as societal injustices such as rape and abuse and the disappearance of her mother turn our young protagonist into a sort of oblivious Frankenstein. And by the end of the book Garland has managed to come full circle with a rather insightful and bittersweet ending.

[Bonface M. K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember reading this book earlier on this year. The reason for this is because I needed to read something from a Kenyan author. It was Ok. Its one of those reads you can finish in sitting.

I would love to pretend that this is something I would relate to, but not really. Now this is me being a douche, but reading this story reminds me of those compositions we used to right way back in primary school.

[Lisa Poggiali · Rating 3 out of 5]

a short, well-written coming of age story about a woman searching for both her mother and herself amidst many personal hardships and structural barriers.