3.5
A Grain of Wheat
ByPublisher Description
Barack Obama, via Facebook: “A compelling story of how the transformative events of history weigh on individual lives and relationships.”
The Nobel Prize–nominated Kenyan writer’s best-known novel, featuring an introduction by Nobel Prize winner Abdulrazak Gurnah
Set in the wake of the Mau Mau rebellion and on the cusp of Kenya's independence from Britain, A Grain of Wheat follows a group of villagers whose lives have been transformed by the 1952–1960 Emergency. At the center of it all is the reticent Mugo, the village's chosen hero and a man haunted by a terrible secret. As we learn of the villagers' tangled histories in a narrative interwoven with myth and peppered with allusions to real-life leaders, including Jomo Kenyatta, a masterly story unfolds in which compromises are forced, friendships are betrayed, and loves are tested.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
The Nobel Prize–nominated Kenyan writer’s best-known novel, featuring an introduction by Nobel Prize winner Abdulrazak Gurnah
Set in the wake of the Mau Mau rebellion and on the cusp of Kenya's independence from Britain, A Grain of Wheat follows a group of villagers whose lives have been transformed by the 1952–1960 Emergency. At the center of it all is the reticent Mugo, the village's chosen hero and a man haunted by a terrible secret. As we learn of the villagers' tangled histories in a narrative interwoven with myth and peppered with allusions to real-life leaders, including Jomo Kenyatta, a masterly story unfolds in which compromises are forced, friendships are betrayed, and loves are tested.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesA Grain of Wheat Reviews
3.5
Madalena
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Elin
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KittyKat90
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Krista Garnes
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“A Grain of Wheat is one of those books I can appreciate more than I enjoyed. It’s beautifully written and clearly meaningful in a historical and literary sense, but the pacing and layered structure made it a tough read for me personally.
The story explores betrayal, freedom, and the lingering impact of colonialism with real emotional weight, but it’s dense — the kind of novel that demands patience and focus rather than pulling you in. I didn’t dislike it, but I did find myself waiting for it to be over so I could move on to something more in my wheelhouse.
I’m glad I experienced it once, but it’s not one I’d revisit.”
Tatiana 🫶🏼
Created 2 months agoShare
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About Ngugi wa Thiong'o
Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o (1938–2025) was an award-winning novelist, playwright, and essayist from Kenya whose novels have been translated into more than thirty languages. In addition to A Grain of Wheat, his novels Devil on the Cross, Petals of Blood, The River Between, and Weep Not, Child are available from Penguin Classics.
Abdulrazak Gurnah (introduction) won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2021 and is the author of the Booker Prize–shortlisted novel Paradise, among other novels. He was born in Zanzibar, Tanzania, and teaches English literature at the University of Kent in England.
Abdulrazak Gurnah (introduction) won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2021 and is the author of the Booker Prize–shortlisted novel Paradise, among other novels. He was born in Zanzibar, Tanzania, and teaches English literature at the University of Kent in England.
Other books by Ngugi wa Thiong'o
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