4.0
Dreams in a Time of War
ByPublisher Description
Man Booker International Prize Finalist • By the world-renowned novelist, playwright, critic, and author of Wizard of the Crow, an evocative and affecting memoir of childhood.
“A testament to the resilience of youth and the strength of hope."—The Boston Globe
Born in 1938 in rural Kenya, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o came of age in the shadow of World War II, amidst the terrible bloodshed in the war between the Mau Mau and the British. The son of a man whose four wives bore him more than a score of children, young Ngũgĩ displayed what was then considered a bizarre thirst for learning, yet it was unimaginable that he would grow up to become a world-renowned novelist, playwright, and critic.
In Dreams in a Time of War, Ngũgĩ deftly etches a bygone era, bearing witness to the social and political vicissitudes of life under colonialism and war. Speaking to the human right to dream even in the worst of times, this rich memoir of an African childhood abounds in delicate and powerful subtleties and complexities that are movingly told.
“A testament to the resilience of youth and the strength of hope."—The Boston Globe
Born in 1938 in rural Kenya, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o came of age in the shadow of World War II, amidst the terrible bloodshed in the war between the Mau Mau and the British. The son of a man whose four wives bore him more than a score of children, young Ngũgĩ displayed what was then considered a bizarre thirst for learning, yet it was unimaginable that he would grow up to become a world-renowned novelist, playwright, and critic.
In Dreams in a Time of War, Ngũgĩ deftly etches a bygone era, bearing witness to the social and political vicissitudes of life under colonialism and war. Speaking to the human right to dream even in the worst of times, this rich memoir of an African childhood abounds in delicate and powerful subtleties and complexities that are movingly told.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesDreams in a Time of War Reviews
4.0
Gigi R
Created 6 months agoShare
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“It took me some time to finish mostly because of things in my personal life, everything got very busy.
I would like to read his novels and maybe should have started there first but I saw a woman reading this on the train and realized it fits in the read around the world challenge.
I liked this book a lot, it was interested to see a child’s perspective on historical matters, my only struggle was not knowing much about the history going into it, but now wanting to learn more and read his works.”
Ézer
Created 7 months agoShare
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“This book is exactly why I love memoirs, being able to immerse myself in a life so different from mine. Ngugi Wa Thiong'o had such a rich life, and this is just about his childhood before high-school!”
haley
Created 12 months agoShare
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“Ngugi's perspective of colonialism in Kenya is genuinely enlightening. I really enjoyed how he wrote about both small and large scale issues.”
Emily Zielinski
Created about 1 year 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. His many books include Wizard of the Crow, Dreams in a Time of War, Devil on the Cross, Decolonising the Mind, and Petals of Blood, for which he was imprisoned by the Kenyan government in 1977.
Other books by Ngugi wa Thiong'o
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