The puzzling murder of three African directors of a foreign-owned brewery sets the scene for this fervent, hard-hitting novel about disillusionment in independent Kenya. 'Petals of blood' is - on the surface - a suspenseful investigation of this spectacular triple murder. But as the intertwined stories of the four suspects unfold, a devastating picture emerges of a modern third-world nation whose frustrated people feel their leaders have failed them time after time.
So explosive was the theme of this novel that when it was first published in 1977, its author was taken into custody and held without charges by the so-called liberal Kenyan government, inciting international protests on his behalf. Yet even Ng~ug~i's blistering criticism of the legacy of colonialism burns with hope for the future.
So explosive was the theme of this novel that when it was first published in 1977, its author was taken into custody and held without charges by the so-called liberal Kenyan government, inciting international protests on his behalf. Yet even Ng~ug~i's blistering criticism of the legacy of colonialism burns with hope for the future.
