Description

In Minutes of Glory and Other Stories, he weaves together disparate stories of people attempting to deal with change in their lives, either chosen or forced upon them, showing his understanding of human nature, its frequent resistance to change and its ability to surprise. Just as the scope of his craft encompasses a myriad of Kenyan culture, so too does this anthology channel an equally broad spectrum of emotions and ideas. Divided into four major movements, Minutes of Glory includes the nearly sixty-year-old short story ‘The Fig Tree’ alongside the much more recent ‘The Ghost of Michael Jackson.’ The first two overarching subjects of the collection are also its most permeating as Ngũgĩ wrestles with trials of family and faith. ‘The Village Priest’ details the titular priest’s struggle to conjure rain and maintain his spirituality against a far more prolific rainmaker. Throughout this text, traditional practice rallies against Western influence seeking to assimilate, if not render, the bulk of Kenya vestigial. Minutes of Glory and Other Stories is a major literary event that celebrates the storytelling might of one of the best-loved writers from Africa. It is a dazzling short story collection from one of the greatest writers of our time.