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The Trial of the GODS
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The Gong: A collection of Poems
KShs1,000.00 KShs700.00
Callused Hands
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Kenyan coffee is renowned all over the world for its distinctive quality and hence reputation. It graces tables of the finest eateries from London to New York, and has been romanticized by those who visited the country and were enchanted by it. At one point it was the leading contributor to the country’s foreign revenue. Unknown to many in the world the slavery-like conditions under which it is produced. Callused Hands explores some of these difficult conditions under which this precious ‘black gold’ is produced, and the unseen faces that grovel under the surface in ensuring that gourmet consumers in the West are fed.
“This is a great book! It makes me feel like it is a fresh and imaginative story that makes sense the entire time of reading it. It is well written and exceptionally compelling.” – Sheena Brennan – Publishing Editor
“The novel celebrates the spirit and bravery of disempowered women who can, together, tip the balance in favour of workers and justice. This is a compassionate and ultimately triumphant story. – Linda Cracknell, Writer-in-Residence at Edinburgh Sick Kids Hospital
“Stanley Gazemba’s Calloused Hands is an exciting work that re-imagines hopelessness. In a sluggish almost non-committal fashion, the novel creates ground for the readers to take a peek into the lives of the ‘wretched of the earth.’ One feels as though he has been sucked into that bottomless pit from which the characters are struggling to come up for air. The never-ending suffering becomes a bitter-sweet element that angers and then provokes one to want to change the story- to make it sweeter for all.” – Dr. Fred Mbogo, Moi University
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Kwamboka’s Inquiry by Arthur Dobrin
Who killed Dr. Sarah Kwamboka?
This popular founder of a girls’ school is shot dead in her house and an inspector from Nairobi is sent to Kisii to investigate. While attempting to uncover the motive behind the brutal crime, Sgt. James Dingiria discovers that Kwamboka had been collecting memoirs from the area as a way of preserving the region’s history.
This novel weaves a murder mystery around short stories that reveal the history of ordinary people from this part of the country with a look at present-day Kenya.
What others say
“Dobrin has carefully plotted his novel with style that provides a smooth flow through short stories. It is a carefully thought plot that rouses a reader’s tang!’’- Sally Boyani, Book Editor.
“It is a gripping story about murder, corruption, power, church politics, colonisation and chauvinism. The great drift of suspense in the text and the interwoven short stories make it a page turner. It is a well told must read.’’- Verah Omwocha, Book Editor.
Bilomelele bye Lukingi: Poems of Mt. Elgon
And O the lofty blowing of the horns
At various stations of the homeward journey
When the horn-bearers suddenly –
Blared their message to the mountain
Sounded their object to the plains
Announced their cause to the sunset
Declared their purpose to the sunrise –
Bv…..u!
Bv…..u!
Bv…..u!
Bv……………u!
Signifying that in the sundry homesteads
Of the candidates returning from afar,
An impending deed was to be done –
That would never be undone or done again!
This is the apex of Wangusa’s poetic career to date. As a category, the work is characterised by being phenomenally rooted in indigenous culture. And besides being strongly lyrical, it is dynamic, dramatic poetry. There are here multiple voices, various personas in life’s problematic arena. It is poetry not to be just recited but to be performed for maximum effect.
Tell me Where You’ve Been
Arthur Dobrin’s Tell Me Where You Have Been adds to diverse voices in postcolonial migration and identity politics. It offers the reader a chance to reflect on the merits, demerits and consequences, thereof, of such immigration relative to the dynamics in host nations. What is the balance one should maintain between one’s identity and the new networks that are essential for one’s success in the host nation or community? What is the place of lived experiences and how do those shape success for the immigrant? How do these lived experiences intermingle and shape the immigrant’s trajectory in the foreign nation?
What others say
“I thought [the writing] was somewhat, “genius” at times. It is a style comparable to jazz music, characterized by improvising, syncopated rhythms with a strong emphasis on individual expressions and virtuosity.” — Eric Byas
“I was in suspense by the way the author toggled from the present to the past. the blending of historical events and characters, which at times caused me to forget this was fiction. This was a riveting page-turner with plot twists that kept me reading until the end.” — Vasco Figueira
“Tell Me Where You’ve Been is a powerful reflection on how people treat music, literature and especially people. I enjoyed it greatly.” — Brian Benavides
“The uniqueness of this book lies in Dobrin’s extension of Bhabha’s theory of onward migration and contemporary challenges among minorities living in host nations such as the United States of America.” — Dr. Andrew Nyongesa, Literature Scholar
Criminal Made in Mbeere: The First Born who failed
A Criminal Made in Mbeere: The First Born who Failed is a candid account of John Ngari's life in crime. Written with remorse while on death row, the author traces his journey from the beginnings that led to the many times he was imprisoned and the disastrous impact it had on his life. Often graphic, the book captures what typically goes wrong once a person has 'tasted' jail. For some, one could conclude that jail is a 'college' that hardens criminals.
Blessed with talent and a quick thinking mind, Ngari had many opportunities to tread and stay on the law-abiding path. More often than not, the temptation for crime won, leading to many avoidable offences: making and selling illicit liquor, breaking into businesses, plotting elimination of a lover's spouse and more!
How did this happen? What were the origins? What were the causes? Was is the family environment? Was it the community? Or rather the incarceration that turned a petty thief to a sophisticated criminal?... These are some of the questions for the reader.
The consequences for the author were devastating: loss of a parent in an inferno, the murder of a young brother, near-death experience following a combat with a potential victim of robbery, never-ending incarcerations, loss of property, and above all, facing a capital offence that would have resulted in execution.
How Ngari lived to tell this story is a matter of wonderment: was it providence or simply being lucky? … you, the reader, will judge.
A must read for criminologists, law enforcement, prison systems and wider society, this book offers rare insights into the mind of a criminal, how law enforcement works and life in prison, including thriving business in the prison system, love relationships (in and out of the prison system), practicalities of surviving incarcerations, and much more.
Sakagwa Ng’iti: A Kisii Prophet
Sakagwa Ng'iti exerted substantial influence on Gusii society and beyond in the latter part of the 1800s. He was many things: a medicine man, rainmaker, an unelected community strategist in dealing with raids from the warring Maasai and Kipsigis, and a prophet whose many prophecies have come to pass, according to those that keenly follow his story.
His death was mysterious, leaving many wondering what really happened. Did he, as some accounts claim, eventually settle among the Kipsigis? Was he carried away by chisokoro (ancestors) to join them in the netherworld as happened with Jesus of Nazareth? How come that his spiritual roles (seer, medicine man, and rainmaker) that ran in the family, waned and eventually died off?
Peter Okari Nyambasora's Sakagwa Ngi'ti, a Kisii Prophet provides some answers to these questions. It traces the emergence of Sakagwa as a prominent player in Gusii of his time, even as he had no formal power accorded by clan, tribe or lineage. Compiled from oral tales, one on one interviews with family members, and written works, the book provides the most authoritative account of Sakagwa yet written.
Moody Mood and the Red Round Ball
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My Life in Crime by John Kiriamiti
The late 1960's and early '70s may be remembered as the years of the great bank and other armed robberies in Kenya. This is the true story of one of the participants in some of those robberies, John Kiriamit. In raw and candid language, Kiramiti tells the story of how he dropped out of secondary school when he was only fifteen years old, and for a time became a novice pickpocket, before graduating into crimes like car-breaking and ultimately into violent robbery.
This spell-binding story takes the reader into the underworld of crime, and it depicts graphically the criminal's struggle for survival against the forces of law.
The Sinister Trophy by John Kiriamiti
Written by the author of the popular Son of Fate, this follow-up story tells of Adams Wamathina, better known as Son of Fate, who is searching for a trophy which other parties will stop at nothing to get.
The action takes place in Nairobi and Tanzania and Son of Fate finds himself involved with car chases and murder as he becomes embroiled in the chase.
My Life with a Criminal by John Kiriamiti
John Kiriamiti's best-selling novel My Life in Crime has become a classic. Here Milly, his girlfriend, tells the poignant story of her life with the bank robber.
They were in love, and he was gentle, kind and considerate. But after she moved in with him, she discovered his double life. She remained devoted, but the stress of his life bore its toll, and finally they parted. This sequel novel is also a bestseller in Kenya.
The Quest Search for a Lost Brother by Dorothy Mbori
Brief Summary
After losing his father at a very young age, Eli is forced to assume his father's responsibilities. Part of those responsibilities is to take care of his little brother Blankie. Blankie adores and idolizes his brother and follows him around everywhere. Eli thinks his brother is more of a nuisance. When Eli's cruel words cut too deep, and Blankie goes missing, Eli is determined to bring his brother back home.
With no other option, Eli, in the company of his three friends, Jeremiah, Zuri, and Iddah, embark on one of the most trying, dangerous, and unpredictable journeys of their lives. Although the four friends knew the forest was a dangerous place to be, not even their worst nightmares could have prepared them for what they would find inside.
Duels to the death and dangerous mythical animals are just the tip of the iceberg. Enemies lurk in the brush, reigning over the forest, determined to make Eli's mission a dead man's task. With their search and rescue now a fight for their lives, it'll take a miracle for this group of friends to succeed, but Eli knows they have no other choice. Blankie's life depends on it, and maybe a few other secrets too.
My Life in Prison by John Kiriamiti
Brief summary
This is a thriller novel set in Kenya, Nairobi. It rolls through a forest of crime of a gang led by John Kiriamiti alias Jack Zollo.
Their main set is robbery, with violence. Jack the wanted criminal is in love with an innocent girl, Milly- who lives in a fool’s paradise not knowing exactly what her handsome man does for a living.
Jack must harbor secrets, nurture his love and yet evade the deadly police at the same time. Will he continue being lucky?
The People of Ostrich Mountain by Ndirangu Githaiga
Brief Summary
As the 1950s Mau Mau war breaks out in the foothills of Mt. Kenya, Wambũi, a fourteen-year-old girl leaves her besieged village to join a prestigious boarding school a half day’s journey away by train. There, she becomes aware of her extraordinary mathematical abilities discovered by her teacher, Eileen Atwood. Initially, Wambũi views Eileen’s attentions with suspicion and hostility, but over time, the two grow close and form a lifelong friendship. Unfortunately for Wambũi, the mid-twentieth century isn’t ready for a female math prodigy, particularly in Kenya.
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Unfurling Stories and Poems by Pen Adventures
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together under the umbrella of Parklands Baptist Church.
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biblical characters to general fiction and stories based on real- life experiences.
First and Last word by J G Nyamu
Brief Summary
It has covered fifteen other powerful statesmen and ordinary people who stepped into higher levels of achievement and excellence through the use of words History of the last century and the first decade of this century would be awfully incomplete without the great destiny-making story of the big trio which relegated communism to the ash heap of history- Reagan, Thatcher and Saint Pope Paul II.
The Delegates Friend by Edward Mwangi
Brief Summary
Franciscar’s desire of establishing the deep secrets tormenting her single mother are crashed when Franciscar and her younger sister faces the most horrendous thing in life.
Grace falls into depression when she comes to terms with what has happened to her two lovely girls. She leaves the punctured sixteen year old Franciscar and Doris into the hands of a cruel world:- a world with no single relative. How can they balance between the pain and the survival?
Read this thrilling story whose suspense will keep you at the edge of your seat
Son of Woman by Charles Mangua
An instant success and bestseller in Kenya, which ran into 6 reprints, this prize-winning novel marked the beginning of popular literature in Kenya. Mangua's novel is a fictional, autobiographical account of the son of a prostitute.
The male narrator describes his life as the orphan of a prostitute in the slums of Nairobi, a young man frequenting bars and brothels, a student, corrupt civil servant and seasonal convict.
His is a humorous and cynical account revealing much about the unsavoury aspects of a world experiencing rapid social change. Charles Mangua is a prolific writer of popular literature, and author of three other novels, Son of Woman in Mombasa (the sequel to Son of Woman), A Tail in the Mouth, and Kanina and I.
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