Growing up in Kenya in the early twentieth century, the brothers Matu and Muthegi are raised according to customs that, they are told, have existed since the beginning of the world. But when the 'red' strangers come, sunburned Europeans who seek to colonize their homeland, the lives of the two Kikuyu tribesmen begin to change in dramatic new ways. Soon, their people are overwhelmed by unknown diseases that traditional magic seems powerless to control. And as the strangers move across the land, the tribe rapidly finds itself ...
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Growing up in Kenya in the early twentieth century, the brothers Matu and Muthegi are raised according to customs that, they are told, have existed since the beginning of the world. But when the 'red' strangers come, sunburned Europeans who seek to colonize their homeland, the lives of the two Kikuyu tribesmen begin to change in dramatic new ways. Soon, their people are overwhelmed by unknown diseases that traditional magic seems powerless to control. And as the strangers move across the land, the tribe rapidly finds itself forced to obey foreign laws that seem at best bizarre, and that at worst entirely contradict the Kikuyu's own ancient ways, rituals and beliefs.
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Seller's Description:
New. 2006. UK ed. Paperback. Growing up in Kenya in the early twentieth century, the brothers Matu and Muthegi are raised according to customs that, they are told, have existed since the beginning of the world. But when the red' strangers come, sunburned Europeans who seek to colonize their homeland, the lives of the two Kikuyu tribesmen begin to change in dramatic new ways. Series: Penguin Modern Classics. Num Pages: 432 pages. BIC Classification: FA; FC. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 196 x 129 x 26. Weight in Grams: 320......We ship daily from our Bookshop.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. PB, 406pp. Clean, unmarked, VG. New foreword by Richard Dawkins. A novel in which Huxley attempts to depict, through the eyes of the Kikuyu, the coming of the Europeans to Kenya. CB13.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. No Jacket. 8 + 406pp, 18pp of SEPIA ILLUSTRATIONS (not found in later editions). Hardback, light foxing to some pages, sl. shaken, else VG. The illustrated pre-war edition is quite scarce. This third impression was printed within two months of the First Edition, with which it is identical. As Huxley says in her foreword "Although this is a novel, most of the incidents related in it are true". The novel recounts the coming of the Europeans ('Red' strangers) to East Africa from the imagined and sympathetic point of view of the Kikuyu, among whom Huxley had grown up, and whom she knew well. CB22.
Elspeth Huxley grew up in Africa with black African playmates. From an early age she absorbed the Kikuyu culture of Kenya. In later years, she wrote about her experiences and worked hard to help white outsiders understand Africa from a native African perspective. This book is one of her best, written from a Kikuyu viewpoint of the red (sunburned) strangers who came uninvited into their tribal lands and forever altered their culture.
