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The River Between

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

Paperback | Pages: 152 pages

Rating: 3.75 | 3043 Users | 257 Reviews

Present Epithetical Books The River Between

Title	:	The River Between
Author	:	Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	Deluxe Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 152 pages
Published	:	August 11th 2008 by Pearson (first published 1965)
Categories	:	Fiction. Cultural. Africa. Literature. African Literature. Eastern Africa. Kenya

Narration Supposing Books The River Between

I imagine being a woman in the beautiful landscape of colonial Kenya as having to choose between Scylla and Charybdis, as being torn between ancient rites and Christian missionaries - neither of them offering any kind of individual choice and development for a woman.

As a woman, you are stuck between quite similar, yet opposing male monsters of rigid patriarchal rituals, fighting each other with religious salvation vocabulary and with you as a prize.

It is interesting for myself to follow my multiple changes in attitude and perspective during the reading process. My modern, liberal and democratic values were shaken and attacked from different angles. In the character of rebellious Muthoni, the hopelessly bitter life of a daughter of a dogmatic Christian preacher is outlined. To connect with her ancestral roots, she has to break with the brutal single-mindedness of her father, who considers himself her only authority while bowing to the power of white rule through Christianity and administration. Disobedience equals ostracism. It feels natural to side with Muthoni against her dogmatic, brutal father.

But when she makes the decision to go through circumcision in order to feel "beautiful in the way of the tribe", I shiver. What a brutal world for her, having to choose between what she calls Christian submission and the demands of her tribe, which will effectively take away her ability to feel sexual pleasure! Male dominance is guaranteed either way.

It gets worse when she dies of her wounds. My heart now moves to side with the white oppressors and their most effective tools - the preachers. Even if they are evil and oppressive, their take on life must be more humane than the ancient tribal rites? For a moment, I hesitate, and then I make up my mind:

"No!"

One wrong is not excused by another wrong. "Whataboutism" is the worst kind of indifference and irresponsibility. Young women deserve to make their own valid choices, oppressed neither by inhumane and brutal religious doctrine, nor by surgery aiming at reducing their sexuality.

If I am between Scylla and Charybdis, it is not about choosing which way to give up my life, it is about doing my best to steer away from both dangers - on the river between.

The natural beauty of the river flowing between the two opposed shores in the novel remains a symbol for the possibility of change and movement!

As long as the waters are flowing on the river between, there is hope. Slim as it may be!

Particularize Books In Pursuance Of The River Between

Original Title:	The River Between
ISBN:	0435905481 (ISBN13: 9780435905484)
Edition Language:	English

Rating Epithetical Books The River Between

Ratings: 3.75 From 3043 Users | 257 Reviews

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This novel which exposes the conflicts that arise within an African tribe as they face the incroaching influence of white colonial forces, the first Ngugi wa Thiongo wrote, is a powerful tale of remarkable depth and complexity. There is a definite emphasis on duality and symbolism, but the grey areas, the internal conflicts and sense of alienation within the main character, Waiyaki speak no only to the community power struggles and challenges, but to the kind of doubts and anxieties individuals

I read this novel because I thought Ngugi would win the Nobel Prize today, but he did not. In any event, Im glad I read it, because it has been very long since I read his work (since reading A Grain of Wheat in high school, not long after it was published).I was struck by the rhythm not of Ngugis prose, but of his telling of the story, the repetitions, hesitations, thought processes, excitements, rememberings, and fears. The writing itself is not of much interest. The fablistic, traditional, and

I don't think the Goodreads summary people actually read the book. I'm also not sure about some of the other reviewers either. Saying this book is about female circumcision is like saying To Kill a Mockingbird is about Scout Finchlearning about shooting birds. It is a plot point and it is memorable,  but I wouldn't say that is what the book is about. The story is about how Africa is torn between its traditional ways, the Christian ways imposed upon it, and the need to find their own path.

I feel like the author didn't want to write anymore so just ended it there

Often compared with Achebes, Things Fall Apart, The River Between is a defining piece of POCO lit. Written in 1961 in the wake of the Mau Mau uprising and the context of recent and bitter memories, The River Between represents colonialism as an economic grab of resources, with education, language and Christianity being subordinate to that aim. As missionaries settle in the land and establish Christian ideals, the rifts between two Kikuyu communities, one Christian and one traditional, is

An excellent description of the typical dilemma African culture has facedsince the introduction of Christianity, and the divisions it caused during the time when colonialism became fully entrenched. The challenge of cultural development is still relevant today, and this book is a good start in initiating discussion as to how this conundrum can be resolved.The book presents the problem in the form of two villages on opposite sides of a river in the Central Highlands of Kenya, one clinging to

This book illustrates powerful tensions between tribal ways and Christian ways in Africa in the time of Livingstone, the famous missionary. Both sides incur guilt. The novel effectively uses imagery of shedding blood to point to a human longing for redemption, but characters struggle with different visions of where that redemption will come from. Will it come through keeping the purity of the old tribal rituals (including circumcision of both the male and female variety)? Will it come through