The great Kenyan writer Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o has died.

I didn't know much about him other than his writing. I came across "Petals of Blood" in a second hand book shop back in the 90s. It's one of those novels you don't forget reading.

He was a champion of African literature in African languages. I can see where he was coming from but I can also see why writers such as Chinua Achebe choose to write in English - to reach a wider readership in Africa as well as beyond.

Ngũgĩ seems to have been a complex character. Hard to read about him abusing his wife (according to the son), especially just after reading about her being raped by men targeting Ngũgĩ (presumably for his uncompromising political views).

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce999kwxn1ro

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