Goodreads Monday is a weekly meme that was started by @Lauren’s Page Turners but is now currently being hosted by Emily @ Budget Tales Book Blog. This meme is quite easy to follow – just randomly pick a book from your to-be-read list and give the reasons why you want to read it. It is that simple.

This week’s book:

Weep Not, Child by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o

Blurb from Goodreads

Weep Not, Child is a moving novel about the effects of the Mau Mau uprising on the lives of ordinary men and women, and on one family in particular. Two brothers, Njoroge and Kamau, stand on a garbage heap and look into their futures: Njoroge is to attend school, while Kamau will train to be a carpenter. But this is Kenya, and the times are against them: In the forests, the Mau Mau is waging war against the white government, and the two brothers and their family need to decide where their loyalties lie. For the practical Kamau, the choice is simple, but for Njoroge the scholar, the dream of progress through learning is a hard one to give up.

Weep Not, Child is Ngũgĩ’s first novel, published in 1964.

Why I Want To Read It

Happy Monday everyone! Woah. I just realized that today is the last Monday of August. I just hope that the ghost month has been kind to everyone. In a couple of days, we will be welcoming September. This means that the world’s longest Christmas season is about to commence. Yes, Filipinos start their Christmas season upon the entry of the -ber months. By Friday, September 1, malls and radio stations will already be playing Christmas songs. As the year approaches its final stretch, I wish nothing but blessings and good news in the coming months. I hope that everyone will be healthy, in body, mind, and spirit.

So, how was the start of the work week for everyone? I know most of us dread Mondays but I still hope that everyone will have a productive work week ahead. I hope everyone will have a great week ahead. Thankfully, today is a holiday here in the Philippines; today is National Heroes’ Day. With the first day of the week also comes a fresh Goodreads Monday update. With the month drawing to a close, I am also about to wrap up my journey across African literature. It feels so short and I still have quite a lot of books lined up. Anyway, I will try to complete as many works of African literature as I can.

To align with this month’s reading motif, I will be featuring works of African literature in my Goodreads Monday updates this month. For the last Goodreads Monday update this August, I am featuring Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s Weep Not, Child. After Matigari ma Njiruungi, this is the second time I am featuring the Kenyan writer in a Goodreads Monday post. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to obtain either of these books. I am still fervently hoping that I get to obtain either Matigari ma Njiruungi or Weep Not, Child.

But what is compelling me to want to read Thiong’o’s works? A couple of years ago – I think it was in 2019 – I first came across Thiong’o during the leadup to the announcement of the awardee for the Nobel Prize in Literature. He was a part of the discussion and was even tipped to have a high chance of nabbing either the 2018 or 2019 award. Unfortunately, it was awarded to Austria’s Peter Handke (2019) and Poland’s Olga Tokarczuk. Thiong’o is still part of discourses on possible Nobel Prize in Literature awardees. This only piqued my interest. I think it is also a good idea to start exploring his oeuvre with his debut novel, Weep Not, Child. Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe chose the book to be one of the first titles of Heinemann’s African Writers Series.

For now, I am just hoping to obtain a copy of the book. How about you fellow reader? How was your Monday? What books have you added to your reading list? Do drop it in the comment box. For now, happy Monday and, as always, happy reading!