Reviews

Going Down River Road by Meja Mwangi

ariaslibrary's review against another edition

4.0

 'Germs don't kill Africans’, that is Ocholla's long time philosophy. Ben tilts his head thoughtfully. Ocholla has a point there. If germs did kill Africans, Development House would never have got off the ground. What with all those green latrine flies swimming in the pot, shitting in the porridge and dying all over, even drowning in the tea. Ocholla has a point. Germs cannot kill Africans, never will. He looks round at the eating workers. Only hunger will kill an African - tough beast.

“Going Down River Road” is not what I expected. My experience with Kenyan literature is limited to the books we read as set books in secondary school and John Kiriamit’s book that I read last year. I decided to change that this year by reading two of the most popular Kenyan authors. Meja Mwangi and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o. While Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o has international popularity with his books also being among the Penguin Classic catalogue, I’ve met a lot of people who claim he’s overrated. Regardless, I decided to give him a try as well. But this was a wonderful experience.

Ben is just trying to survive. Having lost his job, he now has to live with his girlfriend Wini and her son Baby as he struggles to make ends meet while working on a construction site. The little money he earns goes to food, transport and alcohol but luckily Wini has plans on getting him a job at her office. But when Wini runs away with her white boss, Ben now finds himself left with her child. He could do as suggested and abandon him but he can’t seem to leave Baby behind. This book follows Ben as he simply lives day by day.

Nairobi is not for the weak and this book displays that perfectly. From the most random places you’d find someone used as a toilet, the fights between civilians and government officials, the normalised misogyny to the simple fact that a majority of Kenyans have no idea what jaywalking is. (I learned that term when I was like 19. Here you’re just crossing the road). Though set in the 70s, the representation still holds up (and is somehow worse). One specific scene describing the clash between pedestrians and road users was hilarious. Nairobi roads require you to pay attention or else you will die. Check both sides of the road before crossing a one-way street.

Still, I can't help but love my city only sometimes though. i absolutely hate walking downtown 

annindo_underthesun's review against another edition

informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

nyaguthii's review against another edition

3.0

I really thought Wini was coming back in the end! Definitely did not expect it to go like that.
I feel though that the story took too long to pick up after the synopsis given on the back cover. It took so long for Wini to leave Ben, yet we all knew it was going to happen, so I feel robbed of time which we could have spent seeing more details about Ben's life.

kingkong's review against another edition

4.0

Cool atmosphere and I like how things just sort of dont work out for him

eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee's review

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0