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Petals of Blood

By Ngugi wa Thiong’o
Introduction by Moses Isegawa
Series edited by Chinua Achebe

By Ngugi wa Thiong’o
Introduction by Moses Isegawa
Series edited by Chinua Achebe

By Ngugi wa Thiong’o
Introduction by Moses Isegawa
Series edited by Chinua Achebe

By Ngugi wa Thiong’o
Introduction by Moses Isegawa
Series edited by Chinua Achebe

Best Seller

Part of Penguin African Writers Series

Part of Penguin African Writers Series

Paperback $17.00

Feb 22, 2005 | ISBN 9780143039174

Ebook $9.99

Feb 22, 2005 | ISBN 9781101662465

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    About Petals of Blood

    “The definitive African book of the twentieth century” (Moses Isegawa, from the Introduction) by the Nobel Prize–nominated Kenyan writer

    The puzzling murder of three African directors of a foreign-owned brewery sets the scene for this fervent, hard-hitting novel about disillusionment in independent Kenya. A deceptively simple tale, Petals of Blood is on the surface a suspenseful investigation of a spectacular triple murder in upcountry Kenya. Yet as the intertwined stories of the four suspects unfold, a devastating picture emerges of a modern third-world nation whose frustrated people feel their leaders have failed them time after time.

    First published in 1977, this novel was so explosive that its author was imprisoned without charges by the Kenyan government. His incarceration was so shocking that newspapers around the world called attention to the case, and protests were raised by human-rights groups, scholars, and writers, including James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Donald Barthelme, Harold Pinter, and Margaret Drabble.

    About Petals of Blood

    “The definitive African book of the twentieth century” (Moses Isegawa, from the Introduction) by the Nobel Prize–nominated Kenyan writer

    The puzzling murder of three African directors of a foreign-owned brewery sets the scene for this fervent, hard-hitting novel about disillusionment in independent Kenya. A deceptively simple tale, Petals of Blood is on the surface a suspenseful investigation of a spectacular triple murder in upcountry Kenya. Yet as the intertwined stories of the four suspects unfold, a devastating picture emerges of a modern third-world nation whose frustrated people feel their leaders have failed them time after time.

    First published in 1977, this novel was so explosive that its author was imprisoned without charges by the Kenyan government. His incarceration was so shocking that newspapers around the world called attention to the case, and protests were raised by human-rights groups, scholars, and writers, including James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Donald Barthelme, Harold Pinter, and Margaret Drabble.

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Read An Excerpt

    Reading Guide

    Also by Ngugi wa Thiong’o

    In the House of the Interpreter
    A Grain of Wheat
    Weep Not, Child
    Dreams in a Time of War
    Wizard of the Crow
    See all books by Ngugi wa Thiong’o

    Also by Ngugi wa Thiong’o

    In the House of the Interpreter
    A Grain of Wheat
    Weep Not, Child
    Dreams in a Time of War
    Wizard of the Crow
    See all books by Ngugi wa Thiong’o

    About Ngugi wa Thiong’o

    Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o is an award-winning novelist, playwright, and essayist from Kenya whose novels have been translated into more than thirty languages. He is Distinguished Professor of English at the University of California, Irvine. He lives in Irvine, California.

    About Ngugi wa Thiong’o

    Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o is an award-winning novelist, playwright, and essayist from Kenya whose novels have been translated into more than thirty languages. He is Distinguished Professor of English at the University of California, Irvine. He lives in Irvine, California.

    Product Details

    Category: Fiction Classics | Literary Fiction

    Paperback | $17.00
    Published by Penguin Classics
    Feb 22, 2005 | 432 Pages | 5-1/16 x 7-3/4 | ISBN 9780143039174

    Category: Fiction Classics | Literary Fiction

    Ebook | $9.99
    Published by Penguin Classics
    Feb 22, 2005 | 432 Pages | ISBN 9781101662465
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    Praise

    “One of the greatest writers of our time.” —Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Guardian

    “His novels . . . have been deservedly canonized by the iconic [Penguin Classics] series.” —The Wall Street Journal

    “Ambitious, caustic, and impassioned.” —The New Yorker
     
    “A mind-blowing political statement, an anguished cry of despair . . . a bombshell.” —The Weekly Review (Kenya)

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