The Perfect Nine: The Epic of Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi

Name: The Perfect Nine: The Epic of Gĩkũyũ and Mũmbi
Author: Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
ISBN: 9781620975251

Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

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Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o

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In his first attempt at the epic form, Ngũgĩ tells the story of the founding of the Gukiyi people of Kenya, from a strongly feminist perspective. A verse narrative, blending folklore, mythology, adventure, and allegory, The Perfect Nine chronicles the efforts the Gukiyi founders make to find partners for their ten beautiful daughters—called "The Perfect Nine"—and the challenges they set for the 99 suitors who seek their hands in marriage. The epic has all the elements of adventure, with suspense, danger, humor, and sacrifice. Ngũgĩ's epic is a quest for the beautiful as an ideal of living, as the motive force behind migrations of African peoples. He notes, "The epic came to me one night as a revelation of ideals of quest, courage, perseverance, unity, family; and the sense of the divine, in human struggles with nature and nurture."

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