The Perfect Nine

One of the greatest writers of our time – Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieA vivid, exhilarating tale with a surprisingly modern philosophy that emphasises the importance of tolerance, feminism and respect for the environment – Anthony Gardner * Mail on Sunday *As pacy and addictive as it is measured. Thick with allegory and adventure…this is a beautifully told epic about the fundamentals of humanity * New Statesman *A beautiful work that not only refuses distinctions between “high art” and traditional storytelling, but supplies that all-too rare human necessity: the sense that life has meaning – Fiona Sampson * Guardian *The Perfect Nine uses a deceptively simple language that lays bare deep truths. * Financial Times *Ngugi is a giant of African writing – Carey Baraka * Guardian *In this sinuous retelling by the great Kenyan writer, the founding myth of the Gikuyu people emerges as an epic poem rivalling the Iliad in body count and surpassing it in whimsy. * New Yorker *Unfolding in wry and lyrical verse, The Perfect Nine tells a Homeric odyssey of the creation of the entire Gikuyu people-a creationist myth, an adventure tale, and a family story, wherein the wives do not simply wait at home. * Literary Hub *The Perfect Nine is one of the year’s great discoveries. * Economist *It is the farthest you could possibly get from the grim, wet reality of a lockdown Christmas in London and is exactly what I want to escape with – Alicia Lansom * Refinery29 *

Ngugi wa Thiong’o is one of the leading writers and scholars at work in the world today. His books include the novels Petals of Blood, for which he was imprisoned by the Kenyan government in 1977, A Grain of Wheat and Wizard of the Crow; the memoirs, Dreams in a Time of War, In the House of the Interpreter and Birth of a Dream Weaver; and the essays, Decolonizing the Mind, Something Torn and New and Globalectics. Recipient of many honours, among them ten honorary doctorates, he is currently Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine.

This item is eligible for free returns within 30 days of delivery. See our returns policy for further details.