The Williamsburg Modern Lit Book Club

Hey team - It's a new year, and I'm looking forward to another year of reading thoughtful, challenging and provoking novels with all of you! Speaking of challenging and thought-provoking, our first novel of 2026 will be Petals of Blood by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o, one of the most celebrated modern African writers. First published in 1977, the novel is set in Kenya after intendance and follows four main characters, Munira, Abdulla, Wanja, and Karega, whose lives are affected by the Mau Mau Rebellion. While the main plot revolves around the mysterious murder of three prominent Kenyan businessmen, the underlying story explores what it means for a newly independent country to be truly free from colonial rule and the legacy of corruption and oppression that cannot be easily swept aside. This novel is the last last of his works to be written in English first, afterward he would write in his native language Gikuyu first and then translated into English.

The paperback is published through Penguin Classics, page length is ~430 pages.