The Big Chiefs: Poor Man's Hell

Meja Mwangi

Hm Books

KILL ME QUICK narrates the experiences of Meja and Maina, two youths who have come to the city with the hope of bettering their lives, confident that their high school diplomas will lead to success. However, they are unable to compete for jobs in the city and, ultimately, they resort to petty theft and crime, and being exploited by employers. They end up in the backstreets, where they thrive among the strays and the homeless. Brutally separated by circumstances, they turn to crime and meet years later behind bars.  This young adult novel displays Mwangi's talent for writing lively stories depicting rural youth and societal problems in Kenya.

Kill Me Quick

Literature & Fiction

World Literature

Ben is a man on the move – in bars, in night clubs and in seedy pubs down Nairobi’s River Road, where he meets Wini, a single mother trying to make it in the big city. They live together as man and wife until Wini escapes abroad with her employer leaving him the burden of bringing up her baby son.  When Ben joins up with Ocholla, his bar-crawling, construction-site friend, life goes from strange to bizarre.  Mwangi’s treatment of the serious situation makes and unforgettable impact.  MEJA MWANGI, the acclaimed author of “Going Down River Road”, "The Cockroach Dance" and “Kill Me Quick”, is an eclectic writer whose fascination with stories has created such varied works as “Bush Doctor”, “Crossroads”, “Carcase for Hounds”, “Rafiki” and “Christmas Without Tusker” among others.

Going Down River Road

<p>Dieser Roman aus dem Milieu der Armen und Gestrandeten Nairobis ist nicht nur ein Buch über die Lebenswirklichkeit in einer afrikanischen Großstadt. Er ist gleichzeitig ein Roman über das Leben in den unaufhaltsam wuchernden Städten der Dritten Welt überhaupt mit ihren endlosen Slums, dem Elend ihrer Bewohner und dem Scheitern ihrer Hoffnungen auf ein besseres Leben und ihrer Beziehungen zueinander durch eine unmensch¬liche Umwelt, in der der Weiße, ob als Tourist oder als Geschäfts¬mann, immer noch die Macht innehat.Ben, Wini und Ochola gehören zu den Millionen von Afri¬kanern, die durch die Zerstörung der alten afrikanischen Tradi¬tionen jeglichen Halt verloren haben. Und obwohl Mwangi vor dieser Situation seine Bitterkeit und seinen Sarkasmus kaum unterdrücken kann, enthält dieses Buch auch viele Beispiele praktischer, kaum wahrnehmbarer und dennoch wichtiger Solida¬rität, die die einzige Hoffnung der Betrogenen und Vergessenen ist.</p>

Nairobi, River Road (German Edition)

Mwangi, Meja

Imfeld, Al

Contemporary

Ben is a man on the move – in bars, in night clubs and in seedy pubs down Nairobi’s River Road. On one of these occasions he meets Wini, a single mother trying to make it in the big city. They live hard, as man and wife, for a while, surviving at the very edge of squalor, until Wini escapes abroad with her boss leaving her baby son with Ben. When Ben joins up with Ocholla, his bar-crawling, construction-site friend, life goes from strange to bizarre. Mwangi’s treatment of the serious situation makes and unforgettable impact. MEJA MWANGI, the acclaimed author of “Going Down River Road”, "The Cockroach Dance" and “Kill Me Quick”, is an eclectic writer whose fascination with stories has created such varied works as “Bush Doctor”, “Crossroads”, “Carcase for Hounds”, “Rafiki” and “Christmas Without Tusker” among others.

Down River Road

The Mzungu Boy

The Mzungu Boy is a work of fiction that takes place in Kenya, Africa, in the early 1950s. At that time the country, a British colony, was faced with an uprising that became known as the Mau Mau Rebellion. Much of Kenya, including the best farmland, was in the hands of European settlers. At best, native Kenyans were allowed to work on the land as tenant farmers, under exploitative and demeaning conditions. The rebels wanted the white settlers to leave the country so native Africans could have their independence. As the uprising gained momentum, British rulers declared a state of emergency. Troops set out to arrest Mau Mau leaders, and rebel groups took to hiding in the forests.

Children's Books

Geography & Cultures

CHRISTMAS WITHOUT TUSKER  When their women close the bars and force them to spend Christmas at home, Kambi men realise they have made a big mistake allowing women to run the traditionally male-controlled bar business. There is anxiety and disaffection, as the townsmen men prepare to confront the unthinkable, a tusker-free Christmas.   In this novel Meja Mwangi revives Kambi market's hard men, and their harder women, and the characters that made “Baba Pesa” such a fun read. Mwangi’s keen eye for the drama and humor in everyday life shines through his work.

Christmas Without Tusker

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