Weep Not, Child is set in a Gikuyu village in Kenya during the tumultuous leading up to Kenya's independence from Britain. The story starts off when Nyokabi offers her youngest son, Njoroge, an opportunity to go to school. His prospects are contrasted with those of his half-brother Kamau, who has already been apprenticed to a carpenter, and will therefore not be going to school. This contrast frames the local drama that takes place during this violent period in Kenya.
Ngugi wa Thiong'o wrote the story while studying at at Leeds University in England in 1962. Weep Not, Child was the second novel Ngugi wrote, although it was published before his first, The River Between. It follows the...
